Frequently Asked Questions

Many people think of Bullion as just a bar or wafer. In reality most major nations sell gold and silver bullion coins. For example: the U.S. mints Eagles and Buffalo’s, Canada mints the Canadian maple leaf, Australia mints the kangaroo, South Africa mints the Krugerrand, etc. Additionally, there are private mints, which are not considered currency, but contains the same silver or gold content as bullion coins minted by governments. In most cases it is just a personal preference as to which one to buy. One is not necessarily better than another. Prices per coin or bar will vary slightly from one to another, but the differences typically aren’t significant.

Spot price is the basis of your cost. The spot price is the price you typically hear quoted or see on a ticker or a dealer’s website. It is the price used to trade contracts, options, or futures. Premium refers to the amount above the quoted spot price that you pay for a coin or bar. The lower the premium, the lower your cost per ounce, the higher the premium, the higher your cost per ounce. Premiums vary from coin to coin depending upon supply and demand. The higher demand for a coin, the more a mint charges for their coin. The lower the demand, the less a mint will charge for their coin. The number one sold coin in the world is the U.S. American Eagles, therefor the premiums on the Eagles tend to have the highest premiums. Your “out the door” price is the spot price + premium cost + dealers mark-up.

Markups on bullion bars and coins are normally 3%-5% on gold and 4%-10% on silver if you are working with a reputable dealer. So, spot price is your basis, premium is what the mints charge us to buy their coin, and the markup is what coin dealers charge as their profit. You are not buying bullion if your dealer charged 20%-30% or even 100% more than the spot price of gold. Do the math before you commit to any purchase.

Unlike many coin dealers, there is no minimum quantity for purchase. Whether you are looking to purchase one silver coin or have millions to invest, we can accommodate all of our customers needs. Each customer is treated with the same respect, regardless of the size of the purchase.

Some dealers advertise extremely low prices, but then mark-up prices with hidden fees. These fees can be any variety of add-ons such as “handling fees” or “shipping fees” that make the true price higher. At AmFed we do not add erroneous fees to your transactions. Our only additional fee is shipping if your order is less than $5000. Shipping is typically $25-$50 depending on whether it is silver or gold. (Shipping costs include the insurance of the product)

At AmFed, we immediately email a confirmation invoice confirming your purchase or sale. If you don’t have e-mail, we can mail it, fax it, or even text it to you.

AmFed accepts personal checks, bank wires, cash and ACH. (ACH is an electronic check). We simply use the routing number and account number from your savings or checking account and deposit electronically. It speeds up the process if you decide to go this method. Once payment clears, we ship your metals to you and provide you with the tracking number. This typically occurs within one to two weeks after the order is placed. We insure everything 100%. We do not accept credit cards for a variety of reasons; however, primarily because their fees on the purchase is about what our profit margin is and we decided in the best interest of our customers not to mark-up purchases an additional 3%-4%.

There are always gimmicks that dealers use to entice you to spend your money. Once you realize that all dealers work with the same bases of spot + premium, there is very little wiggle room for coin dealer profit. One gimmick we see quite frequently is FREE gold or silver. There is no such thing. You must spend a certain amount and then the dealer gives “free” bonus silver. The only way that is possible is if they overcharge you enough to pay for the “free” silver or gold. One of our clients was offered $10,000 in “free” silver if they spent $100,000. If they spent the $100,000 with Amfed, they would’ve gotten 20% more silver than their “free” silver.

Do not fall for the gimmick of being one of only 500 people to buy a graded coin. Or a certain coin was signed by a “famous” person making it more valuable. At the end of the day, when you go to sell it, no one cares, and no one will pay you what you paid, but they will pay you what gold or silver is going for at the time.

There is no contract, it is a straightforward and transparent process when working with AmFed. We pride ourselves on practicing the old-fashioned way of that “gentlemen’s handshake” over the phone. You promise to pay us, we promise to send your order. Be cognizant of companies that require you to sign a lengthy contract. Typically they have those lengthy contracts in place due to legal issues they are encountering.

We do not report precious metals purchases to the government, except we do have an obligation to file form 8300 for cash payments over $10,000. (This includes cashiers checks and money orders)

AmFed lists the most popular and available coins, bars, and rounds currently being sold. There are thousands of varieties of coins available. If you have seen a coin on another website that you are interested in but don’t see it on our website, call us for pricing. We can obtain most coins that are minted.

Yes, we enjoy buying and selling rare and collectible coins due to their authenticity/rarity factor. While our website may not showcase our rare and collectible coins, we invite you to call us and inquire about our collection. 90% of our buyers are mostly interested in bullion, but for the 10% of people who are as passionate about coins as we are, we provide a more one on one exchange and provide a more personal service on buying or selling rare or collectible coins. While buying and selling bullion is more straightforward, buying and selling rare coins tends to be more involved due to a lot of factors that go into the value such as date a coin was minted, has it been certified, is it rare, are there a limited number available, etc.

