Mobile Bay Coins and Fine Jewelry 2.25.2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
This is News Radio seven to ten WNTM. Uncle Henry
here once again with Ron of Mobile Bay Coins and
Fine Jewelry Mobile Bay Coins and Fine Jewelry at twenty
two oh four Government Street in Midtown Mobile Now you
can look at great pictures of what they have to
offer on Instagram and on Facebook and their website is
Mobile Baycoins dot Com. Ron. Great to have you in

(00:31):
studio again.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Nice to see you, Uncle Henry. How you been I've
been great.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
I've got a lot of questions about you because gold,
gold and silver have been in the news a lot lately.
I feel like gold and silver had been in the
news for the past six to seven years, just about
every week, some big thing. Before we get into those questions, though,
this radio show, we're doing this before Marty Graud Day,

(00:55):
although this show will be repeated after Marti graud Day
at least once. So talk to me about your hours now,
the Saturday before Marti Gras March first, you're gonna be open.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Yes, we are open this Saturday. We'll be open from
nine to two, and then, of course Marti Graus Day
that Tuesday, we will be closed Fat Tuesday, so everybody
gets a day off it's just you know how that
is in Mobile this side of sixty five and ten,
and it's just not worth being open. So everybody gets
a day off. Everybody have a safe and happy Marti Graous.
Hopefully the weather permits, because I know we've had a

(01:27):
little bit of a rain in the past, but the
forecast is looking good. And a lot of people have
been Marti Graus shopping bling stuff guys fancy sterling silver
type items that Anna has been selling, and a lot
of people buying nine nine nine fine silver Mardi Gras rounds,
the ones that members can usually with most organizations by
every year. Yeah, and they're usually not thrown. They're not

(01:49):
something you would catch or something like that, but they
would pay for them, and a lot of people looking
for those for gifts and things like that, maybe for
the queen or the king or who knows. But I've
sold quite a few of those, and we do buy
a lot of them being in the South during the year,
and we don't save them up, but we try to
hold a number of them because people always ask for
them during the Marti Gras. Two and a half three

(02:10):
weeks of Martin grass.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
Well, let me let me ask you just a little
bit about that. So we've got the rest of this week,
We've got the Saturday. You're gonna be open the Saturday
before Marty Graus, and you're gonna be open the day
after Joe Cain Day. That Monday, you think you'll be
Will people be buying Marti Graus related stuff even on
the Monday, but the day before or they have they

(02:32):
already got it by that.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Most people have got it by them. But there could
be some last minute people that haven't had their ball
yet because maybe they're prayed Monday or Tuesday. So there's
always that. I know Athenis Praides Tuesday. So I mean
a lot of ladies and gentlemen do come in right afterwards.
And we have a tuxedo shop not far from Mobile
Bay Coins. A lot of people you can tell they
just came from there. You'll actually you see them actually

(02:53):
putting the tux seed on their car are the last directions.
I'm like, it's not very hard. It's literally right around
the carner.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
From Well, I saw you know last weekend. It's funny
you mentioned that I went out on a Saturday morning
and looked and that people were lined up outside the
Tuxedo shop, and I said, well, this is very seasonal
because he's already lining up outside the tuch shop. So
you are open Saturday, March first, from nine to two,
so you the listener opened Saturday nine to two and

(03:19):
then going to be closed on Monte Gros Day. Now,
the last time that you were here and Anna was
on the phone with us here for this program, I
was asking you about things I saw in the news,
and gold continues to be in the news. First, I
want to go back to what I'd asked you, because
I saw stories, well I don't know if they were stories.

(03:40):
I saw people claiming that record amounts of gold were
being brought into the United States of America. The people
that were reporting it on social media didn't know who
was buying it, but they just said a lot of
gold was coming back into the United States. Now, have
you found this to be true?

Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yes, And we've talked to a few of our vent
there's distributors to wholesalers, and they've had a record amount
come in in large buys. In other words, they're buying
it from individuals. So it seems to me that a
lot of it's coming in and being sold, not just
being imported by somebody buying and holding it. Some people
in the United States are buying large corporations because your

(04:18):
average user investing in goals not going to buy one
hundred one thousand ounces at a time whostsalers do. So
it's actually helped drive premiums down on a few different
gold products out there because there's so much more available.
So it's really good for the stacker investor hedger because
of course, premiums are where what you pay overspots, so
those premiums have come down, so it's a great time

(04:40):
to do it. I'm not saying go blow all your
money at one time on it, but while premiums are
a little bit artificially lower than they normally would be
because of the influx of this gold, I mean, go
ahead and make a few purchases.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
Okay. Now, the other thing I wanted to ask you
about in terms of gold is that I'm hearing more
and more chatter. I think Tucker Carlson has done a
show about this. People are now wondering is there really
gold in Fort Knox, And we've had President Trump and
Elon Musk talk about going in and actually going to
physically see it, going to physically see and audit Fort

(05:15):
Knox to see if gold is there. Have you heard
about this and do you think the gold is there?

Speaker 2 (05:20):
I have heard about it, and a lot of everybody,
not everybody, but the stack is rights everybody, the guys
and the games that come in. There are repeat customers
that are there all the time. We're talking about Trump,
usually Trump fans and things of that nature are speculating
that it may not be there. I mean, I personally
think it'll be there. I really do. I just think
it would be such a scandal and the value of

(05:41):
the US dollar would would go down and plummet. Now
there's not enough gold in Fort Knox to back the
amount of way I have in any way stuper form.
But it's something Yes, you know.

Speaker 1 (05:52):
Well, Ron, and I'm sorry to run. But the people
that we're talking about the gold coming in, some of
them were speculating, Again this is only speculation, but they
were speculating that our own government wanted the gold so
that they could put it in Fort Knox where it belongs. Yeah,
they knew somebody was coming to look for it.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
And it would be tough because if they really did
an audit, they would assay it and most of the gold,
almost all of it is nine hundred fine gold. It
came from the recall of when they had the United
States citizens in nineteen thirty three were required to turn
in gold coins US gold coins unless they had a
collector's value over a certain amount, then they could retain
a certain amount. Plus everybody could maintain or retain a

(06:33):
sum gold. But most of it you had to turn
back in, and most people did foolishly. Now, you know
a lot of people didn't because US gold pre thirty three.
US gold is plentiful on the market and even common stuff.
So everybody did not turn it in, but enough did
that to where they melted it into these hundred dollars
bars of nine hundred fine gold. So they didn't even

(06:53):
refine the gold, they melted it and poured it into bars.

Speaker 1 (06:56):
Okay, all right, so you're not going to be able
to go to some of the country and get replacement gold.

Speaker 2 (07:02):
Now, it'd be really hard they figure it out. They
would have to have a large smelting deal going on
where somebody would be hard to keep it secret because
they'd have to melt the pure gold they're buying and
mix it with silver and copper. To make it like
it would have benefit came out of US.

Speaker 1 (07:15):
Gold coins now at Mobile, bake coins and Fine Jewelry
twenty two or four Government straight and midtim Mobile. Are
you singing an uptick and interest in gold because it's
being talked about, as you said, and the premiums have
gone down on some of these things. Are you seeing
more interest in it locally?

Speaker 2 (07:32):
Yes, we have, and not only locally, but people. Gentleman
from Atlanta drove in because a lot of the wholesalers
in his area that he was dealing with we're out,
are low on silver and he wanted a specific time
yeah silver, He wanted five ounce bars. He likes the size.
It's most people that buy silver and large quinities go
ten ounce, one hundred ounce and maybe someone ounce rounds

(07:54):
to make thing because they stack well. They're usually in
square tubes or round tubes that is easy to store.
Five ounce bars are a little bit smaller, usually sealed
in plastic, and they don't stack as well, so there's
not as popular. Not everybody stocks them. We happen to
have a whole bunch of them. So this gentleman called
us from Atlanta and then drove over and picked up
a bunch of them and then happenstance. A few days later,

(08:15):
another gentleman from Georgia came in was interested in five
ounce bars, and we still had some available. So why
the interest. People are speculating that with the ratio of
gold to silver right now being what it is, it's
a really good time to get into silver too, because
in the industry, like with TVs and electronics, much of
the silver that is used in making flat screens, TVs

(08:36):
and cell phones and things of that nature isn't recoverable easily.
You have to use toxic chemicals. At the United States
EPA monitors, it's hard to get the license. But you
go over to China and some of these other countries
they do it and dump the sludge I guess in
the mountains and just you know, slowly kill themselves. But
it's not easy to do. So silver does get consumed
more than gold does as far as an electronics and whatnot,

