Coin Scams & How Not To Get Ripped Off When Buying Gold Or Silver

Their seems to be quite a bite of controversy on the right and wrong way to buy Silver or Gold.
Most of the myths seem to emanate from bullion or coins dealers who want to make a case for you to by a specific product .. Preferably the one that they are selling.

The dealer selling Gold or Silver Bullion wants you to buy only bullion .. & nothing else.

The dealer selling Gold or Silver Coins or Numismatics wants you to buy only coins/numismatics ?..

Knowing if it's real ..
How does one assay a Gold or Silver bullion bar and determine that it's real and how about all the phony replica coins that are floating around the planet ??

I can tell you one thing for certain and that is that even the pro's get had and I'm living proof of that.
Unlike my dear old dad, we can't be right all of the time and I found that out the hard way with a recent purchase of Engelhard Silver Prospectors that popped up unexpectedly at a favorite coin auction.

To make a long story short, the Prospectors are slugs and I paid TOP dollar for them .. But hey, it happens to the best of us, or so I told myself ... But the trail of tears started with the man in the mirror and here is what I learned from the incident.

#1-Don't Break Your Own Rules
I buy coins .. Numismatics- because its what I know and I feel comfy buying them.

Engelhard's are not numismatic .. hell, that aren't really coins. Silver Prospectors are better know as Silver "rounds", but  I stepped out side of my self proclaimed "comfort zone" got greedy and got squashed.

#2-Unless you know someone who works for the Secret Service, I would try to avoid raw coins, unless you are certain of their origin and stay with Certified, graded Numismatic coins. 

I'm assuming that most of you reading this will be new to the Gold & Silver game and the coin buying game as well.

I'm also guessing that more than a few of you might be hoarding in case of a "dollar collapse scenario"?

In a bater function Silver Rounds, Silver Bars, Gold Bars & Ingots .. All of these types will be suspect.

You will want coins that are easily recognized by the average Joe, for that reason I recommend Junk Silver for the survivalist. Franklin Halves, 64 Kennedy Halves and Walking Liberty Halves will do the job in a complete hyperinflation/ dollar meltdown and don't forget common Jefferson Nickels.


On the other hand, should we avoid TEOTWAWKI - You will be glad you went with NUMISMATIC

For that reason I recommend, you do not try buying a coin that you haven't determined to be the real McCoy.
Certification is your only hope of authenticity ..
The ONLY way you know that the coin is genuine is by the fact that it's certified, graded and CHECKED!

Rookies should steer clear ofy eBay unless the seller has 100% feedback .. Even then you still need to be sure that the Certified Silver Eagle your bidding on is the one you will receive.
And trust me on this one- Their are very few "deals" on eBay and in most cases you will pay a very stiff premium. But if you have to -
PCGS, NGC and ANACS only .. and their are even a few of these that I've backed away from if something didn't look right.

#3-"Verify -Then You Buy" You can do this with a smartphone or computer by going to PCGS or NGC or protect yourself even further with The NGC Mobile App .

#4- Keep the rules simple.
You can't know everything, but what I do know is that the scammers are out in full force!!
The scammers take no prisoners and show no mercy.
They can & will destroy you, given the opportunity.

They are out there right now, waiting to sell you Gold plated Buffalo's or maybe a genuine Elvis Presley round or better yet, a priceless Santa Clause or Frosty The Snowman round.
Point is, they are waiting for you ...