Hi - I've been monitoring these forums for a few weeks now and thought I would finally say "Hi". What are people's thoughts are on ABC or Bullion Club silver bars. I'm thinking the 10oz or 1kg as they are slightly cheaper than Perth Mints? ABC's and Bullion Club bars from what I gathered are roughly in the same price range as NTR or Scottsdale. Is there any advantage or disadvantages of buying a dealer branded bar? Thanks!
Scottsdale carries a pretty high premium IMO but they look great (I have 10 10 oz reserves and 10 1 oz of theirs) NTR is a bit lower in my experience but that's just because I find them in the secondary market whereas I haven't seen much scottsdale outside of scottsdale.com for sale, if it's just for stacking plain bullion I'd avoid the higher premium ones entirely. My LCS has "generic" (NTR, AMark, etc) for spot + $.60 US for 100 oz bars and spot + $.90 US for 10 oz bars. JM is nice but a little more. I'd check out what your LCS has in stock and check their prices using major sites like apmex as a reference point. As to your original question, as others have said, depends on your budget. I like 100 oz bars for their low premiums but not as liquid. If you're starting out, stick to generic 10 oz bars and generic 1 oz rounds/bars that have low premiums. ASE/maples/kooks/lunars etc are great but premiums are pretty high, particularly right now since there's been a fast dip in price and many dealers have inventory they paid $$$ for sitting around. After buying a few though I can relate to the desire to pick up some of the "cooler" bits out there, I'm definitely guilty of that. On the other hand, there's other reasons to stack too. I'm collecting all the 1 oz lunars so I don't mind much that I've paid quite a bit more for the older lunars to complete my set. All in all I'd say when in doubt, pick up lowest premiums you can for reputable generic bullion in the largest size that fits your budget. That's probably gonna be in the secondary market so find a reputable shop/dealer that sells "used".
