Silver coins are another item you can add to your Costco list
May 9, 2024, 5:22 PM | Updated: 7:00 pm
Costco is now selling silver coins. (Photo: Toby Scott, Getty Images)
(Photo: Toby Scott, Getty Images)
Large packages of eggs, milk, bread are common items available at Costco, but now the wholesale retail giant is offering something a little more shiny: silver coins. It started selling the coins in March, following a frenzy on the gold bars it sells.
According to CBS News, Costco now sells around $200 million a month in gold and silver. Wells Fargo equity analyst Edward Kelly told CBS sales have climbed because of “Costco’s aggressive pricing and high level of customer trust.”
Costco sells tubes of 25, 1-ounce Canada Maple Leaf Silver Coins, priced at about $680. The coins have a maple leaf on the front and King Charles III on the back.
The silver coins come after the company started selling gold bars last October.
In a company earnings call in October 2023, according to The Associated Press, CFO Richard Galanti claimed the gold bars, sold exclusively online, are “typically gone within a few hours” of appearing on Costco’s website. There is a two-bar limit per member.
Financial expert: Costco’s 1-ounce gold bars are a ‘mug’s game’
The AP reported the one-ounce gold pieces, offered in two designs, were selling for just below $2,000 — slightly more than the current market price of gold, which was around $1,835 per ounce last October.
But Jason Royal, a principal writer and editor for the financial services company Bankrate, previously told MyNorthwest the gold bars are more of a novelty than an investment.
“You’re basically in the hole 10-12% as soon as you purchase,” Royal said. “The returns are a lot a lot more spotty than stocks, and you have to keep it safe.”
However, according to USA Today, Costco sold over $100 million in gold bars in a three-month period ending Nov. 26. The national outlet added the same trend is happening to the silver coins, which were sold out in March.
USA Today also reported that, according to Costco, the coins may be available at local warehouses at a lower price. Members can buy a maximum of five tubes of coins which are nonrefundable.
Contributing: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest
Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X, formerly known as Twitter, here and email her here.
