Retail Price Comparisons = Savings Opportunities
A dealer survey shows why comparing premiums—not just spot prices—can save bullion buyers money.
Many numismatic products that may merit the same technical grade as another piece of the same issue may be worth different values depending on factors such as eye appeal. There are some collectors who love attractively toned coins and are willing to pay a significant premium to own them, while other numismatists would not be interested in owning pieces that exhibit any toning.
Here’s an example of how these different perspectives work in real life. In the coin shop where I work, we have had customers trying to decide among different pieces of an issue of the same grade and price as to which one they would buy. It often happens that these customers seek assistance by asking which one I would purchase if it were my decision. To make this more interesting, I have made my choice, then brought in two associates with deep numismatic experience to ask which they would choose. You guessed it, sometimes each of the three of us picks a different specimen!
Consequently, price—as distinguished from value—may not be an overriding consideration for a numismatic purchase.
With bullion-priced coins and ingots, however, you usually have fungible products, where one specimen is pretty much the same as another. In these circumstances, you will tend to find a greater number of potential suppliers. That also means that a competitive price becomes more important to a prospective buyer.
I periodically survey dealers on their relative retail prices for different bullion products. This is done to ensure that my company’s pricing formulas are relatively competitive.
On Tuesday afternoon this week, I visited the websites of known major bullion retailers plus other companies that appeared on the first three pages of a Google search for U.S. 90% Silver Coins. I compared the silver spot price they were using and their current retail selling price for $1,000 face value of U.S. 90% Silver Coins. From there, I calculated the price per ounce of silver content each was charging for this product and compared that unit price to their quoted spot price.
A total of 24 retailers were included in this comparison. Of them, 23 quoted a current silver spot price, which ranged at the time from a low of $58.73 to a high of $59.88. One of the dealers found in the Google search quoted a silver spot price of $58.90 and discussed information on the nature of bulk U.S. 90% Silver Coins, but did not quote a selling price for this product! Of the 23 companies that listed their selling price, twelve of them quoted per-ounce prices that were below their spot price, ranging from a discount of -$1.00 to -$4.21 per ounce of silver content. One company’s price was right at their silver spot price. Nine companies quoted prices close to the silver spot, all the way from +49¢ to +$3.15 per ounce of silver content. One company, which happened to be the one quoting the highest silver spot price, quoted a selling price that was +$39.61 per ounce of silver content higher than their spot price.
Here is the breakdown of my survey, so you can get the idea of how much difference in prices you could be quoted from dealer to dealer:
| Seller | Silver Spot Price | $1,000 U.S. 90% Price | Silver Cost/Oz | Premium/(Discount) to Spot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | $58.75 | $40,576.25 | $56.75 | ($2.00) |
| #2 | $59.48 | $43,979.66 | $61.51 | $2.03 |
| #3 | $59.29 | $40,426.10 | $56.54 | ($2.75) |
| #4 | $59.49 | $43,078.80 | $60.25 | $0.76 |
| #5 | $58.73 | $41,133.95 | $57.53 | ($1.20) |
| #6 | $59.45 | $43,144.76 | $60.34 | $0.89 |
| #7 | $59.43 | $43,257.50 | $60.50 | $1.07 |
| #8 | $59.00 | $42,614.00 | $59.60 | $0.60 |
| #9 | $59.38 | $42,810.00 | $59.87 | $0.49 |
| #10 | $59.40 | $41,757.07 | $58.40 | ($1.00) |
| #11 | $59.37 | $42,447.10 | $59.37 | $0.00 |
| #12 | $59.10 | $40,590.00 | $57.14 | ($1.96) |
| #13 | Not quoted | $42,590.00 | $59.57 | — |
| #14 | $58.83 | $39,060.00 | $54.63* | ($4.20) |
| #15 | $59.88 | $71,136.00 | $99.49 | $39.61 |
| #16 | $58.92 | $39,120.00 | $54.71 | ($4.21) |
| #17 | $58.91 | $40,833.70 | $57.11 | ($1.80) |
| #18 | $58.90 | No 90% silver coin price listed on website. | — | — |
| #19 | $58.87 | $40,790.18 | $57.05 | ($1.82) |
| #20* | $59.10 | $40,469.00 | $56.60 | ($2.50)† |
| #21 | $59.58 | $43,837.12 | $61.31 | $1.73 |
| #22 | $59.01 | $39,960.00 | $55.89 | ($3.12) |
| #23 | $58.80 | $41,317.50 | $57.79 | ($1.01) |
| #24 | $58.78 | $44,280.00 | $61.93 | $3.15 |
*Noted only $100 face value in stock available for sale.
