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Fat Freddy's Last 20 Posts
| Old Fashon Style Loaf Engelhard Silver 50 Oz Bar
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Fat Freddy
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
 Posted 04/09/2014 4:56 pm
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If it's a poured Engelhard 50oz (not the more recent cast variety), that's an OK price. The 50's are a lot less common than the 100's and the poured 50's are
rare within the realm of the 50's. If it's one of the early Canadian pours with the "bull' or "horns" logo on it, I'd consider it to be a no-brainer "grab them both
and run" situation, but... I'm prejudiced because I have a bit of an Engelhard problem. I'm currently in 12-step outpatient treatment for my problem and
they're telling me the prognosis for my recovery is not good.
As for collectible value beyond silver value---IMO, definitely. Moderately so if they're poured and definitely more so if they're "bull" or "horns" logo pours. If and
when you go to resell, it may not be the quickest or easiest sale that ever was, but there are enough Engelhard aficionados that it should work out well for you.
You won't make a fortune flipping these, but you won't get hurt and IMO you should definitely do OK. Good luck with it. |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| Question Please About Opm Rounds
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Fat Freddy
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Posted 04/05/2014 12:13 pm
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Generic private mint rounds are generic private mint rounds--OPM, APMEX, Heraeus, NWT Mint, Sunshine, Scottsdale, SilverTowne, etc--take your pick. The only ones that carry any
collectors premium are the Engelhard Prospectors and some of the J-M rounds, which all went out of production years ago. Aside from those, all the others are in the same league.
Just a personal feeling, but... If I was looking at what to build a stack out of, I wouldn't look at it as just a "generic rounds vs. 90% junk" consideration. I'd build it out of a mix of bullion
coins (ASEs, CMLs, Libertads, Philharmonics, etc), generic private mint bars (1oz and 10oz), generic private mint rounds and "semi-numis" bullion (proofs, Kooks, Perth Lunars,
Britannias, Pandas, etc). A lot of this is personal tastes, but I think a diversified and balanced stack is preferable so you don't get caught sitting on a pile of one thing that may go out
of style and lose broad-based popularity and therefore liquidity. Generic rounds and 90% junk have their places, but they're nowhere near being everything.
It's really all personal tastes and outlook. Whatever you stack is subject to value appreciation or devaluation following the fickle and unpredictable ups and downs of spot price.
All that having been said---now, cue the "proofs only," "semi-numis only," "90% only," "bullion coins only," "generic .999 only" and "don't buy any silver at all" camps to take the stage... |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| Fake Bars For Silver Money
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Fat Freddy
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Posted 04/05/2014 08:19 am
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Quote:
I fail to see where he is trying to deceive buyers.
He's trying to deceive buyers with the title of his offering. He's offering silver plated bars--not silver bars--and yet he titles his offering "Silver Bars."
The text in the offering makes it clear that the bars are plated copies and it also makes it just as clear that returns won't be accepted. It's obvious this character is
trolling for prospective buyers who don't pay enough attention to what they're doing and don't thoroughly read the product description. I don't see any other reason
why he'd refuse to take returns. He may or may not be within the laughable limits of so-called "Ebay ethics" but the deceptive title of his offering is pushing the
envelope of a bait+switch and is deliberately misleading. If he had one shred of integrity, he'd list those things as what they are---plated silver bar copies.
This character is a dealer. He has 81 sold listings which include plated counterfeit bars, ASEs, ASE sets, proof sets and tubes, Morgan and Peace dollars, CMLs,
albums, gold sovereigns, Engelhard PT bars and--most curious of all--Peace dollars with no pictures of the items. He has 6 sold listings of a total of 240 counterfeit
"silver bars" and presently has 4 open listings of another 40 plated counterfeit "silver bars."
So--I'm supposed to believe that a dealer is dumb enough to get scammed into buying 280 plated counterfeit bars. That's around a $6K buy at present spot. He might
be that dumb, but I've never met a dealer dumb enough to get scammed on a buy that big. The dealers I know examine what they buy and the bigger the buy is, the
more cautious they get.
