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RE: Buying Silver
thanks for your time in answering my questions very indepth! Im scared of being scammed so i do most of my buying at shops. I go in some days when i see that the price is around 22$ cad spot and with premiums 1 ounce can cost me up to 27$. I dont really know what is behind all of that
Hi,
Aha, you're one of our friends to the North, eh! Ok, a quick note on anything minted at the RCM (Royal Canadian Mint). I LOVE most things they put out. They're beautiful. For example, the new design on the Maples with the radials is great. However, they get milkspots too easily and you can't get rid of them. At that point no one wants to pay any premium for them and you have generic bullion. If you buy anything from RCM keep them sealed and away from humidity. That seems to be the consensus of what causes the spots.
Anyway, back to your question, precious metal (PM) prices fluctuate by the moment just like crypto coins and stock prices. Beyond that, premiums for everything vary as well so between the two you can see considerable variations in price. $5 seems extreme with the recent prices though - not sure if may one was better year (aka lower mintage/earlier year so higher premium) or you happened to be there at the two extremes in prices and it wasn't within the last month. :) Compare the shop prices with the online retailers to make sure you're not paying too much. APMEX is often the highest but worth watching. Provident has pretty good prices (great people too). JM Bullion is another.
I don't want to discourage anyone form buying but protecting ourselves is important - same thing with cryptos. Talk to the shop owner/staff and have them show you how they test them (so you can see it and learn). They probably have some fakes on hand they can show you; some are obvious and some look like the real thing. The friend I mentioned has some and I'll ask for pics so I can share. [Earth] magnets help weed out some but not as many as they used to. I had a Morgan last year that came from a dealer that looked right and passed the magnet test (I did that later). I found it only because I used my PMV on the entire lot I ordered from him.
Keep asking questions and keep learning. You'll feel comfortable soon.