(08:59):
and usually not re covered or it's in a landfill
making it. The supplies go down. Now, of course, there's
much more silver on the earth as there is gold,
but same thing. A lot of people are mixing it.
Most people are doing about seventy percent gold thirty percent silver.
The mixing scene, we've seen a couple gentlemen going almost
eighty twenty with silver, b in the eighty huh and

(09:21):
twenty in the gold. Now you have to have if
you're doing large purchases and you're doing the eighty twenty deal,
you got to think ahead of time where am I
going to store it? Yeah, because that much silver weighs
a lot number one, number two, it takes up more space.
The same amount you could have a small safe that
somebody could carry away, which is never a good idea,
but the same value with gold. I mean you could
almost carry yourself. So think about that ahead of time.

(09:42):
Don't say I'm gonna spend X amount of dollars on
silver and then all of a sudden realize you need
two or three large safes to put it in.

Speaker 1 (09:49):
Now, how is your inventory? Because you just said that
people are driving in from Georgia to try and get
what they want. How is your inventory at Mobile Bay Coins?

Speaker 2 (09:58):
We're fine in our suppliers are still fine and most
of the common stuff, even five hounds bars, we were
able to reorder after we sold all of those last
week and this week, so stuff is available, it has
supplies have not dried up. If they do dry up,
which I don't think they will, no reason to panic anybody.
But if they do, premiums will go up. The reason
premiums are really low right now is there's just a

(10:20):
perfect perfect storm. There's a large supply. Because the prices
are high, people are profit taking and there's enough influx
of silver being sold by profiteering. Are people that just
need to sell things for an emergency or whatnot to
take the same thing with gold to take up some
of the slack. Because you don't want to see premiums
go up, because it doesn't help us. People think, well,
you make an extra fifty bucks an ounce on silver,

(10:41):
premiums went up, Hey, you don't sell as much though.
Because premiums are higher, there's not as much draw. People
will wait to see if premiums cup that come down.
We like a lower premium. We like to keep it flowing.
I mean it's a volume deal. So it's a good.

Speaker 1 (10:53):
Time, okay again. Mobile Bay Coins and Fine Jewelry is
it twenty two oh four Government straight to Midtown Mobile
the website Mobile Bay cooins dot com. So you can
handle any size order these days, Do you have any
deals that you want to talk about on certain items
we do.

Speaker 2 (11:09):
We can really give people deals on gold right now
because the premiums are so low. So if you got
a large order of gold our silver, we can help
you out because replacing it is easy. It's in stock
most places and we can get it so we can
pass that savings onto the customer. All we ask is
that somebody comes in either calls. If it's somebody we know,
they don't they just text and tell me what the
order is. But somebody we haven't dealt with, call and

(11:30):
discuss it, or come by the shop there at twenty
two oh four Government Street and discuss it. Because if
you're just getting into it because a they're hearing all
the hoopla out there, the stuff you and I have
heard and that we're talking about, and then decide, yeah,
maybe I should get a little gold or silver or
at least get started. You can come by the shop
and for no charge, we'll give you some training. We'll
let you handle some gold some silver, give you an

(11:51):
idea what it's supposed to feel like. Because gold is
very dense, a lot of protons and neutrons packed into
the little small spot making it a lot heavier. So
I mean it's pretty easy to tell, okay, this is
pretty heavy, and then with a magnet make sure it's
not steel. We can walk through all that with people,
tell them about different ways to authenticate it, because you
hear sad stories all the time and it drives people

(12:11):
out of the market.

Speaker 1 (12:12):
But they have a.

Speaker 2 (12:13):
Gentleman they meet and they buy some goal bars and
later on they find out the go barbers are fake.
So I'd never recommend buying from a person off the street.
And if it's a friend, I know they're friends, but
still proofs in the pudding. You know, I've come from Missouri,
show me state. Come by the shop. We'll test it
for you. You don't have to pay us anything. We don't
have to do the transaction. Call arrange it and you

(12:35):
can both parties can come in and we'll test it
right in front of our testers. So the buyer knows
what they're getting is real, and the seller knows what
they're selling was real. So that's a good transaction because
you hate see friendships break up, and we've heard about
it where somebody sold somebody five ounces of gold. A
couple of years later they find out it wasn't real.
The guy may not have known it wasn't real, but
you know, there's always going to be that riff there,

(12:56):
so we can help people out that way too.

