madfranks
6th May 2016, 11:19 AM
AndreaGail and I met up yesterday to tour the Denver coin expo, and here's what we saw.
Overall, there was TONS of bullion to be had, gold and silver, and even platinum, palladium, and copper (is that still a thing?). There doesn't seem to be a shortage of available physical in any form. Lowest silver price I found was spot +$1, lowest gold I saw was a few older rough coins for spot +$20. I bought some 3 oz gadsden flag bars, and a couple 2 oz Indian silver rounds:
http://s32.postimg.org/mraopfif9/IMG_1757.jpg
For the first time in my life, we saw FAKE mercury dimes from China. Yes folks, if you're hoarding merc dimes because you don't think they'll counterfeit them, well they are. One dealer had a bag of fake Chinese merc dimes on display so we could see, hold and feel them. Of course, if you pick one up and analyze it it's pretty clear it's fake, but if you have a bag or a roll of merc dimes and mix it up with a small percentage of the fakes, well... that definitely sucks.
This same dealer actually had an XRF analyzer handheld gun (one of these (http://www.olympus-ims.com/en/xrf-xrd/delta-handheld/delta-precious-metals/) I believe) and was using it to shoot every piece that people were bringing him. One guy had a bag of silver he was trying to sell and this dealer was shooting each piece and pulling out the fakes. And there were fakes in this bag of silver the guy was trying to sell. It was actually kind of scary, seeing how much fake was mixed with the real.
Also, we learned that Northwest Territorial Mint is bankrupt and received verbal warnings from dealers not to buy anything from their store. Even though you can still go online and buy bullion from them, don't do it unless you want to risk your money disappearing forever. Apparently the NWTM silver dice are now a hot item, selling for over $70 a pair. I know that Osoab and I have some of those we bought a while back: http://gold-silver.us/forum/showthread.php?80297-Do-you-have-brass-balls/
One of the local mints had a 5-piece gold coin set modeled after the famous Clark Gruber Colorado gold coins from the 19th century. This set included a 2.5-oz gold octagon, and then 1-oz, 1/2-oz, 1/4-oz and 1/10-oz gold rounds to complete the set. He was asking $7500 for the set, which is roughly $2k over spot. He mentioned that only 7 sets were ever made, and that was the only set left for sale. Wow! :o
http://s32.postimg.org/5ij2gkjr9/IMG_1754.jpg
Lastly, a few dealers managed to have some of the 1/10-oz gold mercury dimes for sale, so I picked one of those up as well. Overall it was a fun way to spend the afternoon, and it was fun spending time with AndreaGail. I wish more of us lived nearby so we could hang out like this. You have no idea how fun it is to make fun of book and magnes in person.
Overall, there was TONS of bullion to be had, gold and silver, and even platinum, palladium, and copper (is that still a thing?). There doesn't seem to be a shortage of available physical in any form. Lowest silver price I found was spot +$1, lowest gold I saw was a few older rough coins for spot +$20. I bought some 3 oz gadsden flag bars, and a couple 2 oz Indian silver rounds:
http://s32.postimg.org/mraopfif9/IMG_1757.jpg
For the first time in my life, we saw FAKE mercury dimes from China. Yes folks, if you're hoarding merc dimes because you don't think they'll counterfeit them, well they are. One dealer had a bag of fake Chinese merc dimes on display so we could see, hold and feel them. Of course, if you pick one up and analyze it it's pretty clear it's fake, but if you have a bag or a roll of merc dimes and mix it up with a small percentage of the fakes, well... that definitely sucks.
This same dealer actually had an XRF analyzer handheld gun (one of these (http://www.olympus-ims.com/en/xrf-xrd/delta-handheld/delta-precious-metals/) I believe) and was using it to shoot every piece that people were bringing him. One guy had a bag of silver he was trying to sell and this dealer was shooting each piece and pulling out the fakes. And there were fakes in this bag of silver the guy was trying to sell. It was actually kind of scary, seeing how much fake was mixed with the real.
Also, we learned that Northwest Territorial Mint is bankrupt and received verbal warnings from dealers not to buy anything from their store. Even though you can still go online and buy bullion from them, don't do it unless you want to risk your money disappearing forever. Apparently the NWTM silver dice are now a hot item, selling for over $70 a pair. I know that Osoab and I have some of those we bought a while back: http://gold-silver.us/forum/showthread.php?80297-Do-you-have-brass-balls/
One of the local mints had a 5-piece gold coin set modeled after the famous Clark Gruber Colorado gold coins from the 19th century. This set included a 2.5-oz gold octagon, and then 1-oz, 1/2-oz, 1/4-oz and 1/10-oz gold rounds to complete the set. He was asking $7500 for the set, which is roughly $2k over spot. He mentioned that only 7 sets were ever made, and that was the only set left for sale. Wow! :o
http://s32.postimg.org/5ij2gkjr9/IMG_1754.jpg
Lastly, a few dealers managed to have some of the 1/10-oz gold mercury dimes for sale, so I picked one of those up as well. Overall it was a fun way to spend the afternoon, and it was fun spending time with AndreaGail. I wish more of us lived nearby so we could hang out like this. You have no idea how fun it is to make fun of book and magnes in person.