(Part 2) Best products from r/Silverbugs

My favorite knife right now is very functional, but not that neat looking.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AU6NHVI/

As a carry knife it is great. Small, holds a great edge, and feels very solid.

My other favorite knife has limited functionality, but it is pretty neat.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XA3CZE/

It has a ceramic blade. I only use it on shipping boxes and stuff like that since it is easy to chip the blade on harder materials. The thing is stupid sharp.

I'll be hiring a professional vending locator service, they sell your machines on the prospect that you are donating to charity in the process (which it will, that's the tradeoff).

Yes, on my own. Vending software tracks the optimal route.

It's a big upfront investment for a 23 year old, but I'm working 2 jobs in the meantime, which is how I am able to get started, but I can still find the time to set up machines. It's planting the seeds for a long term residual income strategy, a topic I am highly interested in. In the meantime, it will be my fun little hobby, I'll give out free gum to the kids and establish that I'm not a pedophile by banging their moms.

That's all I can share, I don't want to spoil any secrets, however I WOULD recommend anyone who is interested to check out this book www.amazon.com/Start-Vending-Business-Antoine-Cameron/dp/1456411217

Online... I usually check Wayfair.com for ideas... In your case, I searched for a "craft table" and came up with this interesting unit that combines shelving with a small table/desk. (Naturally, you can browse Wayfair for other ideas, but this is what leapt out at me)

At the very least, I would include a Clip On Lamp With 5X Magnifying Glass and modify the table to include an under-desk keyboard drawer to accommodate a space-saving all-in-one computer system. (How you & your family do your computing & web browsing is up to you, of course. But I'd suggest a dedicated "hobby computer" for your "hobby work station." That way, you and your son can share all your hobby links on the same computer... but then you can keep all your personal stuff on your separate system and he can keep all his games and schoolwork or whatever on his...

Just some suggestions that I hope you'll find useful... Good luck & have fun!

It looks like you're using a hand stamp instead of a press stamp with that hydraulic press; you're probably fine to do so since the stamp is so large, but I would highly encourage you to pick up one of these face shields if you don't already have one, it may just save your ass.

I learned the hard way when I was using my 20 ton press with a long hand stamp, and the stamp came down at a bit of an angle and shot out at my face with 20 tons of force, hitting me right above the eye and cause an instant knot on my face nearly the size of a golf ball. I honestly thought the silver was stuck in my eyebrow the knot was so big. The left side of my face turned all sorts of fantastic shades of blues, blacks, and purple over the next couple weeks. If that stamp had been a half inch or so lower I honestly believe I would have been blinded in one eye.

Just a cautionary tale and word of warning, PLEASE spend the $20 and always wear full face protection when operating machinery like a hydraulic press.

Pricing Morgans is a knowledge-based art. For starters, LOOK AT THE COIN! Of course, for a newbie it's comforting to have the certified slab. But I've seen some over-priced higher-grade coins that are downright ugly. And some beautiful coins might be under-priced because they are technically down-graded (dings, nicks, scratches).

It's very helpful to have several Price Guides. For retail prices, get a 2017 Red Book -- which has lots of great info. There's also a Morgan Red Book. Lots of other Morgan books too.

You'll also want to know dealer pricing -- the Greysheets. Monthly subscriptions are pricey; instead, get the $45 single-issue 7-Pack ("The Works"). Prices rarely change quickly, so the single-issue works well for many months.

Also look at "Sold" listings of online auction sites (ebay, Heritage, etc.). There's a learning curve... well-worth the time & effort.

Lastly, initially set a per-coin budget... say, $100 - $200. After awhile, you know which coins are worth more.

It's a great hobby. Enjoy the hunt!

Here's the Ram air kit. It feeds from the front of the car directly.

The exhaust I don't know exactly which one it is, but I assume it's just a header back system. It was installed by the dealer when the original owner bought it. Made by Corsa, has a definitely unique and distinctive sound compared to most vettes. It pops and crackles as well... I need the cats gutted, but I'm not sure how that might effect the sensors so I've held off on that for now.

Also, I know tuning it before I do other things isn't a great idea, however I can get it tuned anytime. I have been helping the guys open a new speed shop and they are willing to tune for me for free. They also want to be the ones building my car of course, so anytime they add/upgrade something, they will retune it. But yes, the guy is going to reprogram the ECM and figure out the best tune for what I've got now for me.

A gift for a non stacker should look really nice especially if you’re planning to continue. Definitely not a junky mint tube

I’d recommend a really nice presentation case. Like the link below, but obviously you could go cheaper. I like 20 slots, because you get them their 1st 18 and hopefully they will look forward to your gift every year. And they got their own once their 19 and 20. Create an independent silverbug.

https://www.amazon.com/Lighthouse-Presentation-American-Silver-Dollars/dp/B01N6WXSRC?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-iphone-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01N6WXSRC

So what you have there is known as a clear plastic resin cast. People use them for art projects or whatever. They make paperweights and such. When I was a kid I had a scorpion cast in a resin globe. It was really cool.

