Gentlemen, I just recently started buying Silver a few weeks ago. I have a combination of rounds and bars that I have picked up primarily from JM Bullion (bars) online and ebay (AE and rounds). What is the protocol for trading loose Silver like this for say, a 100 ounce bar? Are local shops open to these trades? I would think they would because it is easier to sell smaller increments but that is just what my common sense would tell me. Thanks for any advice. Chris
It is just like currency. If you are in Australia and you have US$ you will need to go to the foreign currencies exchange for conversion before you can make a purchase. ( You don't expect using $US dollars to purchase goods locally, if you are in Australia, hence you will need to exchange to local currency ) Places that likely will accept them will be the precious metal dealers or any precious metals exchange. Unless there are more people in the game or a total Currencies melt down. It will be easier for smaller bars/ rounds or coins. Welcome to the Forum Chip
It's harder to sell small stuff, shipping cost and other overhead kills it. And 4 maple tubes in one package are the same as a 100 ounce bar. So I don't get that 'easier to sell small'. Sometimes I see sellers put coins for sale every coin separately, then same people bidding on all of them. Instead of just as lot. Crazyness galore.
Maybe you are richer than most! What I mean, is that there will be people more likely with enough cash to buy a few rounds at a time or a 10 oz bar than the amount of people walking around with 2 grand in their pockets for a 100 oz bar.
Your LCS will buy yours Ag. coins for spot or near spot. Some will accept larger bars but not always. But if you refer to all shops the answer is no.
I didn't talk about me, I said that I see alot sellers (not me!) put every coin separately for sale, and that same people bid on all of them. What does that indicate? Well, that the seller better put the coins together for sale? If same bidders bid on all coins, then that means that they all want to buy all the coins. And a likely reason is just that bidders want to reduce shipping cost and try to concentrate their purchases, rendering the difference X smaller units versus 1 bigger unit as irrelevant.
Kimber yours OP is Ambigious. Shops ie silver shops or general shops. Trades ie buys, sell, swaps. If you refer to general shopping center the answer is no, as no shops will accept yours silver for goods. You may need to rephrase yours OP.
I thought the original post was pretty clear. If I have 100 ounces of bars and rounds, will the local precious metal shop generally be open to taking that and giving me a 100 ounce bar for it?
If the question is ment like that, well, if one buys small denominations then he will have a bigger total cost than a single denomination. It costs more to produce 100 coins than 1 bar. So betcha that any dealer (and likely anyone) will hump hump hump enthousiastly with finger raised like in school class haha. In that trade direction, they are as liquid as ice on a hot summer day.
Unrelated to that question, are there any legal restrictions to shops (general shops, such as Walmart) accepting silver coins to pay for merchandise? I know some shops now accept bitcoins, so why not silver coins?
^ good question. they would have to accept legal tender. it would be funny actually, most would refuse not knowing that the 'silver dollar' is actually the 'silver $20'
Legal tender for ASE is $1. Giving $20 worth of goods for an ASE would be like giving $20 in goods for a George Washington $1. Yeah, they have to accept your $1 ASE, just like any other $1. Silver is not magic. There are many collectable pennies circulating, worth many dollars, to a collector. When you go to spend it, you will not get many dollars worth of goods. Any business has to make a profit. No shop will swap even up. You will lose in the swap, and they will gain. Many ways for this to happen, the results are the same. Figure 10% - 20%.
@ cheepo, I have heard from what I remember to be a reliable source, that businesses in the U.S. don't have to accept all U.S. coins. .
Really? I am surprised. I thought there would be a law saying that nobody can refuse payments in the national currency. But then, one learns new things every day. Anyway, that's not what I was asking.
Yes coin/bullion shops will gladly offer you under spot for your 100 JM bar.. they will likely trade it also -- ie for goods in store of lesser value. i would take your bar in and ask them to test your LCS's response.. its good to know who to sell to when you need.. and coin shops / bullion shops are the best when you need to sell fast. There are better ways to acheive higher prices if you have a longer time horizon. Easier to sell small increments? yes and no.. 100 oz is too much for some or most so as you rightly say that reduces demand.. but its also a hell of a lot easier to sell one bar vs 1000 not to mention being a lot cheaper and less tempting to fall for high premium jank like PM offer and a coin or bullion shop sell 100 bars of silver like a baker sells loaves of bread so its definitely not restrictive in that regard. Messing with smaller amounts blows out postage costs unless f2f and most people cant be fuc#ed making small silver plays unless they are totally newb or pocket money investors. i recommend 1 kilo bars or more to the guy that wants a straight silver physical play and dosent want to w%nk around with 1000 trades and flavour of the month issues like stock horse or great white shark which may tempt you to become a Silver semi numi fan boy which is basically a bad thing if your trying to make a wise investment as doing it well requires a good deal of luck and or research 1for1
I mentioned in another thread I remember being refused service if I tried to pay with a $100 bill. No debit cards back then, and all forms of plastic money were still new. In our small town even $20 bills were sometimes refused. That was a lot of money, to be buying a five cent chocolate bar. Most people think of the issue in terms of coins. ~ ~ From snopes. United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts. What this statute means, in the words of the United States Treasury, is that "[A]ll United States money ... is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal law mandating that a person or organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services." In other words, U.S. currency and coins can be used for making payments, but merchants do not necessarily have to accept it for all forms of business transactions. If a shoemaker wants to sell his products for 8000 jelly beans per pair, he's entitled to do so; the buyer cannot demand that he accept the equivalent value in legal tender instead. However, legal tender is the default method of payment assumed in contractual agreements involving debts and payments for goods or services unless otherwise specified. So, for example, if an automobile dealer signs a contract agreeing to sell you a car for $8,000, but when you begin making monthly payments he rejects them and insists he wants to be paid in gold instead, you can go to court and have your debt discharged on the grounds that valid payment was offered and refused. Up until the late 19th century, pennies and nickels weren't legal tender at all. The Coinage Acts of 1873 and 1879 made them legal tender for debts up to 25 cents only, while the other fractional coins (dimes, quarters, and half dollars) were legal tender for amounts up to $10. This remained the law until the Coinage Act of 1965 specified that all U.S. coins are legal tender in any amount. However, even in cases where legal tender has been agreed to as a form of payment, private businesses are still free to specify which forms of legal tender they will accept. If a shop doesn't want to take any currency larger than $20 bills, or they don't want to take pennies at all, or they want to be paid in nothing but dimes, they're entitled to do so (but, as mentioned earlier, they should specify their payment policies before entering into transactions with buyers). Businesses are free to accept or reject pennies as they see fit; no law specifies that pennies cease to be considered legal tender when proffered in quantities over a particular amount. Read more at http://www.snopes.com/business/money/pennies.asp#bftxjdkX6K4zIgz9.99
