A Beginner’s Guide To Precious Metals’ Social Media Communities

Since the global financial crisis and the bull runs in silver and gold to $50 and $1920, respectively, social media has taken off. Reddit, Facebook and Twitter were already around, but the tools on FB were not yet to the point where a proliferation of precious metals-minded communities could help transform the precious metals retail market. Reddit was really the place––and even then, it was really only one community.

The online silver community has evolved in the past decade, and silver seems set up in a way in which social media apps can help excite people about silver, because of these active communities and picture sharing apps. It’s on Facebook and Twitter, where a new shape of precious metals is coming into view. Here’s a beginner’s look at the precious metals social media community.

Facebook

Silverbugs – This is such a happening group, they even minted their own rounds: the silverbugs round. Members post photos of the silver they wish to sell, and the others in the group place bids. Auctions generally last 24 hours.

In silverbugs, you might see all sorts of cool things––from unique metal to the colloidal silver making process.

Goldbugs – The goldbugs group entails a lot of selling. From gold bars to unique one-off gold rounds, the diversity makes for a fun shopping experience. The members even mix in some news and discussion. When it comes to these groups, you’ll want to vet all sellers, and even check with group admins before making a purchase.

There are systems in place in certain transaction-based groups. You can ask for people to vouch for a particular seller. Ultimately, talking things over with the group admin before making a particular decision is smart. Taking responsibility for your own actions here is of the utmost importance, but, over time, you may meet some reliable buyers and sellers with whom you like to do business.

Silver & Gold Bullion! And ONLY Bullion! Buy/Sell/Trade – In this group, you can buy, sell, and trade your standard precious metals, such as chips, bars, ingots, and rounds. This group has developed its own lexicon of sorts.

BIN = Buy It Now
BIN OBO Buy it Now / Or Best Offer
DND – Deal No Deal

This vocabulary might help you navigate the precious metals industry online in general. In this group, you’ll find rounds, national coins, fractional gold coins, and an overall vibrant community of people interested in gold and silver.

Silver and Gold Stackers (Discussion Only) – In this forum, people can meet to interact, discuss and share information about coins and bullion. Unlike the commerce-centered groups, Silver and Gold Stackers is a good place to ask questions about coins, the industry, and anything precious metals related.

Buy, Sell, & Trade Silver, Gold, U.S. coins & currency Numismatic Strictly – This group is focused on the buying and selling of all sorts of gold and silver coins. The group hosts auctions of unique coins, such as unique graded coins. The members of this group also do a reasonable job sharing timely news about what’s going on in the precious metals industry, and some funny memes to boot.

Why Buy Gold? (and Silver!) – Founded in 2009, this group is focused on delivering current news items on precious metals. People use this group to gather and exchange information about protecting wealth, investing, inflation, peak oil, and other economic ideas.

GOLD AND SILVER COIN DEALERS – This group––IN WHICH EVERYTHING IS WRITTEN IN ALL CAPS––brings coin dealers advertise deals and conduct transactions.

Gold and Silver Seekers – This group brings together sellers and buyers together to offer one of the most affordable and safest environments on Facebook to buy and sell gold and silver bullion.

Wholesale Precious Metals – This group claims to be the leader in numismatics, bullion, jewelry, and more. It only offers ‘Buy It Now’ options. Unlike other groups, in Wholesale Precious Metals you might find 1,000 ounce silver bars, as well as gold nuggets. Users in this group always post pictures of their metals with a note containing their name and date to demonstrate

UK & USA Silver, Gold Bullion & Precious Metals Group (The Gathering) – This group, which is for people all over the world, is for all those who collector’s, dealers and enthusiasts of silver, gold and precious metals. This group will be the one for the community, be for all members of the community, bring us all together and more importantly enjoy while doing.

E-Waste and Precious Metal Refining – This is a cool group for those who want to go beyond buying and selling precious metals. The group is dedicated to knowledge, safety, and awareness regarding e-waste recycling and precious metals refining.

Instagram

Headsortalescoinco – this IG account offers heirloom-quality investment grade solid silver statues hand crafted with old world techniques.

Bigbearcoin – This respected IG account provides often graded coins at fair prices.

Mineralexchange – this IG account buys, sells, and trades precious metals.

Bcbullion – This faith based precious metals company offers bullion and graded coins.

Indra.seno – This hobbiest buys and sell silver coins, bars, and more. Not everything the account posts for sale, but he is often open to trades as well as purchases and sales.

Johnsonmattheycanadian – This account buys, sells, and trade JM products from Canada.

Bullionexchanges – This NYC-based precious metals dealer has a very impressive IG account.

Mailmanag1 – This account offers cool deals on 10 oz bars, American Silver Eagles, 100 oz Engelhard bars, Morgan Dollars, and more.

Montez Family – Yet another account for buying, selling, and trading on IG. Lots of art bars appear on this page, as well as unique rounds and graded bullion.

Silverloaf999 – Here you’ll find classic loaf bars with an account that is open to trades. The account owner posts really unique bars, many of which appear as if they come from the eighties.

Bet_on_silver – On this account, you can find unique hand poured silver, and is a trade buyer and seller on IG. The bars are melted and poured in the USA. This group has been set up for all those who collector’s, dealers and enthusiasts of silver, gold and precious metals.

Pitbullion – On this account, you can shop hand poured and 24k gilded gold and silver products. Scrolling through the photos, you’ll find silver skulls, art bars, the occasional photo of a cute dog, and funny meme:

Moos & Wolf Metals – These veterans love to pour. Some of the pours look like ancient finds from a pirate shipwreck.

Reddit

Silverbugs – The Reddit Silverbugs group was one of the first groups where silver investors gathered online, and to this day it is still online for discussion, buying, selling, and trading.

The Evolving Retail Silver Market

Many stackers, particularly silverbugs, want silver to which they have an emotional attachment, and they want coins they can share with others on social media. Of course, they are premium conscious, but thanks to the ease of buying, they also might be a little more quick to make a purchase.

Perhaps, once one’s acquainted with the silver market through a Marvel Wolverine silver round, because you think the Wolverine is the most cool thing that ever happened, although it cost you double the price of the melt value of that coin, you might get a little more interested in the silver market in general. And then you might do a little research and discover that silver really has a long history as money and that it is probably a really undervalued asset relative to anything else. It could spillover for people that might buy silver on an emotional basis at first, and then after doing some study cursory research and understand the logic behind the value proposition.

People get excited about unique coins on social media. Entire communities center on sharing pictures of stacks (guns included, oftentimes). Through these groups, one can keep an eye on the retail market for precious metals. Many people make trades over these mediums, which were virtually nonexistent during the last bull run.

For instance, silverbugs love MS70s. Bullion coins graded less than an MS70 do not carry much premium, but there is a high demand for those perfect bullion coins. Pictures of such coins abound on social media. Ten years ago, as gold and silver ran to highs amid the global financial crisis, people who wanted to grade bullion coins were butts of jokes. Why would anyone want graded American Silver Eagles? Nowadays, they’re a popular coin––perhaps due to the photogenic nature of a perfect coin and the rise of picture sharing apps like Instagram.