If you are a long time subscriber to my YouTube channel or a long time reader of this blog, you will know that I make a very comfortable side income from my business of buying and selling precious metals and coins.
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Now that I have been doing this business for so long, most of the scrap gold & silver and coin collections I purchase come as referrals. That said, every summer I still go back to my picking roots and hit up the garage sale, estate sale, and flea market scenes.
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If you are the kind of person who wants to make some serious side income on your own terms (I’m not talking about slaving away as an uber driver), you should learn the business of buying and selling precious metals and coins. As you read more on this blog and watch more of my videos, you’ll get a good sense of how this business works.
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However, once you’ve got the knowledge, you’re gonna need the right gear. In the video below, you can see exactly what gear I take with me every single time I go out in search of gold, silver, and coins at garage sales and flea markets.
If you don’t want to watch the whole video, here is a list of the “must-haves” and the optional gear that will make your life easier, but you can start without it.
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Must Have Gear for Buying and Selling Precious Metals & Coins
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1. A strong magnet like a neodymium magnet is the single most important piece of gear on this list. It will let you weed out the junk quickly so you can focus on what’s important (remember, no precious metals are magnetic!)
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2. Good quality digital scale that measures to the 100ths place and has a readout in grams (g), troy ounces (ozt), and pennyweights (dwt).
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3. Lighted jeweler’s loupe to help you identify small hallmarks on silver and features like mint marks and errors on coins.
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4. A pair of needle-nose pliers or multi-tool is a must. The pliers are critical for being able to pull worthless stones out of a valuable gold or silver setting on the spot. I prefer a Leatherman multi-tool, though, because when I’m carrying one it always seems to save me in a pinch.
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5. Bring enough cash with you to a sale. You don’t want to have to leave and go to the bank and come back to find that they sold it to someone else. I’d say $500-$2,000 is the right amount in most cases.
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6. A way to measure the diameter and thickness of a coin is critical. You can use a ruler in a pinch, but a good pair of ,,digital calipers will make your work easier and more precise.
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7. You cannot buy precious metals without an a,,cid testing kit with a scratch stone. Plain and simple.
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Nice-to-Have Gear for Buying and Selling Precious Metals & Coins
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1. Fisher Space Pen. You can use any pen, but why settle for that junky pen your accountant gave you when you can have a pen that writes in outer space (or more likely, in the rain or upside down)
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2. I like to keep my large bills in one pocket separate from my wallet with my small bills. This is good for security and speedy purchases. I’m all about slim wallets like this one.
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3. If you’re buying coins, you’ll need to store them somewhere on the way home. I like using coin tubes for bulk and Air-Tites for premium items. I also use a bank bag to throw all the loose silver and gold items so they don’t get lost in my backpack.
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4. Having a mini flashlight when you’re buying coins in someone’s poorly lit den will make your day so much better. Just get one. You won’t be sorry.
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5. Get. A. Portable. Power. Bank. Get one. Seriously. When you’re running from sale to sale or at a flea market and you want to look up a hallmark or check an eBay price and your phone dies, you’ll wish you listened to me.
