Guide to buying silver in Australia (resurrected)

I posted this in the general discussion thing ,but it has slipped attention..Might work here..



Can some of the numismatists here help me with info on the Morgan dollar?

I have been boning up on their history and I note the different mint marks .O were minted in New Orleans and S in San Francisco etc .etc .BUT I read the ones minted in Philadelphia had no mint mark ..which is where all the dies were made and sent to the various mints.
My specific question regards the possibility that the dies were sent to the other mints without mint mark and the individual mints added their mark to distinguish from each other.In other words did Philadelphia mint deliberately forgo a mint mark on the die they made ,in order for the others to add their own?Just my hunch ..any other explanations?Can't find any explanation for the lack of mint mark on the Phily coins

And ,if anyone has Morgans for sale or swap ,please contact me.I am getting a taste for their history!

Cheers ,Ya'll
 
If you want a piece of history about Morgan .... in the early 1900s JP Morgan ruined Nikola Tesla.
Who is Tesla? He is the man that discovered AC electricity and planned to provide free unlimited wireless access to electricity to the world until Morgan found out and made damn sure that wouldnt happen. I am not a fan of Morgan.
 
Yes,I have read similar on the subject of JP Morgan...shameful business ..

However the man who gave his name to the Morgan dollar was George T Morgan ,who designed them..perhaps they were related?
 
No need for separate posts - most folks use the New Posts link and will see your post and respond if they can.

No idea on the history behind the mintmarks however sorry.

cheers
 
The ones with mint marks (P, C. etc), are they more valuable to sell? Whe are coins from Royal Australia Mint cheaper than Perth Mint for the same purity and ounce? And why should the privy mark be avoided?
 
hello popcorn & welcome onboard.

I am sure someone will give some feedback regarding one mint over the other & privy marks can be a minefield.

Just keep stacking............... :)
 
For all these answers and a good guide to relative numismatic values, consult McDonald's handbook of Australian goins. Cost just over an ounce to buy. Or $30ish, but well worth it.

C.K.
 
boneyard said:
hello popcorn & welcome onboard.

I am sure someone will give some feedback regarding one mint over the other & privy marks can be a minefield.

Just keep stacking............... :)
Click to expand...
I read McDonald's book but didn't really explain about the privy marks though I noticed the coins with privy marks sell more. What is the danger (minefield) were you refering to?
 
what a pity this site wasn't around back in 1992 when i started buying perth proof big coin sets, oh! well we live and learn, at least they are beautiful coins to look at. i only hope my kids like them enough to look after them when i've "popped my clogs" mike. ps. i'm learning a lot from this site.
 
popcorn said:
boneyard said:
hello popcorn & welcome onboard.

I am sure someone will give some feedback regarding one mint over the other & privy marks can be a minefield.

Just keep stacking............... :)
Click to expand...
I read McDonald's book but didn't really explain about the privy marks though I noticed the coins with privy marks sell more. What is the danger (minefield) were you refering to?
Click to expand...
Earlier version of the McDonald's book had more details about privy marks and many other things, but with the 100s of additional new coins (to keep page numbers down) most of the fine details disappeared from the later versions, but the 100s of mistake stay in year after year never to be corrected only new mistakes added to them with each new edition.
Anyway I have a home made excel version updated until 2005 for quick reference, and at least I can correct the manly numerical mistakes easily.
 
relating to one of popcorn's posts above...
With the RAM silver 1oz Kangaroos is there a difference between the ones that were (apparently) for sale only through the post offices (uncapsuled and sold in the display box) vs the ones available in the capsuled card?

They both look the same to me but the boxed one that i bought today has a Certificate of Authority piece of card that came with it. It was even cheaper than the capsuled carded coin.
 
projack said:
Earlier version of the McDonald's book had more details about privy marks and many other things, but with the 100s of additional new coins (to keep page numbers down) most of the fine details disappeared from the later versions, but the 100s of mistake stay in year after year never to be corrected only new mistakes added to them with each new edition.
Anyway I have a home made excel version updated until 2005 for quick reference, and at least I can correct the manly numerical mistakes easily.
Click to expand...
=( I bought 15th edition.
 
Can I buy silver direct from a refiner or an agent for them? I once made enquiries and was told the only way was in the range of tonnes, not kilos!! Jewellers, dentists etc must be able to get hold of smaller quantities that have not been turned into bars etc at somewhere a lot closer to spot prices. If so, what are the risks that it will not be 99.9 or better?

Thanks in advance, Phil
 
Welcome phixxy.

There's some jewellers on the forum who may be able to answer, but a lot of industrial silver is supplied as granules or shot, which is often more expensive than a corresponding sized bar. The cheapest form of .999 silver is generally bullion bars, and in the larger sizes of 1kg, 100oz, 5kg or more.
 
Tnx gp. Well if there is no real saving with silver granules over bullion bars then I suppose the way to go when I want several kilo to store away for a rainy day is to buy some of the larger bars. I see the Perth Mint sells bars at 10 oz, 20 oz, 1 kg and 100 oz but I really do feel like I'm being shafted when I see their spread between the buy and sell price. For example the 100 oz today had a sell at $2062 and a buy at $1786. I know they are in the business to make a profit but that does seem over the top with a near $300 return for taking it off one guy and handing it over to the next!!
Phil
 
There's plenty of other channels to divest of bullion other than back to the Perth Mint ;) You should be able to resell privately via this forum for pretty much their advertised selling prices.
 
Can any one please tell me if there are any Bullion places to buy in Melbourne city, where you can just walk in and buy?

Thanks!
 
Silverwise said:
Can any one please tell me if there are any Bullion places to buy in Melbourne city, where you can just walk in and buy?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
A couple that I know of in Melbourne are:

http://www.wdavis.com.au/

I spoke to them last week. They had very little stock in terms of (silver) bullion at the time but he seemed like a good guy. If you keep your purchase under $5000 then they won't require ID. They're not exactly "walk in" as they are by appointment only. If the "live" price list on the website is anything to go by, their prices seem pretty sharp compared to some of the other big boys.

The other well known one is:

http://www.australianbullioncompany.com.au

They are located on Level 10, 227 Collins Street (Wales Corner Building). I've never purchased from them but other people here have commented on their experiences with them. I understand they are walk in, walk out but have a strict ID criteria (ie ID for your first purchase regardless of size.)

Hope this helps.
 
Guys I just had a crazy thought. Liquidity often seems to be a factor with regards to the size of bullion purchases. I often read here "I don't buy anything bigger than 10 oz", "moving a kg in the future could be hard when an Oz hits $200", "silver is silver, it's all destined for the melting pot anyway" blah etc. Is there anything that dictates that a cast bar must remain whole and intact? I'm meaning what's to stop me whipping out the old hack saw and cutting off 10 Oz from a Kg because that's all someone wants or can afford? (hey at least you could see what's inside he he). I suppose without the original mint marking the whole thing becomes a bit questionable, but after all silver is silver. Right?

Seems like a bit of an obvious and lame question but what's the official ruling on this one? Perhaps now or in the future mints will charge a fee to split, assay and mint x smaller bars from a larger one?
 
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