Popular gold, silver, platinum and palladium coins such as U.S. Eagles, Canadian Maples, South African Krugerrands, Australian Kangaroos, British Sovereigns and Chinese Pandas are minted at national mints. Other well known, private mints such as Credit Suisse, Sunshine Minting, Engelhard and Johnson Matthey currently produce or have produced both bars and coins. Additionally, U.S. minted dimes, quarters and halves from 1964 or earlier contain 90% silver (0.715 oz. per dollar face value).

When you are ready to invest in precious metals, you will want to find a dealer you can trust and who has been in business for many years. While lower prices can sometimes be found elsewhere, you will usually get better customer service and competitive pricing at a local dealer.

First off, "Junk silver" is not junk! Coin dealers refer to pre-1965 dimes, quarters and half dollars as junk silver only to differentiate them from numismatic collectibles. "Junk silver" is typically sold by face value ($5, $10, $100 and $1,000 being the most common increments). These coins were minted from 90% silver, and for each $1 face value there was 0.7234 troy ounces of silver when the coins were new. Allowing for wear, the industry accepted practice is to figure 0.715 troy oz. per $1 face value.

In 1965 silver was removed completely from Quarters and Dimes, and dropped to 40% in Kennedy Half Dollars until 1970. There is 0.296 troy oz of silver for each $1 in 40% Halves, and these usually sell for a very low premium.

Since 1970 only special issue coins contain any silver. Some Eisenhower dollar uncirculated and proof coins were 40% until 1976 and special proof coins since 1992 have been struck in 90% silver. Starting in 2019, silver coins minted by the US Mint went from 0.900 to 0.999 fineness.

There are plenty of reasons to choose to invest in gold or silver, and each has its own benefits. In the past, during times when the prices of metals are surging, the ratio of gold to silver shrinks, meaning the price of silver has risen faster than the price of gold.

During the last big price hike, the ratio of silver to gold was 40:1. During the period that followed, the ratio fell to closer to 70:1. So what does that mean? Many experts feel that buying silver during low points in the market could lead to a greater return percentage when the market spikes again.

That said, when it comes to large volume, silver becomes cumbersome and hefty very quickly. If you're looking to put a significant amount of money into metals, it is important to keep this in mind.

A person could store several thousand dollars or more in just a handful of gold coins, but to do so with silver would require hundreds of ounces and safe place with plenty of room to store them.

What truly matter most however, is finding your specific needs and filling them. When you come to the store, feel free to ask us more specific questions, and we'll happily advise you in the route we believe to be the best to suite your needs. And remember, you're never pressured into a sale. We're only here to help!

A lot of nationally advertised dealers will push pre-1933 U.S. Gold coins, and like to point out that the government confiscated gold in 1933 but exempted collectible coins. They hint that it might happen again, but if you buy their numismatic gold offerings you will be safe. In 1933 Gold WAS money. The Federal Government confiscated the people's gold (with the exception of 5 oz per person) to keep the government solvent- it was an emergency measure. It also had the benefit (from the Federal Reserve's point of view) of severing the link between gold and paper, allowing unfettered inflation of the currency. Gold is no longer legal tender money so there would be no actual purpose or reason to try confiscation again (unless the government decides to confiscate other kinds of savings like IRA and 401(k) accounts). That said, collectible coins are pieces of history and have appreciated much faster than bullion, so there is nothing wrong with owning them.

This is the question we get asked the most, and we always give the same answer:

"If we knew that, we'd give you a call from our personal island in the Bahamas."

In all seriousness, nobody truly knows what the future holds for the metals market. The price will rise, the price will fall. Some experts have accurately predicted the market, others have failed to predict the market. None of them have been right all of the time.

Inevitably, the price of metals will rise. The question is how much, and how quickly? For that, we simply cannot give you a definitive answer, and we often say that anyone that gives you a definitive answer is probably just trying to sell you something.