All sellers listed above quoted free shipping for this purchase, which can be an issue with smaller orders.
Among the lessons to learn from this survey is that shopping around can save you money. Further, quoting the lowest spot price does not necessarily mean the lowest price seller. Also, I was surprised that one of the highest volume retailers of bullion products was among the highest price sellers.
Something else to keep in mind is that your local dealer might be flexible on price if you can cite a dealer selling at a lower price elsewhere.
When shopping for bullion products, keep these two things in mind: When I have done similar bullion product price surveys, I have never found any instances where one company was the lowest price seller of every product in all quantities. Therefore, the low-price seller for a $1,000 face value bag of U.S. 90 percent Silver Coins might not be the low-price seller for a quantity of $100 face value. Also, pricing formulas can and do change constantly and on an irregular basis. What this means is that to find the best value, you will have to do your research each time.
Last column’s numismatic trivia question.
Last time I asked— Which person has appeared on the greatest number of types of U.S. circulating and commemorative coins? Guess what? Before 2026 there was a three-way tie at nine coin types each. Now there is a three-way tie at ten coin types.
Excluding pattern coins and pre-1800 private issues, George Washington has been on the obverse of the circulating quarter since 1932. He also appeared on the reverses of the 1999 New Jersey Statehood Quarter, the 2006 South Dakota Statehood Quarter, the 2013 South Dakota Mount Rushmore America The Beautiful Quarter, and the 2021 Crossing The Delaware Quarter. Washington is also honored on the obverse of the 2007 Presidential Dollar that was put into circulation. In commemorative coins, he is depicted on the 1900 Lafayette Dollar, the 1926 Sesquicentennial Half Dollar, the 1982 250th Anniversary of Washington’s Birth, the 1991 Mount Rushmore Half Dollar, Silver Dollar, and $5.00 Half Eagle, and the 1999 200th Anniversary of Washington’s Death. In 2026, Washington appeared on the obverse of the Revolutionary War Quarter, which is not considered part of the Washington Quarter series, making this his 10th coin type.
Thomas Jefferson is on the obverse of the U.S. circulating nickel since 1938. Along with Washington, he is on the reverse of the 2006 South Dakota Statehood Quarter and the 2013 South Dakota Mount Rushmore America the Beautiful Quarters. He is on the obverse of the 2007 Presidential Dollar put into circulation. He also appeared on five commemorative coins—the 1903 Louisiana Purchase-Jefferson Gold Dollar, all three denominations of the 1991 Mount Rushmore coins, and the 1993 250th Anniversary of Jefferson’s Birth Silver Dollar. Now, in 2026, Jefferson is depicted on his 10th coin type—the obverse of the Declaration of Independence Quarter.
Abraham Lincoln has appeared on the obverse of the U.S. circulating cent from 1909-2025 (and still on collector set cents in 2026). Like the other two, he appeared on the reverse of the 2006 South Dakota Statehood Quarter. He was on the reverse of the 2003 Illinois Statehood Quarter and on the obverse of the 2010 Presidential Dollar. On commemorative coins, he is depicted on the 1918 Illinois Centennial Half Dollar, all three denominations of the 1991 Mount Rushmore coins, and the 2009 Bicentennial of Lincoln’s Birth Silver Dollars. He is also featured on his 10th coin type in 2026—on the Gettysburg Address Quarter.
This week’s trivia question
Here is this week’s question. Before 2026, who was the only living U.S. President to appear on a U.S. coin? Come back next week for the answer.
Patrick A. Heller was honored as a 2019 FUN Numismatic Ambassador. He is also the recipient of the American Numismatic Association 2018 Glenn Smedley Memorial Service Award, the 2017 Exemplary Service Award, the 2012 Harry Forman National Dealer of the Year Award, and the 2008 Presidential Award. Over the years, he has also been honored by the Numismatic Literary Guild, Professional Numismatists Guild, National Coin & Bullion Association, and the Michigan State Numismatic Society. He is the communications officer of Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, Michigan, and writes “Liberty’s Outlook,” a quarterly newsletter on rare coins and precious metals subjects. He now volunteers with the National Coin & Bullion Association as its Industry Issues Advisor. Past newsletter issues can be viewed at www.libertycoinservice.com. Some of his radio commentaries, "Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So,” and “Important News You Need To Know,” can be heard at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday and Friday mornings on 1320-AM WILS in Lansing (which streams live and becomes part of the audio archives posted at www.1320wils.com).
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