Speaker 1 (12:58):
Now, do you have anything new in that you want
to highlight? I saw that you have birthday one out
silver rounds and bars that people can get engraved for birthdays.

Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yes, we do, and people have been asking for those
for a long time. The main supplier of those was
out because it's the year end change and last year.
Of course, they were all dated twenty twenty four. It's
hard to find dateless ones. They always put the date
on there. They want you to rebuy the next year,
and yeah, you over order, but so it takes them
a while to order get the new dies. The dyes

(13:31):
come in while they're in and they got delivered so way,
way longer than last year. I wish they would have
started manufacturing them last year, but they said because of
the Christmas rush and the silver being higher, more people
were ordering, people being dealers ordering the engravables Christmas related
twenty twenty four, and that kept them from being able
to pre manufacture the twenty twenty five items that are

(13:51):
popular like the new baby and different baby themed.

Speaker 1 (13:55):
Okay, so so birth you call them birthday rounds?

Speaker 2 (13:58):
Birthday rounds, Yes, and I.

Speaker 1 (14:01):
Guess engravables are always popular at Mobile Bay coins.

Speaker 2 (14:04):
Yeah, it's a simple present. If they don't know what
to put on it, they can give a copy of
the receipt or the receipt to the recipient of the
gift and they can bring that in at any time
and get the one line of engraving at no cost.
Some people buyen like I don't know what I want
on there. Maybe I'll let the person I give it
to put the the saying on there. So either way
we can do that one line of engraving. If they

(14:25):
want a small chapter written on there and small print,
we can do it. But it's gonna cost you.

Speaker 1 (14:30):
Now, what about silver eagles twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (14:36):
They are in stock and they are very popular. Every day,
I would say somebody, at least one person buys a
twenty twenty five silver Eagle usually buys a capsule to
put it in if they're giving it as a gift.
That the capsules are very snaplocks. They're clear acrylic. They're
not going to harm the coin. They'll actually retard the
actual toning of the coin. So if you're not a
big fan of toning on the coins and people think

(14:57):
they want to get it off, don't do it. Because
if you scrub that silver eagle or clean it unprofessionally,
when it comes time to sell it, you're not going
to get as much premium overspot because cleaning coins is
always bad and it happens. We see that all the time.
Feel really bad for the people and the coin are
silver round because it lowers the value of those items.

Speaker 1 (15:16):
Now, do you have any new proof silver eagles?

Speaker 2 (15:19):
We do. We have the new twenty twenty five wproof
silver eagles. Those were struck at the West Point Mint
and they will be striking the San Francisco ones a
little later on the year. So the US Mint has
a wide variety of different silver eagles available, but the
twenty twenty fives literally walked in the door today.

Speaker 1 (15:35):
The wa oh today. Okay, all right, So these are
while supplies last.

Speaker 2 (15:40):
We have. We have quite a few.

Speaker 1 (15:42):
We try.

Speaker 2 (15:42):
We sell a lot of them every year, so we
try to have them in stock, just like the regular
regular silver eagles. People that collect them usually buy one
of the proofs too.

Speaker 1 (15:50):
Now, what about Gosh, it's been a long time since
we've talked on this show about like paper money, silver notes,
things like that. Do you have anything like that?

Speaker 2 (16:03):
Yes, lots of We actually had a couple of really
cool notes, a Bison note and a chief note that
I've had for a while because they were higher end notes,
and we sold both of them within two days.

Speaker 1 (16:13):
Oh okay.

Speaker 2 (16:13):
And then another group, a large group of two dollars
educational note currency people out there. They're any currency would
understand what that means. It's a tough note. It's graded
by PCGS and it's graded AU fifty three. Tough note
in that condition a lot. It's about fifteen notes that
are really hard to find, just back from PCGS. So
come by the shop and we will be posting pictures

(16:35):
on Facebook and Instagram tomorrow of all the different notes.

Speaker 1 (16:38):
Now are these this haven't talked a lot through the
years to you or Angelo about these kind of things,
But you just mentioned these collectors, an enthusiastic group of
people that just wanted the What do they love about it?