When it comes to deciding to buy gold or silver, it really comes down to your individual needs. With that said, there is no right answer. Our brokers are very knowledgeable on the pros and cons of each and listen to why you are looking to purchase, what your short term or long-term goals are, intended use, etc. We will never tell you what to do or what to buy but will offer suggestions and let you make the best decision for you.

“Junk silver” is pre-1965 U.S. dime, quarters, or half-dollars that contain 35%-90% silver. Junk silver tends to be sold in bags of $250, $500, $750, or $1,000 face value.

“Certified” coins are coins that have been graded and authenticated by a grading service. The three most reputable grading services recognized by coin dealers is PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service), NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation) and CAC (Certified Acceptance Corporation). Additionally, if a graded coin contains a CAC sticker on it, it has been verified that the graded coin has met the highest standard.

Our goal is to ship products out immediately after payment has been confirmed. If a wire is sent and the purchased inventory is on hand, we will ship a day later. If we process an ACH via your checking or savings account, we will ship your items 1 week after payment is processed. For those who prefer to send a check, there is a 7 – 10 day hold on the check once it is received.

Once an order has been approved to ship by our inventory manager, we will be emailing or calling you letting you know that your order is shipping, as well as providing you with your tracking number. We ship everything, USPS, registered, insured, signature required. You will be able to start tracking your order the day after receiving the tracking information.

We are located in Carefree, AZ so it depends on where you are located within the U.S. on how long delivery should take. We have seen orders arrive in 2 days up to a couple weeks, with both those timeframes being the exception not the rule. 5-7 days tends to be the average amount it takes for orders. Because we guarantee delivery, we pay more for shipping which requires USPS to lock up every order every step of the way which causes the longer than usual shipping experience.

Once orders are locked in, modifications cannot be made. Precious metal dealers operate significantly different than most retailers, because our product price is constantly fluctuating. Most bullion dealers hedge their precious metals inventories. We make our margins on premium spreads and not on spot price speculation. Once a customer locks in their order, we are trusting that the customer will be paying for their order, so at that moment, we un-hedge the metals order at that time.

Legally, we cannot store products for our customers.

This is a question we get asked all the time. First and foremost, bullion should be stored in a secured, dry location. In recent years with the banks unpredictable changes, safety-deposit boxes are no longer a situation we recommend. Secure, heavy-duty safes are always the best storage option, but not always achievable with all our clients. Over the years, we have heard of hundreds of different “hiding places” in where our clients store their coins. A couple factors to keep in mind when purchasing is realizing that although silver is much cheaper by the ounce than gold, it is much heavier. For example, the cost of 500 SAE’s (silver American eagles) is about the same price as 7 GAE’s (gold American eagles). The 500 SAE’s weigh 42 lbs and fits in a box the size of a man’s shoe box. The 7 GAE’s can fit in a pocket.

Yes! We buy bullion, collectable, rare coins, graded coins, numismatic, semi-numismatic, and notes whether you bought them from us or not. As a coin dealer, one would assume this would be a given that we would both sell and buy, but unfortunately there are many dealers out there that will not buy your coins whether you bought them from them or not. The reason why many will not buy them back is they know that they sold them to you at a ridiculous price, and they could not justify why they are paying you less even when your metal spot price had gone up exponentially. At AmFed, we sell our coins at a fair market price and do not upcharge.

It is always best to keep precious metal products in the same condition in which they were received. Bullion can dull or oxidize over time, but that should not affect the bid or offer price you get when selling to a dealer. It is always best to store your metals in a dry, cool place.

Once you have confirmed with one of our brokers about selling your coins to us, we will email you instructions on how to pack and ship your coins to us. Depending on the metal and the quantity, your instructions will be to ship FedEx, UPS, or USPS. Our shipping department will determine the cheapest and most effective method of shipping your coins to us.

After talking with one of our brokers and they have determined the magnitude of the coins you need assistance on, they will arrange a meeting with you. We will meet our clients at their home, bank, or wherever they are comfortable, pick up the coins and pay them on the spot anywhere throughout the U.S.

Most payments are made via ACH or check. For larger orders, we will pay by wire. If you are a local client who comes into our office, we will even pay cash.

At AmFed we offer a consignment program for rare coins, numismatics, or semi-numismatic coins. Many customers want to just sell their coins outright, but others are interested to see if they can get more for their coins and let the brokers do their thing. Although it takes a few extra weeks, clients can potentially make a significant amount more money with our consignment program.