Using a hammer will cause damage to the coin. Also some resin blocks are different from others. Some are very glue like and others are brittle. Getting the coin out of the resin block is possible. It will take considerable work on your end. If it means that much to you I'll tell you how to do it. Most people would not bother unless the coin is very rare or made of gold. Chemistry lesson ahead!

The way you'll be able to safely recover the coin completely intact would be to dissolve the resin using an acid known as Methyl Ethyl Ketone, or MEK for short. MEK is an industrial chemical used to dissolve polyethylene(plastic). MEK is similar to acetone(paint thinner), but acetone is only capable of dissolving liquid resin, the block you have is hardened and cured.

You can buy it at home depo or your local hardware store. You will need to soak your block with MEK in an aluminum bucket or a glass jar for a few days(maybe a couple weeks). MEK is nasty stuff. Don't get it on your clothes and make sure the bucket is in a well ventilated area.

After you have sufficiently soaked the coin and dissolved the resin you will need to remove the coin with a pair of metal tongs. Do not touch the coin until you have nuetralized the acid that is left on it.

The easiest way to neutralize the acid/resin solution is to use sodium carbonate, also known as soda ash. After the solution is neutralized you will be able to dispose of the slush by burying it or burning it(burying is usually protocol). DO NOT throw it in your dumpster or trash can.

Put the acid-wet coin in a glass jar with the soda ash and agitate the jar. Then put on some industrial cleaning gloves and dig the coin out. Wash the coin in water and then again with a clean batch of MEK. The clean MEK wont have any dissolved plastic in it and it will evaporate, leaving you with a perfectly recovered coin.

It may help to get a dremel and cut off as much resin as you can without damaging the coin. It will dramatically reduce the time it will take to dissolve the resin.

Good luck and I'm no expert. If you hurt yourself doing this I'm not liable.

For me, I've found the best value in having two scales. I have this one for smaller items. It goes to the nearest tenth of a gram, so that's good enough for me for smaller quantities. This is good for jewelery, small coins, etc.

For weighing a whole stack or something, I also have one of these. It's only accurate to the nearest gram, so the small one is better for small quantities, but this one supports up to eleven pounds and is definitely the best you'll find for the price. I also measure stuff other than my stack on it as well, so this is a decent multipurpose scale.

Well I know there's an option to not have the receipt print out (I don't have it), but the #000 size is the smallest I ever use, and it is for the reason you mentioned (labels don't go any smaller). What I recommend though if you do a lot of shipping, buy this tape dispenser and just use 3 strips of the clear 2in tape. It makes the bubble mailer extremely secure for very little cost. It also protects the label against weather and damage. I've sent out over ten thousand packages this way and feel its by far the best mix of safety/cost efficiency for sending coins and paper money.

http://imgur.com/a/W0x3j

All three can be had for cheap from amazon, which is where I got all mine. Check out the links below... It's the setup I have for even cheaper than I paid (closer to $15). Acid is pretty standard and you can't really get "bad" acid (Gerry Garcia may say otheriwse). The scale has been awesome to me (the reviews on amazon are good too). The loupe is pretty cool and has been pretty helpful. It's just a magnifying glass. As such, it's hard to fuck up.

Acid Test Kit

Scale

Loupe

I like to keep all my silver (generic or not) shiny as well. So I understand the concern of tarnishing. The only thing that I can think to reccomend is a safe silica container like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003QZ6PZ0

Other than that, someone else might be able to give you good advice. Welcome to silverbugs. All the best

I didn't really know much about these bars, but with the dip, the LCS didn't have much to choose from as his generics/junk bullion box was cleaned out. Just these and a bunch of Christmas bars available.

After some minimum research online I found out they are by the Madison Mint and from the 70s. Seems like they were pretty popular at the time. I used my precision scale for the first time on these and found one was right on the money at 31.1 and the other was about 30.8.

I'm not really that worried that much about it being fake, I'm just curious if that's a normal tolerance for something like this. They both pass the ring/sound and magnet test.

This book is specific to the Peace Dollar series, but I thought it was a great read. Covers the debasement of US coins as well and of course the mythical 1964-D Peace Dollar.

Wow, that's a badass deal for someone doing a lot of selling. Bookmarked in case I need it in the future. Shipping of those does add up.

Quoted a #000 and a #2 shipment, with shipping came to 5.8 cents per #000 and 14.1 cents per #2.

For reference, I bought this and this shipped free using Amazon prime.

Works out to 7.5 cents per #000 and 32 cents per #2. Still have plenty of both left. Putting this up there as a less up-front cost alternative for someone doing less shipping.

Thanks again for the link though. Good info.

Ping test isn't Accurate at all. Acid is much more reliable and is not expensive. http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Testing-Acid-Liquid-Stone/dp/B004CNFUIS If the scrapings turn dark/blood red its real.