Speaker 2 (16:52):
The history they do they do the history. I just
give you my opinion. I like currency now, but when
I was a young Collectoren fourteen. Even into my twenties,
I was I was kind of against paper money collecting
and baseball cards because it's paper, it's environmental. You've got
to be very careful how you handle it, very careful
how you store it. With your coins too, But they're

(17:14):
metal based, they have little more leeway on them. Paper
you spill something on it, it's over. So a little
more about now. These certified notes we're talking about are sealed. Now,
they're not hermetically sealed. You can't put them underwater with
a brick, and they're not going to after about a
day or a half, they'll get water in there, but
in most cases they will be if you make a mistake.
We never drink anything around your coins, your computer, keyboard

(17:37):
are your currency. It's just gonna be a it's a
bad idea, but people do. And that's but I like
it now as I got older and I realized, Okay,
there's a ways to store it, especially now when there's
professional grading companies out there that will seal these once again,
not hermetically sealed, but they'll seal them enough to where
they're protected from your fingers, the oils on your fingers,
and they stay beautiful. I'm so OCD seal those in plastic,

(18:01):
that nice clear acrylic plastic on top of it. So
the actual grading not really a slab like w a coin,
but still the holder for the currency will stay in
good condition.

Speaker 1 (18:10):
Also well, because you're in your industry, you've learned every
day that condition is everything. You've got to make sure
it's in good shape.

Speaker 2 (18:19):
Ye, take care of your stuff. I don't care what
you buy. We have a lot of people buy silver rounds.
They let their kids play with them. Hey, maybe buy
one they can handle, but the rest of them take
care of because if you let them truly play with
them a they can damage them, they can get lost,
who knows what can happen. But when it comes time
to sell them once again, the premium or the amount
that you get back a spot because of the they're impaired,

(18:40):
is going to make you unhappy, So don't do it.
Maybe let them get them a copper round. They're very inexpensive.
A lot of kids come in. We just give them one.
It gives the kids something to handles. They don't mess
with are asked their parents to mess with their silver items.

Speaker 1 (18:53):
Now, many many years ago, we're almost out of time here,
but I want to mention, as we have for numerous times.
The first time I did a show with you, years
and years ago on this radio station, you talked about
free appraisals as being a part of your business model
that you just will will give people free appraisals, even
if they don't want to sell, even if they just

(19:13):
want something for their insurance company. You do free appraisals.
You're still able to do that. I mean, things get busy.

Speaker 2 (19:19):
They do, and we're still pulling it off. We asked
that people give us a call and discuss it with
us ahead of time. Quick call two five one seven
fifty ninety. Give us a description of what you have
if Ana's big saying is if it's in a shoebox,
is you know, like you get regular sized feet, you know, yeah,
bigger feet, Maybe not a regular sized shoebox. It's not
going to be a problem. You can just come on in.
But you still calls to discuss those items, because if

(19:42):
I'm going to be required to do it because of
currency or something like that, you want to make sure
I'm there. I'm not gone very often, but I do
have a life and I do have to be gone
every once a while. Yeah, give us a call otherwise,
come on by. But we'd still like to know ahead
of time if they want it for a split, if
it's in a state they're going to divide up. It's
always nice to talk to them and get a little
time in before you start actually dividing it. Because different people,

(20:04):
if they know ahead of time they're going to be
receiving items, they might have preferences based on what materials
in the estate. We can help out with that.

Speaker 1 (20:11):
Okay, again, that numbers two five to one seven, two five.
Let me try that again, two five to one seven
two five fifteen ninety for mobile bake coins and fine jewelry.
And you are you still buy things from the public
line right.

Speaker 2 (20:25):
All the time? Ask please give us an opportunity to
make you an offer gold, silver, platinum, pladium, coin collections.
Currency doesn't have to be certified. The things we're talking about,
stirling silver, flatware, scrap gold, nice jewelry, diamonds. We buy
all those things and more so give us a chance,
give us an opportunity to make you an offer on
your items.

Speaker 1 (20:44):
Again. The telephone number for mobile bay coins and fine
jewelry is two five one, seven, two, five, fifteen ninety.
They're located at twenty two oh four Government Street of
Midtown Mobile. You can find out more at any time
by going to Mobilebakcoins dot com. Ron thanks for my dad.

Speaker 2 (21:00):
You're welcome up, Henry,