While recent news that Costco is selling precious metals has been making the rounds, some users on social media are coming to the realization that precious metals are also available for sale on Walmart.com.
Precious metal have been available through the Walmart Marketplace since early 2023. The products purchased through the Walmart Marketplace are offered for sale and fulfilled by well known bullion dealers, including APMEX (Seller Page) and Bullion Exchanges (Seller Page).
While this helps to make precious metals more accessible to more people, consumers should be wary about purchasing their precious metals through Walmart as the premiums are often higher than buying direct from the dealer, even taking into account the higher premiums that come with using a credit or debit card for purchase.
Similar to other marketplace platforms like eBay and Amazon, third-party sellers on the Walmart Marketplace pay fees for their product listings to be available. The fees vary depending on the category and the fees are passed along to buyers with the increase in prices.
The Walmart Marketplace is part of the Walmart website that allow third-party sellers to list their products alongside the retailers traditional offerings.
Various product listing on FindBullionPrices.com show prices for precious metals from Walmart.com alongside other traditional bullion dealer prices.
A quick comparison of tubes of 2023 Silver Eagles (20 coins) shows that the lowest price dealer is Bullion Exchanges with a $4.26 per coin premium over silver spot price. The price for Walmart, which is sold and shipped by Bullion Exchanges has a per coin premium of $4.44 per coin. While the same product via the eBay platform is sold with a per coin premium of $4.55.
It’s become pretty indisputable that the economy is in the worst state that many Americans can remember since the 2008 financial crisis and the deep recession that followed.
As a result, investors are clamoring for gold and silver bullion like never before. Demand for government issued coins, like the American Silver Eagle and the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf have skyrocketed in recent weeks since the start of the banking crisis.
However, the US Mint continues to be slow and unable to meet demands, which has caused significant increases in recent weeks to a recent high of around 60% over spot price. Some dealers, such as APMEX and JM Bullion are currently showing premiums for silver eagles at over 88% above spot price.
The US Mint outsources the manufacturing of planchets, which are coin blanks that are pressed by the mint to produce the coins. Working only with a handful of select manufacturers that meet the requirements.
Disruptions to both global and domestic supply chains effecting precious metals continue to impact investors and industry.
The raw materials used to mint Silver Eagles must be sourced from domestic silver mines, as prescribed by law.
The Mint has been unable to meet demand since 2021 when more than 28 million coins were sold. While investor demand remained strong in 2022, the Mint was only able to produce around 16 million coins.
So far in 2023, the Mint has reported sales over more than 6 million coins. However, numerous reports state the mint shifted production in late 2022 to start producing coins for the current year, which is the main reason the Mint was able to report 3,949,000 coins sold in January.
Sales reports show only 900,000 coins being sold in each month of February and March which is far below the Mint’s production capacity.
In 2015, the Mint sold 47,000,000 Silver Eagle bullion coins, the highest on record.
Year
1 oz ASE bullion coins
2019
14,863,500 coins
2020
30,089,500 coins
2021
28,275,000 coins
2022
15,963,500 coins
2023 (4 months)
6,199,000 coins
Recent Years Sales and Mintage Totals of 1 oz Silver American Eagle coins
It’s pretty indisputable that the economy is in the worst condition many Americans have seen since the 2008 financial crisis and the deep recession that followed.
This time around, the economy has been wrecked by a record combination of prevailing events.
It began before COVID was even a thing in September 17, 2019.
A few months later, the Biden administration put the entire country into lockdown, effectively shutting down every sector of the economy, aside from companies like Amazon, Walmart and other select corporations deemed “critical”.
Rising inflation began to take hold as the Fed continued to print more money to fund the pandemic with stimulus checks and other government handouts.
To combat the inflation crisis, the Fed responded with multiple steep increases in key interest rates that come faster than has happened decades.
With the rise of trading through social media and other online marketplaces, it’s important to note the prevalence of fake coins and bars on the market and testing can help protect you from scams. Testing can help ensure that the silver item you have is indeed made of genuine silver and not a counterfeit or an alloy.