This character is playing a deceptive, shady game and his listing plated counterfeits as "Silver Bars" is deliberately misleading. IMO he's a perfect example of what's
wrong with eBay, why the phrase "Ebay ethics" is a joke, why it's necessary to exercise extreme caution when buying through eBay. |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| Fake Bars For Silver Money
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Fat Freddy
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Posted 04/04/2014 6:21 pm
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1---Re: "Even if they declare the items as copies its still against eBay rules, counterfeit goods are Not Allowed and its also against the copyright rules"---I'm surprised
by that. The copies and plated crap are so common in eBay and eBay is sooooooo slooooow about removing those offerings even when multiple people complain
about them, I hadn't thought it was against their "rules." They behave as though it wasn't against their rules and as if they resent having to remove such offerings---
and that's with straight-up counterfeits that are being offered as the real thing.
2---Re: "Thanks Fat Freddy for the information. On a side note. I do feel guilty about calling you "Fat Freddy." You have posted a number of informative post and wonder
why you chose this forum name?"--- Thanks for the thought about my posts, but don't feel awkward about the name. The original Fat Freddy was a cartoon character in
the 1960's-1970's "underground comix". See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fa...eak_Brothers and https://ripoffpress.com/categories/..eak-brothers Fat Freddy was my
goofy counterculture hero back then.
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| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| Fake Bars For Silver Money
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Fat Freddy
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Posted 04/04/2014 3:40 pm
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Silver coin copies (that aren't labelled as copies), plated knockoffs, "ten mills" plated products and all the rest of that stuff has reached flood stage. Go to
http://www.aliexpress.com and search silver plated coins, morgan dollar coin, mexican libertad, british britannia, canada maple leaf, australia kookaburra coin,
american silver eagle coin, engelhard prospector coin, or probably almost any other bullion coin you like. You'll find a whole world of knockoffs there. There are
also knockoffs of 1oz and 10oz silver bars by APMEX, Pan American, Engelhard, NWT Mint, Scottsdale and probably others, too.
The "ethical" eBay vendors will declare their offerings to be plated or copies. Many don't. Those that do so declare them are in compliance with "Ebay ethics."
Buying PM's from eBay is dicey these days. Reading product descriptions very carefully, buying only from vendors who have many thousands of sales with a
near-100% positive feedback rating and paying by credit card via PayPal (so you have their "buyer protection" in place) are all mandatory. As always..."DYODD."
As an afterthought--- I wonder if they're yet able to copy the RCM signature milk spots that are the world-famous hallmark of the Canadian Silver Maples. |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| Mint Vs. Reseller
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Fat Freddy
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Posted 03/30/2014 10:31 am
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I've stayed away from Littleton. I don't have a good feeling about a marketing method that involves a sweetheart intro deal followed with a "we just don't go
away" style of trying to maintain repeat customers. I prefer stable pricing and not having to deal with a marketing program that gets surgically attached to me.
I'm not a big buyer of US proofs and sets, but I get what little I buy directly from the mint. Their shipping times aren't breathtaking, but that's OK because I'm
not in a big hurry and they ship my order, they leave me alone (which I like a lot). |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
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| How To Sell Dad's Collection?
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Fat Freddy
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Posted 03/29/2014 08:07 am
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As indicated above, the most important thing for you is to put some time and effort into self-education. You need to develop an understanding of what you have,
because it may be an eclectic collection of modest (or minimal) overall value and on the other hand it may be a dream collection that's worth a fortune.
Beyond that, a few personal feelings...
1---Using Craigslist is inviting disaster if not bordering on suicidal. Too many predators use it as their target list.
2---Ebay is loved by many, but has a lot of problems. Once you know the value of what you have, I'd sell it to LCS's &/or show vendors if I was in your position.
3---Avoid "We Buy Gold" places. Too many of them are predators and scavengers.
4---Get to know your LCS's. They'll hopefully be ethical but this isn't a given. Look for ANA membership as (hopefully) one indicator of a good shop.
5---Be cautious with show vendors. Many are of dubious if not bad intent.
Good luck with your efforts.
