Answering ppnewbie's question from another thread:
ppnewbie wrote: ↑Fri Mar 25, 2022 12:46 pm
How liquid do you view your physical holdings?
Honestly, I don't plan to sell them except in case of emergency, but read on.
Do you know your local shop and can just go over and sell 5 eagles? Or do you use a dealer like Apmex, JM Builion?
- I used to know the guy at the local shop. He got old and retired. Also, some of the coins he sold me were filthy, which is not the end of the world but I have transitioned to using APMEX. I have bought random year coins but more recently it's been current year coins, nice and shiny, and I can keep track of them by date.
- I also used AJPM which was highly recommended by craig circa 2010. Mixed feelings. I think the company has changed management since Craig's recommendation. They were nice enough but couldn't spell my city name, a well known city, and I decided I didn't like ordering on the phone any more than I liked ordering clothes on the phone from a catalog in the 1980s. I am spoiled by the internet. So, another point for APMEX.
I would just go buy from my local shop but Apmex usually has much better deals.
I do find it interesting that you said APMEX has better deals. Their version of the spot price always seems to be US$9-10 higher than what AJPM posts. But, maybe that wouldn’t matter if I sought out their deals rather than buying current year coins.
Also, one thing that I realize is a big speed bump for me buying more physical is worrying about such a valuable package coming in the mail,
I know the feeling. Once it took a long time for a package to arrive, but it did come. Also, once there was an address mixup, probably my fault, with another dealer whom I used briefly. We had temporarily moved to an apartment during a major home renovation. The package was returned to him, he ate the shipping cost, and he got it to me on the second try.
These dealers generally use insurance, which is why you need to deal with the USPS and not the more reliable ( my opinion ) UPS. At least, APMEX insures.
Also, if I ever sold the physical I would have alot of anxiety about selling to a dealer like apmex, mailing it, hoping nothing goes wrong.
I would be apprehensive too if it were a big stash, but I also feel nervous transporting it in a crime-ridden city. I felt nervous for my dad driving 30K worth of collectible gold to sell it in another (non-crime-ridden) state. Again, insurance.
Would love to understand your thought process and the mechanics of what you do because I want to start habitually going into and out of physical but thinking about all this stuff is a big road block for me.
I am generally a nervous person but I mostly got over it. I am more likely to wake up wondering if the movers lost my Led Zeppelin bootleg LP or if it's still in my collection than about the coins.
Early on, I read advice here about keeping ETF gold to sell and I've never sold physical gold coins.
Keeping them in a safe deposit box helps give me peace of mind, despite a few articles about lost items.
I visit my box at least once per year just so the bank knows it's "active."
Next step: I'm overdue to buy insurance on the coins for even more peace of mind. It's really cheap and I have no excuse not to. Maybe you could weigh the cost vs an ETF's expense ratio.
If the bank loses it I guess it'll be like a sale, as long as I'm fully insured.