New Stacker! Please help!

J

JoryLeBlanc

New Member
Hi guys, I have just gotten into the hobby/investment of silver stacking I have done my research and purchased my first bar I have a few questions If I am collecting for both investment and hobby but leaning more toward the monetary investment side of things what is the best form of silver for me to buy? bars or coins? 1oz, 2oz, 5oz, 10oz? bars or coins? is it a good investment to spend more money over spot price for collectors pieces or stick with buying cheapest over spot? and any advice for a beginning stacker would be appreciated! thanks guys I look forward to being a stacker! ALSO I have quite a bit of sterling silver,,,, is there a way for me to refine the silver to .999 pure that I can successfully build/complete at home? thanks
 
Welcome!

Buying cheapest over spot is best for newbies unless you are knowledgeable in silver collectables.
 
Welcome

10oz bars as they are cheap good bang for ya bucks easy to store, & easy to flip, trade good all rounder for a core holding in silver.
 
And what would be a good collector piece to buy? Something that has value as silver but also as a collectible but won't absolutely break the bank trying to buy it?
 
JoryLeBlanc said:
Hi guys, I have just gotten into the hobby/investment of silver stacking I have done my research and purchased my first bar I have a few questions If I am collecting for both investment and hobby but leaning more toward the monetary investment side of things what is the best form of silver for me to buy? bars or coins? 1oz, 2oz, 5oz, 10oz? bars or coins? is it a good investment to spend more money over spot price for collectors pieces or stick with buying cheapest over spot? and any advice for a beginning stacker would be appreciated! thanks guys I look forward to being a stacker! ALSO I have quite a bit of sterling silver,,,, is there a way for me to refine the silver to .999 pure that I can successfully build/complete at home? thanks
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Hi Jory, I’m a new stacker too.

I’m a pretty impulsive person so in my haste I purchased 1,000 oz in just a few weeks. I don’t recommend doing this lol. My stack has 100s, 50s, and a lot of 10s and around 60 coins. Going forward I’m going to buy mostly10s because they’re easier to stack and the newer ones have a nice shine. I’m not an experienced stacker so others can give advice on products which command better premiums. I also diversified with gold, platinum and I have my first 2 oz round of Iridium coming soon (yay!).

I’m slowing my roll down considerably tho. Silver prices prob won’t skyrocket anytime soon.

That’s my $.02

Happy stacking!
 
JoryLeBlanc said:
And what would be a good collector piece to buy? Something that has value as silver but also as a collectible but won't absolutely break the bank trying to buy it?
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I am a big NORFED collector have been at it for years. NORFED's come in silver & gold with the common pieces quite reasonably priced for such lovely round, but for the rare or small mintage pieces you will need very deep pockets as these command high premiums norfed rounds also have a good story behind them which I feel will increase their value in years to come. The key to these is to mop up any round that is in the 500 mintage

good luck
 
My 2c, I would sell your scrap, the chemistry involved is simply not for the everyday person not to mention the equipment, chemicals and knowledge required would be economically defeating, unless you have previous metallurgy knowledge or intend on operating as a permanent setup. The chemicals involved are restricted, the reactions used are extremely exothermic with chemical waste rendering a correct operation difficult without an extensive investment in your set up. Don't be like the village idiots on YouTube who most of which have zero idea of what they are doing, no environmental disposal knowledge and no regard for other persons safety including their own. You can already attain a premium over spot on ebay for scrap so I would point you there or sell here. Regarding bullion products I would point you in the direction of low premium products like bars or certain rounds untill you have attained some knowledge around semi numismatic products, the choice in the field of numismatics is mind boggling, a high majority is tailored to in experienced consumers that like pretty things but may not retain their worth in the open market. There are a lot of Perth mint releases which are very popular worldwide but again a degree of wisdom in purchasing is required. Research, research, research is the order and find a like minded stacker with the existing experience where numismatic are concerned and listen well to their advice. There are plenty of experienced stackers here on the forum so listen well and ask plenty of questions but do your own research for resources of reference material and knowledge. Best of luck in your new hobby and investment, the single biggest piece of advice I can give is as soon as you are able, diversify your stack with some high premium and some low prem products do not put all your eggs in one basket.
 