Silver bullion is a popular investment choice for portfolio diversity, as a hedge against inflation and high interest rates or simply using it like a savings account or store of value.
As with other investments, verifying that you have genuine silver is a normal part of the due-diligence. Most of the methods described here can be performed at home with simple and inexpensive tools you may already own. They allow one to quickly and easily verify silver for purity and determine if any suspicious items in your stack are not genuine.
Ice Melt Test
The ice silver testing technique involves placing a piece of ice on the surface of the silver bullion. The ice should melt quickly and evenly across the surface. If the ice melts unevenly or leaves spots or blemishes on the surface, it may indicate that the bullion is not pure silver.
Pure silver has a high thermal conductivity, which means it can transfer heat quickly and evenly across its surface. When you place ice on refined silver, the heat from the silver rapidly melts the ice, creating a thin layer of water across the surface. If the silver is not pure, it may have a lower thermal conductivity, which can cause the ice to melt unevenly or leave spots on the surface.
While the ice test can be a helpful way to verify the authenticity of your silver bullion, it’s important to note that it is not entirely foolproof. Other metals have a high thermal conductivity and could pass the ice test even if they are not pure silver. Additionally, some counterfeiters have figured out ways to thicken the silver-plating on some fake bullion coins that can pass the ice test.
It’s a good recommendation to use multiple methods to test silver bullion beyond checking for hallmarks or engravings, such as accurately measuring its weight and dimensions or performing a magnet test.
In case of doubts about the authenticity of your bullion, another option is to befriend your local coin shop to have it examined by a professional before making any investment decisions.
Magnet Test
Verifying silver can be made much simpler with the use of neodymium magnets.
Neodymium magnets are among the most powerful permanent magnets, capable of producing a high magnetic field. When placed close to a piece of silver bullion, they can provide an effective means of verifying its authenticity.
Silver is non-ferrous, which means that it is not magnetic. If the silver is genuine, the magnet will not stick to it, but at angle will slide down the piece showing some slight resistance. However, if the magnet sticks to the bullion, it is likely to be counterfeit metal alloy or plated material.
This is because most metals used to fake silver bullion, such as copper, brass, or nickel, are magnetic and will therefore be attracted to the magnet.
Note that this method should be used with other forms of testing silver bullion, such as weight and visual inspection. However, using neodymium magnets can provide more confidence when investing in silver bullion.
A high-quality precision scale for precious metals that is accurate to at least 0.01 grams and also measures in troy ounces is a very affordable accessory.
A scale allows you to weigh the bullion accurately and determine its weight in grams or troy ounces. Once you have an accurate weight, you can then compare it to the manufacturer’s stated weight to and note any variances. When measuring in fractions of a gram there is likely to be some variances in weight, even between silver rounds of the same manufacturer and design.
In addition to weighing the bullion, you can use a scale to help measure its density.
Water Displacement
Water displacement is a technique that measures the volume of an object submerged in water and the amount of water it displaces. This method can be used to verify the weight and density of silver bullion.
A container filled with water is needed to use water displacement in verifying silver. The container should be large enough to submerge the silver bullion completely. First, the weight of the silver bullion is measured using a scale. Next, the silver bullion is immersed in the water container, and the volume of water displaced is measured. The weight of the silver bullion is then divided by the volume of water displaced to determine the density of the silver bullion.
The density value can be compared to the known density of silver to verify its authenticity. This method is relatively inexpensive as it does not require any special equipment.
Silver has a density of 10.49 grams per cubic centimeter, meaning a piece of silver bullion should have a specific weight based on its size. By measuring the weight and volume of the bullion, you can calculate its density and compare it to the expected density for silver to ensure that it is authentic.
Measuring Coins with Calipers
Calipers can be an effective method for measuring coins to help verify the authenticity. A set of calipers, sometimes referred to as a micrometer, is precision measuring instrument that can accurately measure the dimensions of an object, allowing you to compare the measurements of your coin against known specifications.
