Job still did alotta complaining though.
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Gold and silver prices are down
- Thread starter Rider
- Start date
Romokid
NES Member
Well I missed out on a really good deal yesterday as I clicked on an ebay live auction from APMEX. They had some 1oz sliver coins from around the world in a book and the auctions were only 30 seconds long. It went for $40 shipped for 7oz of silver. Then someone chimed in to tell them to have a soft stop vs a hard stop, which I guess is so long as people are still bidding in the last 5 seconds or so they then add another 10 seconds to the auction. Figures, just when I got all set up they changed the format and some of the items were going for more than I was willing to pay, like $138 for a 5oz generic bar of silver. Whoever opened their mouth killed the potential for some great deals.
I thought I read somewhere that all of the gold mined by humans to date would fill just two Olympic-sized swimming pools?
Picked this up today....have an affinity for this design.....crappy picture as is in a case.....and picked a couple of Libertads because...well....boobies 
ontrgt808
NES Member
Anyone dealt with Boston Bullion?
richc
NES Member
A long time ago.
Their sell prices seem decent. The prices they buy at don't seem great.
My opinion only.
I have been buying from him for the last 15 years, and I have never had a problem.
Ken lists his prices on his website.
If you pay cash, then you can remain anonymous. He will ask me for my ID every time, I just remind him it is a cash sale and I want to remain anonymous, and then he skips writing down my info.
He also accepts checks for payment, but you won't get your gold until the check clears.
About the only negative thing I can say about Ken is he still uses the Fisch device to authenticate gold coins. He never stepped up his game by buying a Sigma Metalytics precious metal verifier.
I recently purchased the Sigma verifier, and the thing is amazing. It can differentiate between a 99.9999% gold coin and a 91.67% gold coin, and it can do that by reading through a plastic protective cover.
Some people would argue that the Fisch device is sufficient for detecting fake gold coins. Maybe it is, but would never buy any type of gold bar without checking it with a Sigma type analyzer.
Check out my next post. I will bump richc's picture that he posted one page back on this thread.
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Varmint
NES Member
The Sigma is a resistivity tester right? That's not going to work on a tungsten bar with a decent gold layer on it. For that you need XRF or a conductivity tester - both $5k+ so not practical for home - but a bullion dealer should really invest in one.
The Fisch thing should on those chocolate gold coins though.
![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
I have no idea how the Sigma works.The Sigma is a resistivity tester right? That's not going to work on a tungsten bar with a decent gold layer on it. For that you need XRF or a conductivity tester - both $5k+ so not practical for home - but a bullion dealer should really invest in one.
The Fisch thing should on those chocolate gold coins though.
I would think that if you are measuring resistance or conductivity, you would have to come in contact with the coin. Like when you use a multi meter to measure resistance.
The sigma can test coins that are inside a protective clear plastic cover.
I also bought the optional wands that richc has, but I haven't used them yet. The wands are for testing bars.
I just went to Sigma's website. They didn't have much info on how the unit works.
But a guy on reddit named r/Silverbugs gave the following explanation.
Small electromagnets generate an RF field that can penetrate up to 1cm, or 3/8 of an inch, and they are in fact, as Varmit said, looking at resistance.
So I guess that we would be safe testing bars up to 3/4" thick.
But a guy on reddit named r/Silverbugs gave the following explanation.
Small electromagnets generate an RF field that can penetrate up to 1cm, or 3/8 of an inch, and they are in fact, as Varmit said, looking at resistance.
So I guess that we would be safe testing bars up to 3/4" thick.
qwert77
NES Member
Boston Bullion pretty expensive after his "fees". Happy to point you to my dealer in Newton if needed, way better prices. He will usually deliver.
Call Ben for up to date prices. Tell him Ted sent you from NES.
Contact | Boston Precious Meta
www.bostonpreciousmetals.com
Varmint
NES Member
That should work - some resistivity testers only test surface resistivity, but a magnetic field would be checking through resistivity so it should see a tungsten core. If the faker used metal with resistivity matching gold, it would pass the Sigma test, but the bar or coin would have to be bigger or thicker than gold. I doubt they’d do that.
HappyHarry
NES Member
The XRF will only test about 5 microns down, so you need to file the item for accuracy; the Sigma goes deeper. I use the Sigma for coins and if there is a questionable looking piece that passes the Sigma then I measure and weigh it to compare to the size/weight chart. The XRF is great for analyzing gold purity of scrap gold, but the Sigma is more useful for coins.The Sigma is a resistivity tester right? That's not going to work on a tungsten bar with a decent gold layer on it. For that you need XRF or a conductivity tester - both $5k+ so not practical for home - but a bullion dealer should really invest in one.
