Source: Three coins from my latest purchase. Generic coins, but this is mostly what I buy. I really like the new Libertad.
Time for a party This is a good photo for the today I bought thread. http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-39549-today-i-bought.html
Welcome to the SilverStacker forum, Jamie. Nice silver coins...you will find quite a few members here who like ASE's and Lib's. .
Dang! Just when I think I am getting the hang of being cool, the lingo changes. And ironic as it may sound, I am not as big an ASE fan as i am a Libertad fan. I really like the Libertads.
I can tell from your avatar and though I own more ASE's than the few Libertad's I own, Lib's have grown on me very much over the past year and a half.....in part because the Lib's come in a variety of sizes and the mintages are generally considerably lower than ASE's. .
I have one Panda. I bought in my very first purchase. When the dealer explained to me the design chnages on a yearly basis, I was intriqued, but I was turned off by the higher premium compared to the Maple Leaf. Even ASEs carry a higher premium than Maples. Anyway, after spedning the last week on this site, I am more interested in Pandas and better understand premiums ect.
"Premium" is easily defined but not so easily discerned. Premiums are mostly, subjective values. There is of course added premiums on coins and medals that have enhanced or added features because typically more cost goes into the making of such coins and medals such as coins and medals which feature for example ultra high relief ( http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-52771-ultra-high-relief-very-low-mintage-silver.html ) and ( http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-38636-2013-rwanda-3-d-lunar-proof-3-coin-set.html ) or special finishes (like antiqued, vapor blasted, or proof) and embedded precious stones or other materials ( http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-54095-2014-7-coin-silver-mexico-libertad-proof-set.html ) and ( http://agaunews.com/portfolio-items/2004-2013-tiffany-art-by-coin-invest-trust/ ) and ( http://www.helvetic-mint.com/products/year-of-the-snake-2013-opal-snake/ ) and ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cook-Island...9197304?pt=US_World_Coins&hash=item3f356bce78 ). (I am not affiliated with any seller whose auction listing I have used here as an example) The added costs to produce these special features is obvious and therefore, some amount of the premiums on these coins and medals can be accounted for without pure subjectivity. What I think is purely subjective premium is the higher premiums that can oftenm be found for bullion ASE's (American Silver Eagle's) vs bullion CML's (Canadian Maple Leaf's). I don't see how it can be reasonably argued that today, the ASE is more widely recognized...so that leaves any possible premium off for such a claim. What about whether or not one is gov't issued coinage or not? Well, both are and in fact the CML has a face value of $5 rather than the ASE's $1....so we can rule out this aspect as giving way to higher premiums on ASE's. What about purity of silver? CML's are actually more pure than ASE's. What about changing design? With the 2014 CML's new and really awesome looking enhanced radial anti-counterfeit design, I would say that again, the CML should win that contest. What about quality of mintage of the bullion ASE vs the bullion CML? Aside from the occasional milk spots on some CML's I don't think there really is a meaningful difference...especially if you are buying bullion coins from a major mint for the apocalypse/SHTF scenario. Finally, what about low(er) mintage as possibly a reason for higher premiums? CML's are lower mintage than ASE's. So why do premiums tend to be slightly higher on bullion ASE's than CML's? .
CML - occasionally white spots. Now that was funnY missing. There's nothing occasional about it. If one wants '3 inches of snow' ( white spots)!on a coin, go with the CML, otherwise steer clear. LOL.
I have started to categorize, in my head, ASEs, CML, and the Mexican Libertads as value investing. AKA get as much silver bullion at the lowest price. Where as, Pandas, Kooks, and Lunars seem to be more growth investing, where one could expect a growth of value even if silver spot does not increase, but comes with the higher costs. I have asked a few dealers why the ASEs have a higher premium and they have all given the same response... "they are in higher demand". Maybe they are, maybe not, I think they are just trying to make their money. No problem with me, I am a capitalist to the Nth degree, so when I buy from the brick and mortar retail stores I tend to purchase more CMLs.
It's a bullion coin, who cares except for the occasional "collection" piece. As long as it is pure, couldn't care less if it is spotted, scratched or toned. CML's are not the only coins to develop milk spots. I have managed to add a good amount of "pure" silver to my stack at spot or slightly just below spot because of peoples adversion to the "milk" spot And a big Welcome Jamie.... Libertads Rock !!
Hi Jamie, nice purchase .. Libertads and ASE's are great. Probably rate the Libs slightly higher on my want scale though. I know there's always talk about Pandas, and I understand that a lot of people rate them, but I just can't quite bite the bullet when it comes purchasing any .. those ladies always have it over a Panda for me.
