Learn About Precious Metals

From your first gold coin to a long-built silver stack, Learn is where we cover the practical side of precious metals. Find guides on buying and selling, pricing and valuation, portfolio tracking, and the history and science behind gold and silver, written for both new buyers and experienced stackers.

Reference Library

Coin Guides

Bullion Guides

Portfolio Tracking

Pricing Guides

Investing Guides

Buying Guides

Selling Guides

Reference Library

A book containing a glossary of numismatic terms and terms related precious metals bullion.

Bullion Glossary: Numismatic & Bullion Terms Every Investor Should Know

Precious metals and coin collecting carry a vocabulary of their own. A planchet is a coin blank. ASW is the actual silver weight of

Coins from each active U.S. Mint branch — Philadelphia (P), Denver (D), San Francisco (S), and West Point (W) mintmarks

The U.S. Mint: History, Branches & What Each Mintmark Means

The United States Mint is the federal agency responsible for every coin that passes through American hands. It runs four active production facilities —

A Morgan silver dollar, a Lincoln wheat penny, an ancient Roman bronze coin, and a U.S. silver certificate — the range of objects a numismatist might collect.

What Is a Numismatist? Coin Collecting as a Hobby vs. Investment

A numismatist is someone who studies and collects coins, paper money, tokens, and related objects. The word comes from the Latin numisma, meaning “coin.”

Low-premium formats to buy silver at spot price: a 100 oz silver bar, pre-1965 junk silver coins, and generic silver rounds.

How to Buy Silver at (or Near) Spot Price

Search the spot price of silver and you get one clean number. Then you open a dealer’s cart, and every product costs more than

A monthly calendar with recurring circled buy dates beside gold coins, showing a dollar-cost-averaging schedule for when to buy gold

When to Buy Gold: Timing the Market vs. Dollar-Cost Averaging

Ask when to buy gold and you are really asking two different questions at once. One is about the market’s price: where gold trades

The safest way to buy gold is a documented purchase: a genuine bullion coin beside a dealer invoice and an insured, tracked shipping box.

The Safest Ways to Buy Gold (Without Getting Scammed)

Almost nobody loses money on gold because the metal itself turned out to be a bad idea. They lose it at the edges of

A few gold and silver coins on a coin-shop counter beside a blank sales receipt and pen.

Can You Sell Gold or Silver Anonymously? What’s Reportable & What Isn’t

Can you sell gold anonymously? Sort of. You can often sell without a dealer filing a federal form, but “anonymous” and “tax-free” are two

American Gold Eagle, 14k gold ring, and slabbed pre-1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle — examples of the bullion, scrap, and numismatic categories sellers need to sort their gold into before choosing a buyer.

How to Sell Gold: A Step-by-Step Guide for Best Price

Selling gold sounds straightforward — until the dealer’s offer is 5–15% below the spot price you saw online, and you have no idea whether

Three small piles of mixed gold and silver coins next to a larger pile, arranged to represent 5%, 10%, and 25% portfolio allocations, with a printed pie chart.

How Much Gold Should You Own? Allocation Guide for Every Stage

Most credible allocation research lands gold somewhere between 5% and 15% of a diversified portfolio, with three reference points that come up over and

American Silver Eagle, Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, and a 10 oz silver bar — three of the most common IRA-eligible silver bullion products — on a neutral surface.

Silver IRA: How to Hold Physical Silver in a Self-Directed IRA

A Silver IRA is a self-directed individual retirement account that holds IRS-approved physical silver — at least .999 fine — instead of paper assets.

American Gold Eagle, American Gold Buffalo, and Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins — three of the most common IRA-eligible gold bullion products — arranged on a neutral surface.

What Is a Gold IRA? How Self-Directed Precious Metals IRAs Work

A Gold IRA is a self-directed individual retirement account that holds IRS-approved physical gold (and sometimes silver, platinum, or palladium) instead of stocks, bonds,