From Spencer: Hello, This week I was able to have Larry, from Larry's Coins, into being a guest columnist. You might remember that I've talked about Larry in this column a lot and now, here he is. Thank you Larry for doing this.

This is from the desk of Larry's Coins, filling in for Spencer while he takes a break. This week we'll talk about silver and gold bullion. Silver& gold bullion is traded on the stock exchange under commodities and, as you have seen lately, it can change very quickly. When I first started in my shop, I would buy silver at three times face value and now, it goes between fifteen to twenty times face value. As you can see, bullion is not cheap anymore.

Bullion coins are old silver that we call 90% silver. These are coins dated from 1964 and older. Dimes, quarters,and half dollars are what you should look for, but there are others that contain silver also. Be on the lookout for 1965-1969 Kennedy half dollars also. These coins contain 40% silver and have a dollar value of five to ten times face.

If you have old coins, but are not sure of what you have, you can talk to any coin dealer and he can set you straight. There are many coins that we call key date coins that should not be sold as bullion. Contact a dealer before you sell.

There are many forms of bullion, other than coins, silver rounds and bars,. From one to one hundred troy ounces are also traded daily. Also there are one ounce silver eagles that are 999 pure silver. These coins usually sell at spot or above.

Now lets talk about gold bullion a little. Gold bullion is usually traded in one ounce coins, such as maple leaf, k'rand,or American gold eagles. Spot price for gold is also found on the market. Gold coins are not the only way bullion is traded. Don't forget gold rings and necklaces also have high value.

I'm going to stop for now because I have a customer coming any time now. Don't forget, I'm not a writer, I'm a coin dealer. So, I hope Spencer will be back next time. If you have any questions about coins or bullion you can call me at 724-456-2246 anytime. Thank you reading Spencer's page.