Whether you have bullion, rare coins, collectibles, numismatic, or semi-numismatic coins, we do provide a free service to our clients call “CPR” (Coin Performance Review). This is a free, no obligation service we provide. Having your coins valued will give you a full understanding of your coins and alleviate any confiscation concerns you may have. By the end of our consultation, you will gain knowledge of:

• An expert valuation of your coins potential worth
• How to sell your coins for the largest possible returns
• If under-performing, how to move your portfolio into an asset that may have a better rate of return.
• Being able to make the right decision for you about each coin in your portfolio

One of the misconceptions people have is that they only need to have a valuation of the coins done once or every couple of years. There are several reasons why it is helpful to have your coins appraised on a regular basis. Factors that play into a coins worth are market conditions, continuous fluctuations in supply and demand, changes in coin enthusiasts wants and needs, etc.

One of the greatest advantages of repositioning yourself from an underperforming coin to a more performing coin or bullion, is when you trade, we trade you at our cost. There is no additional “mark-up” fee with a trade. Essentially, if you decided to sell your coins and paid in full for those coins, there is a fee for selling the coins. If you decided to come back at a later time to buy coins, there is a fee for buying the coins, but if you did a trade when selling, there is no fee on the buy side.

There is a common misconception out there on what is reportable and what is not reportable. One of the greatest misconceptions is with bullion. Dealers who only sell semi-numismatic coins due to the larger profit margins they make than what can be made on bullion mislead consumers on the filing requirements. The following transactions are reportable according to ICTA and the IRS:

• Gold Bars .995 fine Any size bar totaling 1 kilo or more
• Silver Bars .999 fine Any size bar totaling 1000 troy oz or more
• Platinum Bars .995 fine Any size bar totaling 25 troy oz or more
• Palladium Bars .9995 fine Any size bar totaling 100 troy oz or more
• 1 oz Gold Krugerrand as minted Twenty-five (25) 1 oz coins @ 1 time
• 1 oz Gold MPL as minted Twenty-five (25) 1 oz coins @ 1 time
• 1 oz gold Mexican onza as minted Twenty-five (25) 1 oz coins @ 1 time
• U.S. 90% silver coins Any combination of dimes, quarters, or half dollars totaling $1,000 FV or more.

So to reiterate, the above listed coins are the only reportable coins at this time under the IRS guidelines, under the scenario listed above in one transaction. These guidelines are not based on what is sold within one years timeframe, or one months timeframe, it is within a single transaction.

Here at AmFed there is no minimum required amount on buying or selling to our company. We welcome any quantity whether it is one coin or thousands of them.

We buy a majority of the private and government-issued bullion coins, bars, and notes in addition to collectible coins and some foreign coins. For the foreign coins that we do not purchase, we can provide the name to a reputable dealer.

One of the many investment options available to investors today is the Precious Metals IRA. Owning precious metals is one way to reduce risk in times of an uncertain economy. While many investors may hold shares of an ETF or mutual fund that holds precious metals, a Precious Metals IRA gives investors the opportunity to hold physical gold, silver, platinum and palladium in their IRA.

While a precious metals IRA allows your IRA to hold physical precious metals, there are strict rules and regulations that govern these types of accounts. Some brokers touted “home storage” precious metals IRAs claiming someone could store their IRA precious metals at their home or safety deposit box. In truth, the rules and regulations that cover these accounts make it next to impossible for someone to actually qualify for home storage. Some brokers claim you could start a Precious Metals IRA LLC and hold the metals, but as of 2021 a new case law indicates that owning precious metals inside an IRA LLC is not a viable legal structure. For those caught doing so are faced with enormous fines and penalties.

Please note, custodians and dealers are not fiduciaries and we are not able to provide any sort of financial or tax guidance. We always recommend you consult with a financial planner for any in depth financial or tax related guidance.

Your custodian will:

• be a licensed custodian with the US government
• Provide secured and insured storage space in a licensed depository
• Send you quarterly statements
• Handle your distribution requests
• Ensure your IRA meets all legal requirements to be qualified as a retirement plan.

• They do not act as an investment advisor, tax advisor or legal advisor
• They do not provide investment, tax or legal advice
• They do not recommend or endorse investments
• They do not recommend or endorse investment advisors
• They do not determine the fair market value of account investments
• They do not perform due diligence for the account owner on any investment
• They do not determine the merits or suitability of any investment for the IRA or the accountholder.
• They do not determine whether a transaction would be deemed a prohibited transaction.

Through the years, we have worked with a number of custodians, but there are a couple that seem easier to work with for our clients than others. We recommend the following:

• Camaplan which is a Pennsylvania based company. The depository they work with IDS which is based in Delaware. Both Camaplan and IDS are very responsive and great with communication.
• Strata Trust Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Horizon Bank SSB. Strata Trust is partnered with the depository DDSC which is also based in Delaware.