I like doing a bit of everything. You can't go wrong with silver. Diversify your stack and have a bunch of everything. I'm collecting and stacking and I buy whatever is pleasing to my eye. I have not purchased bars because most bars aren't collectable. Some affordable coins that can become collectable but are also mostly just for the silver weight are called Semi Numismatic coins. Like Chinese Silver Panads, Australian Kookaburas, and a few other coins like them. It's also wise to invest in junk silver which is 90% silver like U.S. coins dated 1964 and before. Walking Liberty Half dollars, dimes, quarters, and larger dollars like Morgans and Peace dollars. Some of them have a little bit of a higher premium, but they also have collector value as well. The reason I buy 90% silver is so I have fractional size pieces. If silver does go up in price and you want to buy or trade, 1oz of silver might be too expensive and not a fair trade. Some silver rounds can be collectable to and if you get them as close to spot as possible it's a win win, but I don't know many silver rounds or bars that are collectable. Moral of the story diversify your silver. Having a little of everything gives you a lot of options. I want to buy some of my first bars next month. Good look and have fun!
 
BenKenobi said:
My 2c, I would sell your scrap, the chemistry involved is simply not for the everyday person not to mention the equipment, chemicals and knowledge required would be economically defeating, unless you have previous metallurgy knowledge or intend on operating as a permanent setup. The chemicals involved are restricted, the reactions used are extremely exothermic with chemical waste rendering a correct operation difficult without an extensive investment in your set up. Don't be like the village idiots on YouTube who most of which have zero idea of what they are doing, no environmental disposal knowledge and no regard for other persons safety including their own. You can already attain a premium over spot on ebay for scrap so I would point you there or sell here. Regarding bullion products I would point you in the direction of low premium products like bars or certain rounds untill you have attained some knowledge around semi numismatic products, the choice in the field of numismatics is mind boggling, a high majority is tailored to in experienced consumers that like pretty things but may not retain their worth in the open market. There are a lot of Perth mint releases which are very popular worldwide but again a degree of wisdom in purchasing is required. Research, research, research is the order and find a like minded stacker with the existing experience where numismatic are concerned and listen well to their advice. There are plenty of experienced stackers here on the forum so listen well and ask plenty of questions but do your own research for resources of reference material and knowledge. Best of luck in your new hobby and investment, the single biggest piece of advice I can give is as soon as you are able, diversify your stack with some high premium and some low prem products do not put all your eggs in one basket.
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Would it be feasible to melt down the sterling silver I currently have into ingots and stamp them as .925 Sterling @1oz bars? I feel like doing so would allow me to stack them nice and even (I'm ocd when it comes to collecting) and I would have Sterling ingots ready to go once I research and gain enough knowledge to try and purify it myself. I WOULD eventually like to try my hand at purification if only bc that is part of the hobby. I do have some experience with the process involved stemming from college and work environments but after watching refinement videos on YouTube I decided my knowledge base is not quite adequate enough to try refinement just yet as there seem to be some caustic/dangerous chemicals and fumes involved. Also, is there no other way to purify silver without the chems? If I remember correctly an ancient civilization (Greece? Egypt?) found that be melting the metals/ore and blowing air over the top and adding something (?) the waste product separated, leaving you with pure silver. I got this info off of the 'net so it could also be complete bullshit. Any help, answers, or advise is welcome and appreciated. Thanks guys
 