When using calipers, the first thing to do is to measure all dimensions of the piece, including its length, width, and thickness.
By comparing the measurements to those published by the original manufacturing mint. Most online bullion dealer listings information related to the dimensions of each piece as provided from the manufacturer. It is easy to compare the measurements of your piece with those provided online.
These measurements can also be used to calculate the volume of the coin, which can be compared to the expected volume based on the weight and density of silver.
Additionally, when measuring the dimensions of the bullion, calipers can help identify signs of tampering or alteration. For instance, when the thickness of a bullion bar fluctuates along its length, this could indicate that some metal has been shaved off.
Unlike chemical testing or X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, caliper measurements can be taken immediately without requiring specialized equipment or extensive preparation.
Silver Ping Test
Pure silver makes a distinctive sound when it impacts another object such as a solid countertop. The Ping Test analyzes the ringing sound that is produced when it is bounced off surface.
Various Apps are now for both IOS and Android mobile devices that analyze the frequencies that resonate against a known database of other coins.
Acid Testing method
Acid testing is a common method used for testing silver purity. Acid testing involves using a simple solution to test the silver’s purity. The process is straightforward. A small sample of the silver is taken using a special jeweler’s stone. When the acid is applied to the sample it will react by changing color.
Additionally, 18k gold testing solution can also be used when testing silver with a different color reaction as described in the video below:
Simple and easy to use acid test kits are readily available from Amazon and other online marketplaces and are inexpensive and the most reliable way method of testing silver and gold bullion at home.
Acid testing is the most trusted way to verify the purity of silver bullion. It’s important to note that care should be taken with the testing process, particularly with items that may have potential value as numismatics, collectibles or antiques. Additionally, acid testing should only be complementary to other verification forms, such as weight and size measurements and confirmation of stamps and markings when available.
Final Thought
While several ways are used to test silver purity, many investors may need more than just third-party grading or testing services. Fortunately, the above are a variety of methods that you can use to verify the authenticity of your silver bullion at home.
If you still have concerns about a particularly piece, it may be best to visit a local coin shop or other precious metals dealer. You can ask them to test the piece in question on a Sigma Precious Metals Verifier.
However, year-over-year sales of silver eagles are down so far in 2023.
For January, the mint posted sales of Silver Eagles, with 3,949,000 coins sold. This is substantially lower than the same period the previous year, when the mint posted sales of 5,001,000.
For the first week of February, the mint posted sales of just 450,000.
In recent weeks dealer we’ve seen premiums on current year silver eagles have been dropping.
However, some silver investors have found suitable lower premium replacements with silver coins from other mints.
Historically, gold and silver have held their buying power through previous recessions and periods of high inflation.
Precious metals are often recommended as a safe-haven that financial advisors recommend during down cycles in the stock market.
Holding precious metals as part of your portfolio acts as a stable hedge against a recession, or worse.
This year is the 37th year that the American Eagle coin series has been produced by the US Mint. These coins have been minted annually since 1986.
Wholesale and dealer premiums on Silver Eagles have risen dramatically in recent years due to ongoing supply chain issues with mint suppliers.
1 oz Silver Coins
Sovereign governments around the world issue coins minted from precious metals. These coins are mainly for investors.
Although these coins are denominated in their local currency, many also qualify for inclusion in a precious metals IRA.
1 oz Krugerrand Silver Coin
The Krugerrand is the original bullion coin created in 1967. It was created by the South African government as a vehicle to encourage investment in government backed gold bullion. The 1 oz Silver Krugerrand coin is minted in .999 fine silver with an evergreen design.
The 2023 1 oz Silver Krugerrand coin has become popular with investors that want a trusted bullion coin without paying high premiums.
The obverse of the Krugerrand carries the image of Paul Kruger. The reverse features an national animal, the springbok antelope.
Krugerrand silver coins have some of the lowest dealer premiums and widely recognized worldwide. The South African mint produces these coins on demand so there is no mintage limit.
