(NEXSTAR) – Costco has added 1-ounce silver coins to its website's offerings.
The coins are made by the Royal Canadian Mint. They have a maple leaf on the front and the likeness of King Charles III on the back. Each is advertised as containing 1 Troy ounce of 99.99% pure silver. Costco is selling the coins in 25-count “tubes” at around $629 per tube. Pricing info was not available on the Costco site as of Friday morning, but social-media users and other online reports appeared to indicate varying prices. Costco members can buy up to five “tubes” in a single transaction, according to the Costco website.
The coins were unavailable on the site as of Friday morning. 1-ounce 24k gold coins from the Royal Canadian Mint, priced at over $2,000 per coin, were listed as “sold out” on Costco’s site. The silver coins are the latest precious metals offered exclusively to Costco members, following the sale of gold bars in September 2023. In a December earnings call, Costco CFO Richard Galanti said members had purchased “over $100 million” worth of gold bars in the preceding quarter alone, and on Thursday, he indicated the silver was starting strong, too.
“[E-commerce] showed strength in several areas, led by sales of gold, and, very recently, silver,” Galanti said during the earnings call.
Costco’s sales of gold and silver were especially strong in recent quarters, CFO Richard Galanti said in a Thursday earnings call.
But reviews for the silver coins weren’t as strong as those for the gold bars. On the Costco website, numerous customers pointed to problems with the packaging or the seal of the tubes, alleging the coins were spilled during shipping. Several said the coins were scratched or damaged as a result.
A representative for Costco was not immediately available to comment on the alleged issues, though Costco did respond to one of the reviews on its site, indicating its customer service team could assist with “any outstanding concerns.”
Reviews for the 1-ounce gold coins appeared more positive, though none of the reviewers appeared to have actually received the product as of Friday.
Consumer interest in precious metals has likely risen in recent years due to concerns over inflation or economic instability, experts say. Owning a tangible asset, some buyers think, could be a safeguard against what they believe to be more volatile investments.
David Wagner III, the head of markets and equities at Aptus Capital Advisors, told the Associated Press that people buying gold may believe there's instability at the structural level of the market and/or the government itself.
In the same article, however, he argued that gold has not always kept up with inflation and said he considers it “one of the worst things that you can ever own.” The Commodities Future Trading Commission also advises people to be cautious.
warns buyers to be cautious when it comes to valuable metals and especially the statements they may come across in television or online commercials. “The reality is that gold and other valuable metals are very changeable and previous results do not indicate future earnings well,” the commission states.
Costco is providing 1-ounce silver coins on its website. However, many customers are indicating the same supposed issue.