JoryLeBlanc said:
Would it be feasible to melt down the sterling silver I currently have into ingots and stamp them as .925 Sterling @1oz bars? I feel like doing so would allow me to stack them nice and even (I'm ocd when it comes to collecting) and I would have Sterling ingots ready to go once I research and gain enough knowledge to try and purify it myself. I WOULD eventually like to try my hand at purification if only bc that is part of the hobby. I do have some experience with the process involved stemming from college and work environments but after watching refinement videos on YouTube I decided my knowledge base is not quite adequate enough to try refinement just yet as there seem to be some caustic/dangerous chemicals and fumes involved. Also, is there no other way to purify silver without the chems? If I remember correctly an ancient civilization (Greece? Egypt?) found that be melting the metals/ore and blowing air over the top and adding something (?) the waste product separated, leaving you with pure silver. I got this info off of the 'net so it could also be complete bullshit. Any help, answers, or advise is welcome and appreciated. Thanks guys
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Sterling Silver in usable/functioning form will usually be more valuable as what it actually is silver spoon/ring/plate is worth more than home made 925 ingot or refined 999 ingot

For broken pieces its a different story but to get a premium to make it worthwhile you need to research a lot and work hard at marketing plus be lucky. example look up "silver fox refining"

But for most home refiners if profitability is not a factor but rather enjoyment, its a lot of fun.
 
The decision to melt is up to you, if it is already hallmarked I would be inclined to leave it as such to save on an assay, you may be able to find a dealer willing to ping them with xrf if you do melt if you build a buying relationship with them they may provide it at no cost, but do not expect to just roll up and ask them to complete xrf on your goods if no such relationship exists, the business will possibly want to know in advance if you are intent on presenting with bars to scan. Regarding purification by smelting, I would not bother, the fuel required plus reducing agents and length of burn time necessary to remove and oxidise is prohibitive for a refining step in my opinion. Chemical recovery and refining is the only way to go and if you are getting your scrap at a decent price why would you bother, just flip it or stack it until you are ready for chemical recovery and refining. I cannot stress enough the dangers of refining and recovery with chemicals and silver, highly unstable explosives can inadvertently be produced, toxic fumes are ever present. Forget everything you have seen on you tube as it does not show the entire process and responsibility of you the individual. There are plenty of examples on YouTube but these should only be used as examples of the reactions involved in recovery and refining NOT as tutorials. You have furnaces and everything accompanying their safe use ,glassware, the right and wrong gear, cleaning of glassware is not even looked at and is a must for correct uncontaminated reactions and real refining. Filtering systems,Chemical use and purchase plus any local restrictions if you are suburban. Then chemical waste and correct disposal and neutralisation, fume hoods and the list goes on. I am a member of a refining forum I can refer to you when you are ready, be warned the members of which do not take kindly to Joe Imbecile using some glass jars and analytical grade reagents in his laundry or bathroom. You must research the topic and show you are willing to do it the RIGHT way. Some books you need for research first: C.W. Ammen- recovery and refining of precious metals; C.M Hoke- refining precious metal wastes. Read each book a minimum of 3 times before proceeding any further. I can also refer you to some cd productions that detail particular processes and cover silver in full.
 