1 oz Perth Kangaroo Silver Coin
The Australia Kangaroo series comes from the Perth Mint. The 2023 Kangaroo 1 oz silver coins feature an indigenous red kangaroo bouncing across a grassy outback plain on the reverse.
The obverse of this coin has historically carried an effigy portrait of Queen Elizabeth. It is tradition for the reigning monarch to appear on coins minted by Commonwealth countries. However for 2023, the mint has announced that the Queen will remain on these coins until a suitable image of King Charles is acquired.
1 oz Britannia Silver Coin
The Britannia Series from the Royal Mint has become more popular with each annual mintage after increasing the silver purity in 2013.
This year, 2023 marks the 10th anniversary that the Britannia coin has been available in .999 fine silver.
The first wave of 2023 Britannia silver show the familiar portrait of Queen Elizabeth on the obverse side.
In January, the mint began producing a new 2023 1 oz Silver Britannia coin with a newly sculpted left facing effigy of King Charles III.
The reverse continues to feature the Nathan design of the mythological Britannia.
1 oz Philharmonic Silver Coin
The Austrian Mint began minting the Philharmonic 1 oz silver coin in 2008. It the only bullion coin available that is denominated in the Euro currency.
The inspiration for the design of these coins is attributed to the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. Both the obverse and reverse designs feature elements related to orchestral music.
1 oz Maple Leaf Silver Coin
The Canadian Maple Leaf 1 oz Silver Coin is minted in .9999 fine silver by the Royal Canadian Mint. The coin is one of the purest government-backed silver bullion coins available in the market.
The Maple Leaf one troy ounce coins have a lower premium than the ASE.
Silver Maples have a familiar design that is easy to recognize. The obverse design includes a portrait of Queen Elizabeth, while the reverse incorporates an image of the Sugar Maple Leaf.
Various improvements have been made to the design throughout the lifetime of the series to help prevent counterfeiting. Coins minted since 2018 include a new rinse process during manufacturing that virtually eliminates issues with milk-spotting that was prevalent with earlier coins.
FindBullionPrices.com aggregates precious metals prices from dozens of precious metals brokers to help bring transparency and reduce the confusion of online dealer pricing.
Precious metals coins have been found by archaeologists and historians that date back thousands of years.
Historians and archaeologists from around the world have unearthed precious metal coins from cultures that vanished long ago. Many notable examples from China, India, Ancient Greece and Egypt are on display in museums.
Silver, Gold and other precious metals are found in natural deposits throughout the world. Coins minted from silver and gold have been valued, exchanged as the purest form of money since ancient civilizations.
The earliest known was the Lydians, an ancient Mediterranean civilization that has been discovered in part of modern day Turkey.
The Lydians are the first known culture to create coins from gold and silver. The earliest coins discovered were minted of an alloy similar to electrum. Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy containing gold and silver that also contains trace amounts of copper and other metals.
The Lydian stater coins have often been reported to be struck from this naturally-occurring alloy. However, modern analysis has shown that many were actually made from a specific and rather consistent alloy. A mixture of approximately 55% gold, 45% silver, and a small balance of copper.
In Ancient Greece, the silver drachma was the standard used for hundreds of years even into the early Roman Empire. Each drachma was minted with 4.3 grams of silver. the largest know, the Decadrachm contained 43 grams of silver.
Colonial times and long ocean voyages to the new world helped to establish a new routes for international trade. The economies of the Europe were funded by exploits gained through colonial expansion. Ships returning to Europe brought goods like sugar, corn and tobacco. The New World was also filled with treasures made from gold and silver.
Locally struck coins dating to as early as 1497 have been discovered at early settlements in the Caribbean.
The Spanish were the first to establish a mint in the New World in what is today in Mexico City. La Casa de Moneda was built by Spanish Colonial settlers in 1536 by order of King Charles I of Spain.
La Casa de Moneda has operated continuously as the oldest operating mint in North America. The flagship bullion coin is the Mexican Libertad Silver Coins which are minted on an annual basis.
Silver coins were also struck in mints established throughout the British colonies. The US Mint was established in Philadelphia in 1792 following the American Revolution.