The IRS allows certain types of precious metals to be held. The following precious metals are permitted to be held in IRAs under Internal Revenue Code 408(m)(3)(A)(i)-(iv) and 408(m)(3)(B).

• Gold Coins: American Eagle bullion and proof, American Buffalo bullion (no proofs), Australian Kangaroo/nugget, Austrian Philharmonic and Canadian Maple Leaf, any .9999 fine gold coin.
• Silver Coins: American Eagle Bullion and proof, America the beautiful bullion (no burnished), Australian kookaburra, Austrian Philharmonic, Canadian Maple Leaf and Mexican Libertad, any .999 fine silver coin.
• Platinum Coins: American Eagle bullion and proof, Australian Koala, Canadian Maple Leaf and Isle of Man Noble, any .9995 fine platinum coin.
• Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium bars and rounds: If produced by a refiner/assayer/manufacturer accredited/certified by NYMEX?COMEX, NYSE/LIFFE, LME, LBMA, LPPM, TOCOM, ISO9000 or National government mint that meets minimum fineness requirements: gold 99.9%, silver 99.9%, platinum 99.95% and palladium 99.95%.

Once your account has been established with your custodian you will need to fund your account. This can be done in a few different ways. If you currently have an IRA you can initiate a transfer or rollover of your account into your new Precious Metals IRA. This is initiated with your custodian, usually online or via a paper form, and they will complete the transfer. If you don’t have a current IRA to rollover or you are looking to establish a separate Precious Metals IRA then you may make contributions to the account. There are annual contributions limits that apply to IRAs, these change annually and catch-up limits apply if you meet certain age thresholds. For specifics on contribution limits it is best to contact a financial advisor.

Once funds are available in your IRA you can reach out to us to facilitate your precious metals purchase. One of our brokers will lock in a precious metals transaction with you and get an invoice created. Once this is done you will complete a precious metals investment direction form with your custodian. With the invoice and form submitted to your custodian they will remit payment to us and we will ship your precious metals to the depository to be stored on your behalf.

There are many things to consider when buying and selling into not just a precious metals IRA but any retirement investment. While we will always do our best to provide you with the best guidance we can, we are not licensed financial consultants or tax advisors. If you have any in-depth questions in regard to retirement accounts, taxes or for direct guidance we recommend speaking to a licensed financial consultant or tax advisor.

We are located @ 500 Easy Street, Carefree AZ 85377. Carefree is a small quaint town, just north of Scottsdale AZ, with only 4000 residents. Carefree is nestled in the beautiful Sonoran desert known as a family, pet friendly community with it’s witty street names. Yes, we are actually located at Easy Street & Lucky Lane!

We work with clients in AZ and all throughout the U.S. We do not buy or sell internationally.

We are open Monday – Friday from 8:00am – 5:00pm (AZ time)

We are closed for the following holidays (New Years Day, Presidents day, Memorial Day, 4 ^th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Years Eve).

You can place an order online, coming into our office or over the phone by calling 800-221-7694.

All ACH payment information is not saved within the companies database, but securely saved within our banks secured database.

We love meeting with our clients in our office. We have private meeting rooms to meet with our clients and discuss their needs of buying, selling, consigning, coin evaluation, or just seeking information about coin buying. However, if you are unable to meet us, we are more than happy to speak over the phone.

If you would like to meet in-office, we ask that they make an appointment with us which can be done by calling us at 480-553-5282 or 800-221-7694.

The advantage of being on the preferred client list is getting the opportunity to purchase items at a discounted price. Many times if we buy a substantial deal, we would rather pass on the savings to our customers instead of selling it back to a wholesaler. It is a win-win-win situation.

We reach out to clients based on their past purchases or sales and let them know of a current gain they can take advantage of. Example:

• The average premium for silver American eagles (SAE’s) is between $3 - $4. In September 2023, the premium was at $14.50 per coin. We sent an email to any client who bought SAE’s from us and let them know that they could trade in their SAE’s for 20% more silver. So for every 100 ounces of SAE’s they sold us, we traded them for 120 ounces of silver.
• In 2019 there were buyers looking for 2014 $25 GAE (Gold American eagles) because there were only 35,000 minted that particular year and these buyers wanting a complete set of 2014 but could not find any 2014 $25 GAE. We sent emails to people who bought 2014 $25 GAE and was able to trade their half oz GAE for 1 oz GAE.

Yes, all of our material is written by Nick Grovich. With 50+ years of experience, his wealth of knowledge is impressive and surpasses just about anyone out there in the coin industry. You can either go to our Resource page on our website and request a free copy or call our office at 800-221-7694 for the following:

• Gold Buying Made simple
• Our Official Guidebook
• Subscribe to our newsletter or emails
• Obtain spot metal pricing
• Information on gold, silver, platinum
• Precious Metals self-directed