Edit--- There's even a book on the exact subject of your quandary. http://www.amazon.com/What-Granddad...elling+coins
Since it'll only cost you ~$7 (used), it might be the best $7 investment you could make right now. |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
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| Leaving The Hobby Of Coins
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Fat Freddy
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Posted 03/27/2014 4:42 pm
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Sorry to hear about your decision.
With an eye toward the possibility that you might not see things the way you're seeing them right now at some future time (2, 5, 10 years?)... Why not just put
your present collection--as is--into "dead storage" in the back of some little-used closet? You might be glad you did some time in the future and if not, you could
end up leaving something for your heirs to bicker and squabble over. That's always good for "one last laugh." |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
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| What Happens To Gold And Silver Next? Look Out Below?
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Fat Freddy
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Posted 03/26/2014 10:39 pm
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Quote:
Military spending cuts can lead to this all changing down the road if we keep going down that path but its going to be a slow change barring an act of god like a massive natural disaster or a civil war/nuclear war.
Without getting specifically political about it...
The statement above is a quick initial glimpse in one direction that could possibly change the way the global stage is presently set. There are political groups, nations, cultures and religions in the world today that would like nothing more than seeing the US annihilated. This has already been demonstrated in the last 15 years. In addition to that, there are new technologies emerging like biological warfare, man-portable nuclear devices and other nightmares like cyberwarfare. These things are just in their infancy now, but one distinct probability is that they'll render traditional military power obsolete---just like jet power and nuclear weapons rendered WWI trench warfare technology obsolete.
I don't want to ignite another of those mindlessly speculative SHTF jabbering sessions here but there are many possible developments that we're racing toward, and any of them could radically change the world we know with startling speed.
In view of that, I don't see the sensibility of considering anything to be permanent and I mean the word "anything" to include present world social, political, economic and religious systems and structures. With luck we should hopefully have a good long time left with things largely as they are now, but declaring the status quo to be permanent is just simple denial of all the lessons of world history and specifically the lessons of 20th century history.
By extension of that conclusion, I can't see US debt continuing to be the most beloved commodity in the entire global economy on a permanent basis. "Always" = permanent = forever, and nothing is forever. |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| What Happens To Gold And Silver Next? Look Out Below?
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Fat Freddy
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Posted 03/26/2014 8:34 pm
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Quote:
Hey it ALWAYS will be bought. No one is going to replace the USA.... no one. US Debt will ALWAYS be bought. USD will ALWAYS be bought.
I believe your view is short-sighted. I'm sure the ancient Assyrians and Hittites, the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman empires in turn all felt they were the very center of the entire universe and that nothing
could ever upset their domination of the known world. The US is presently the dominant superpower on the global stage, but thinking that will be the case for the remainder of all time just isn't realistic. The US
replaced the powers that dominated the world before us and the lessons of history tell us that someday, some other power will take over the #1 position from us---however inconceivable that may seem today.
Nothing is permanent. |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| What Happens To Gold And Silver Next? Look Out Below?
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Fat Freddy
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Posted 03/26/2014 7:57 pm
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Quote:
The USD, just like US debt, will also ALWAYS be bought.
Nothing lasts forever. World history is made up of the rise and fall of nations, empires and civilizations. The major world powers of a few centuries ago are no longer center stage players, the pre-WWII Axis
powers are history and even the post-WWII major powers have been changing their positions. US debt ALWAYS being bought has just about zero likelihood in any realistic long-term historical perspective..
I don't believe using absolute words like always and never in market predictions is a good basis for solidly grounded predictions. |
| | Forum: Precious Metals and Bullion - Gold, Silver, Copper, Platinum |
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| Grrr... I Keep Ruining My Loupes!
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Fat Freddy
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
Posted 03/26/2014 07:30 am
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Option #1---Duct tape the dryer door shut before you start playing with your coins and don't remove the tape until after you've put all your coin stuff away.
Option #2---Get a dirt cheap loupe. They may not be as good as the fancy designer ones but they never get damaged or lost. |
| | Forum: Main Coin Forum |
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