The Fisch thing should on those chocolate gold coins though.
| U.S. Gold Eagle (.9167) | 1/10 oz ($5) | 1/4 oz ($10) | 1/2 oz ($25) | 1 oz ($50) |
| Diameter | 16.5 mm | 22 mm | 27 mm | 32.70 mm |
| Thickness | 1.19 mm | 1.83 mm | 2.24 mm | 2.87 mm |
| Gross weight | 3.393 g | 8.483 g | .16.965 g | 33.931 g |
| Pre 1933 U.S. Gold (.900) | $2.50 | $5.00 | $10.00 | $20.00 |
| Diameter | 18 mm | 21.6 mm | 27 mm | 34 mm |
| Thickness | 1.2 mm | 1.5 mm | 2.0 mm | 2.4 mm |
| Gross weight | 4.18 g | 8.359 g | 16.718 g | 33.436 g |
| Actual gold weight | .012094 g | .24187 g | .48375 g | 0.9675 g |
The XRF is incredibly accurate at analyzing the precious metal content of a scrap lot. This is an XRF readout of a blob of metal that my customer thought was mostly palladium - turned out to be mostly gold.
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Varmint
NES Member
You have both machines, that’s awesome!
Thermo Fisher makes portable and standalone XRF testers that can measure through coins, it’s also used to detect if a numismatic coin is authentic based on the metal composition. But they start at like $7k.
HappyHarry
NES Member
I don't have an XRF, that readout is from my refiner's machine. I only have the Sigma for coins, and a Kee tester and acid for scrap. The only people I know who have XRF machines are very large scrap dealers and refineries. Test acids, a Kee tester, and experience combined are good enough for the scrap that I deal with.
I have a sigma pro. I don’t get why any reputable dealer wouldn’t have a sigma unless they were cheap.
Varmint
NES Member
The box-style Thermo Fisher tester lets you throw a gold necklace in it and it'll tell you how much gold (and other stuff) is in the necklace. Pretty cool. Maybe that's what they have (the Ametek version)?
Palladin
NES Member
call me, we'll go from my house
ontrgt808
NES Member
I haven't actually purchased from them, but you're saying his posted prices have additional hidden "fees"? Their base price of $23.90 goes up over the $30 price of your source? I'm asking because it sounds like you know how this works. I am totally new to this and am very skeptical of getting a nice round piece of shiny steel. But it can't be that hard. I just want some legit commodities.Boston Bullion pretty expensive after his "fees". Happy to point you to my dealer in Newton if needed, way better prices. He will usually deliver.
Call Ben for up to date prices. Tell him Ted sent you from NES.
Contact | Boston Precious Meta
Boston Bullion website used to have a 3% dealer fee that you would have to calculate to find your final price.
You still have to pay the dealer fee, but Ken now does the math for you. There are no hidden fees.
Where it says your price, there are 2 numbers. The number on the right is what you pay, unless you are buying a large Quantity, then it is the number on the left.
You will also have to pay Mass. sales tax if the sale is under $1,000.
Edit- What I usually will do. Make an appointment to go into his shop. Just before I go to his shop I will print out the page on his website that has the item that I want to buy, and I bring that with me.
His website automatically updates the prices as the gold and silver spot price is constantly changing.
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richc
NES Member
I find his website misleading, honestly.
When I click on the link for gold coins it shows the following prices:
When i click on an item it shows the following:
He shows a price and a button to add to the cart. But the price you pay is very different.
IMHO that's misleading as hell.
Yes, I agree, it is misleading.
In the big print he is showing you what the coin costs him.
It used to be a lot more confusing for people before he started calculating his broker fee. He now has the bottom line--"Your Price"
Now you can just look at the your price number. The number on the right is what you will pay. If you buy a large quantity, then it is the number on the left.
richc
NES Member
My one experience there left me feeling misled. I won't be back.
If one feels it necessary to mislead customers to do business, I'm not interested.
I go to Apmex, Bullion Exchange, even eBay, I'm given a price, and perhaps price breaks with volume. It's spelled out clearly.
Obfuscation of pricing is not a good business plan.
I'm curious. How does Boston Bullion's prices compare to the online dealers?
richc
NES Member
Prices are comparable to eBay prices I see. But I can use a credit card and get travel miles on eBay. And a discount on some credit cards.
And I don't need to leave the comfort of my home.
richc
NES Member
Decent deal at Costco. Free shipping. No tax over $1000 in MA. Depending on your level of Costco membership and credit card, discounts apply.
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