Everyday Americans carried and used silver coins in everyday life for more than 173 years. Coins minted from alloys of silver were in circulation up until the 1960s.
Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1965. The passage of this act led to further debasement and ushered in the transitioned the dollar away from a gold-standard.
Prior to 1965, all dimes, quarters, half-dollar and dollar coins were 90% silver. Half dollar coins were debased to 40% silver in 1965. The final 40% silver coins intended for circulation were minted in 1970.
The debasement of the dollar and removal from the gold standard continued during Nixon’s first term as president.
Today, these old circulated silver coins are referred to as Junk Silver. They are bought, sold, traded by investors, stackers, preppers, collectors. Having a few rolls or stacks of old silver coins provides some additional financial security. It’s easy to buy
The price of silver was driven up to over $50 per ounce on January 18, 1980. At the time the Hunt Brothers were reported to have been holding over 100 million physical ounces at the time.
In response, COMEX created a new trading rule called the “Silver Rule 7”. The new rule suddenly forced the brothers into covering debt borrowed to finance futures contracts. The abrupt change of rules caused the price of silver to drop bymore than 50% in just four days.
The law established that the first coins were to be released the following year meeting specifications for composition. The US Mint debuted the 1986 American Eagle, minted from .999 fine silver with a design that remained for 35 years.
In 2021, the US Mint updated the reverse with a new design that was introduced part-way into year. There are two distinct reverse designs for the 2021 American Silver Eagle.
During the first part of the year, the coins continued to be minted using the existing design. The coins featuring the new reverse that shows an eagle grasping an olive branch with both talons.
Type 2 – Silver Eagle Design
Today, American Silver Eagle investment coins are considered to be the most widely trusted and recognized silver bullion coin worldwide.
The number of coins manufactured each year varies on demand from investors. The coins are minted based on sales. This helps the US Mint to implement a business model that allows for flexibility in scaling capacity.
Silver bullion coins are sold only to Authorized Purchasers who are approved US Mint. The wholesalers acquire freshly minted silver eagle coins from the mint at a fixed premium over spot price. The premium from the mint to wholesalers is $2.35 over theLMBA silver spot price.
The list of Authorized Purchasers includes investment banks and online bullion dealers APMEX and A-Mark. A-Mark is the parent company of well-known online bullion dealers including JM Bullion, Silver.com, Provident Metals and BGASC.
This year, it has been widely reported that the US Mint has been unable to keep up with investor demand. This is the first time in the 36 year history of minting bullion coins. High premiums at retail have led to some investors to buy generic silver bullion.
Manufacturing delays of planchets from private refineries forced the mint to cancel several eagerly anticipated releases.
The American Silver Eagle coin is only available in a one troy ounce denomination which has a $1 USD face value legal tender designation.
BGASC was founded in 2012 in California and has reported more than 70,000 customers and $200 million in annual revenue. BGASC is an abbreviation for Buy Silver and Gold Coins.
Over the last few years, A-Mark has been leading an effort to consolidate and control many aspects of the bullion industry.
The Silver Heist channel on YouTube recently posted a video discussing the potential for long term impacts to consumers resulting from A-Mark’s ongoing acquisition-streak in the retail bullion industry that began with JM Bullion in 2021.
“Big Bullion Dealer Buys Other Dealer”, Silver Heist on YouTube!
As pointed out in the video, A-Mark has been acquiring stakes in many companies across all segments of the precious metals industry. The acquisitions have included refineries, smelters, wholesalers, distributors and retailers.
A-Mark now has control of an entire vertical segment from raw material to finished investment and industrial products. They have a stake in companies throughout all facets of the supply chain. Starting with the refineries, which is close to the point of extraction from mines.
At the refiner level of the supply chain the company has access to raw material from miners, recyclers and others through the ownership of Sunshine Minting and Silvertowne Mint.
Sunshine Minting was established in 1979 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. In 2007, the company was acquired by Tom and Patricia Power.
Other A-Mark affiliated online retailers that are listed on FindBullionPrices.com offer this exact same product at even higher price points and premiums.
