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Hi all – I updated my Google spreadsheet with a new worksheet. This one has the inventory for a wide range of products as of this morning at four North American dealers: APMEX, JM Bullion, SD Bullion, and Silver.com. I didn't have time to complete the sheet for Provident and Silver Gold Bull...

Hi all — Many jurisdictions exempt silver bullion from consumption taxes like VAT and sales taxes, and many don't. I'm interested in your feedback on how such an exemption should be designed. For the reasons given below, it's probably not as simple as just saying "exempt all bullion". For one...

Hi all – I'm seeing significantly different silver spot prices from different sources and dealers. Here's what I found when I took a snapshot at 12:11 GMT/UTC today, March 26, 2020. All prices were with seven seconds of each other, and none of them changed significantly in the ensuing 30...

Hi all – I've long noticed discrepancies between different dealer silver price tickers, and I'm wondering what exactly are the sources. For now, I'm just curious where you're getting "the" price of silver, depending on region. In the US, I think when we refer to the silver price we're referring...

Hi all – How do you see the pros and cons of buying silver ETFs, allocated silver, and in-hand bullion? Silver ETFs expose you to the price of silver in a very straightforward way, just like gold ETFs do for gold. They're kind of like having a currency backed by silver. I think they're pretty...

Hi all — I'm sharing my spreadsheet of silver and gold premiums. I marked the price of lots of different coins and bars, different sizes, BU and slabbed, and so forth and computed the premiums over spot. I did this for six major dealers in North America: APMEX, JM Bullion, Provident, SD Bullion...

Ahoy. Does anyone know the dimensions of an ASE monster box? Also, how about a Silver Maple Leaves monster box? Need to figure out shipping options, whether they'd fit in some of the carriers' flat rate boxes. Thanks!

Hi all -- I received a very interesting email from Provident Metals today (they're a major American dealer). It has significant implications, and instead of trying to summarize it I'm just going to share the whole thing: ----------- The bullion marketplace has two sides – and sometimes they can...

Hi all -- I finished my research on North American online dealers. The article is here. My spreadsheet with all the prices is linked an article. In the article, I also discuss what you can do to reduce your net price if you absolutely have to use a credit card. And I discuss the carrier...

Hi all -- Tomorrow I'll publish my article comparing silver online dealer prices in North America. In the meantime, you can check out the Google spreadsheet here. I notice a lot of people overpay for metal, hence the article and spreadsheet. The prices were gathered on New Year's Day, when...

Hi all -- I need your help understanding some of the tests of silver authenticity I'm seeing on YouTube. People let a little magnet slide down an inclined coin or bar. I've only seen successful tests for some reason. The magnet slides down at what I'd call a moderate speed. Okay, so what's...

Hi all -- Take a look at Argentium Silver to see what I mean. It comes in 935 and 960 fineness. 935 exceeds the sterling standard (925), and 960 exceeds the classic Britannia standard (958). Argentium is much more tarnish resistant than 999 or 9999 fine silver. There are other alloys like...

Oy, can ya'll fill me in on the shipping options where you live? This will help me compare true prices when I write the follow-on and regional price comparison articles. For example, in the US most dealers default to the US Postal Service (USPS) for small orders, specifically the First Class...

Hi all -- Can you take a look at my list of dealers and let me know who I'm missing? This is for my article comparing online dealer prices on a few different silver order scenarios. The first article will focus on North American dealers, but I'd like to know about British, European, Australian...

Hi all -- I've been throwing this question around, and I'm curious what you think. For example, designs I'd like to see would feature Isaac Newton (not the fat version of him they put on British currency, but the younger lean and intense portrait), Albert Einstein (with or without his tongue...