BenKenobi said:
The decision to melt is up to you, if it is already hallmarked I would be inclined to leave it as such to save on an assay, you may be able to find a dealer willing to ping them with xrf if you do melt if you build a buying relationship with them they may provide it at no cost, but do not expect to just roll up and ask them to complete xrf on your goods if no such relationship exists, the business will possibly want to know in advance if you are intent on presenting with bars to scan. Regarding purification by smelting, I would not bother, the fuel required plus reducing agents and length of burn time necessary to remove and oxidise is prohibitive for a refining step in my opinion. Chemical recovery and refining is the only way to go and if you are getting your scrap at a decent price why would you bother, just flip it or stack it until you are ready for chemical recovery and refining. I cannot stress enough the dangers of refining and recovery with chemicals and silver, highly unstable explosives can inadvertently be produced, toxic fumes are ever present. Forget everything you have seen on you tube as it does not show the entire process and responsibility of you the individual. There are plenty of examples on YouTube but these should only be used as examples of the reactions involved in recovery and refining NOT as tutorials. You have furnaces and everything accompanying their safe use ,glassware, the right and wrong gear, cleaning of glassware is not even looked at and is a must for correct uncontaminated reactions and real refining. Filtering systems,Chemical use and purchase plus any local restrictions if you are suburban. Then chemical waste and correct disposal and neutralisation, fume hoods and the list goes on. I am a member of a refining forum I can refer to you when you are ready, be warned the members of which do not take kindly to Joe Imbecile using some glass jars and analytical grade reagents in his laundry or bathroom. You must research the topic and show you are willing to do it the RIGHT way. Some books you need for research first: C.W. Ammen- recovery and refining of precious metals; C.M Hoke- refining precious metal wastes. Read each book a minimum of 3 times before proceeding any further. I can also refer you to some cd productions that detail particular processes and cover silver in full.
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The referrals would be great buddy I appreciate it. And also thank you for the books I'm going to look them up and order them on amazon asap. I have a lot of research to do before I try to jump in to refining my silver. But I also enjoy the research and learning at the beginning of a new hobby/collection so it's no problem to me. Thanks for the heads up on the safety concerns as well. You are absolutely right in the subject of the YouTube videos that can be found on refining silver. Not thorough enough to be of any real use except maybe to get an idea of the process for a base knowledge set. I WOULD like to buy a smelting/casting setup as a turn key or DIY. Do you have any suggestions or links for a good setup or how to guide? Thanks again to everybody for taking the time out of your day to answer an amatures questions and shining a little light on the subject
 
Have a look on Home pour hobby thread under Silver. I put a few posts in about my furnace build. It sounds like you have the correct attitude for pursuing refining. Don't waste your coin on a turnkey set up, do it yourself as per the thread check out the links and I can pass on extra info should you need it, bear in mind there are plenty of differing ways to get going with a furnace, I researched for 6 months before choosing a design outline sufficient for my needs the rest is adaption for my intended purpose.
 
swoydaz said:
Google a 100 year price chart for silver.
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I just did that and wow! It is not a very good investment at all. On an inflation adjusted basis the price is virtually the same as what it was a 100 years ago. That is still ok and better than cash in the bank.

During most rescessions it seems to have dipped in price during the recession, so it is not recession proof.

In monetary terms it's gone from about $1 USD to $17 USD in that 100 years.

If it is long term investment people are looking for then I think there are many much better options out there. But hey I still collect and sell a bit too so there is nothing wrong with a having rewarding hobby in collecting/stacking and or trading silver and at the very least it will keep up with inflation.

Here is the link to the 100 year chart, very interesting, thanks for the tip: http://www.macrotrends.net/1470/historical-silver-prices-100-year-chart
 
my advice. if you dont have an amazingly superhuman amount of patience. run, run away as fast as you can right now, and never look back.
 
Argentum.....Latin word meaning "...............................sideways................................" (well, according to some it is :) )
 
BenKenobi said:
Have a look on Home pour hobby thread under Silver. I put a few posts in about my furnace build. It sounds like you have the correct attitude for pursuing refining. Don't waste your coin on a turnkey set up, do it yourself as per the thread check out the links and I can pass on extra info should you need it, bear in mind there are plenty of differing ways to get going with a furnace, I researched for 6 months before choosing a design outline sufficient for my needs the rest is adaption for my intended purpose.
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Hey buddy I need you to point me towards some in depth help. Everything I seem to find seems like it’s kind of skimmed over. I need info on both refining silver and melting/casting. So far as I can tell to refine silver you cut it into little piece after testing to make sure it IS silver. Then add nitric acid and distilled water in equal amounts until the silver is completely dissolved. Next you pour all your liquid through a coffee filter. Throw away (???) the coffee filter and keep your refined/filtered liquid. Then put a piece of copper wire/tubing into the solution and the stuff that forms on the copper is pure silver. Remove the copper and wash off the silver off of copper piece and let dry. And that is pure silver ready to be melted down? That’s pretty much what all the videos I watch do. Is that right? That seems a little too easy? And I’ve seen videos of people pouring in salt water and shit and idk why. I really need advice on this or to be pointed somewhere that will give me true step by step info and materials needed. Sorry for the long post and thanks guys for any help
 
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