In a way, A-Mark is able to strategic leverage their position in the industry to outsource the manufacturing of Silver Eagles to the US Mint at a fixed cost that they then sell at various price points through retail channels that they have influence over through investments or full ownership control.
Many of The Black Friday sales with online precious metals and bullion deals are live and that means plenty of deals on silver and gold bars, rounds and coins.
Financial uncertainty around rising inflation and higher gas prices continue to weigh on the minds of holiday shoppers throughout the United States this year.
Holiday shoppers are seeking out discounts on popular items. Below are some highlights of some of the better deals offered by online bullion dealers in 2021.
Bullion Exchanges continues to have one of the lowest minimum order thresholds to include free shipping for orders over $99. There are many great Black Friday deals offered from Bullion Exchanges.
The US Mint released a statement confirming a global shortage of silver after the website outages during the pre-sale of the 2021 Morgan Dollar commemorative coins.
“The global silver shortage has driven demand for many of our bullion and numismatic products to record heights. This level of demand is felt most acutely by the Mint during the initial product release of numismatic items.”
US Mint Press Release
This appears to be the first indication from a government agency acknowledging what many have been speculating for more than a year.
The lockdowns at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of many mines and the supply chains that turn raw ore into fine silver and gold.
The shutdown of the mines and supply chains led to refineries scrambling for raw materials and mints running out of product to sell.
After some backlash, the US Mint has revised its statement about the shortage.
“In more precise terms, the silver shortage being experienced by the United States Mint pertains only to the supply of silver blanks among suppliers to the U.S. Mint.”
US Mint Press Release
Silver blanks are manufactured for the US Mint by private mints. The US Mint didn’t specify which private mints were having issues supplying silver blanks. It has been documented previously that the US Mint has bought silver blanks from private mints such as Scottsdale Mint, Sunshine Minting, Coins’n’Things and other major industry players.
The US Mint has delayed the remaining pre-sales of the 2021 Morgan Dollars and 2021 Peace dollars. The prospective launch dates have yet to be announced.
In 1986 the United States Mint launched the American Eagle program. The American Gold Eagle and American Silver Eagle were established as the nations first and official bullion coins. In this first production year, the Silver Eagle enjoyed immense popularity that would lead to high demand the following year, as well.
The inaugural release of the American Silver Eagle coin was produced by the San Francisco Mint. The San Francisco mint struck both the BU and Proof Strikes of the coin. The San Francisco Mint would continue to mint both versions of the Silver Eagle coin until 1993 when proof coins shifted to the Philadelphia Mint. Bullion coin productions was shifted to the Philadelphia Mint in 1999.
The 1986 Silver Eagle was the first year the series was minted. It was also the first .999 fine silver bullion coin produced by the US Mint designed for investment. The mintage for 1986 American Silver Eagle coins was relatively high as was investor demand. The coin was released late in the year and was only sold for two months.
It also marked the first year that Silver Eagle proofs were struck. American Silver Eagle proofs are marketed towards collectors. More than one-million proof Silver Eagle coins were solid in 1986.
Coin Highlights:
1ST Mintage Year of the American Silver Eagle coin from the US Mint.
5,393,005 1986 Silver Eagle BU Coins Minted.
1,446,778 1986 Silver Eagle Proof Coins Minted.
Contains 1 oz of .999 pure silver.
Carries a face value of $1 (USD) and is backed by the US Government for purity, weight and quality.
Features the iconic Walking Liberty design on the obverse.
Includes a heraldic eagle design with shield and talons holding an olive branch and arrows.
S mint marks on the proof coins from the San Francisco Mint.
With a mintage of almost 1.5 million coins, the 1986 Silver Eagle Proof is the largest Proof Silver Eagle mintage to date.
The obverse is Adolph A. Weinmans Walking Liberty design from 1916, which was also featured on the Walking Liberty half-dollar coin. This is complemented with the reverse design of the heraldic eagle of the United States by then-Chief Engraver of the United States Mint, John Mercanti.
