Is Monarch Precious Metals Reputable? In this in-depth Monarch Precious Metals review (2023), we have taken a close look at Monarch Precious Metals and the company’s ratings and reviews, products and services, pros and cons, and more to answer the question of whether this gold dealer-refiner is legit.
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Rating Overview From The Same Company:
- Free Storage for Non-IRA Precious Metals
- Biggest Promotions in the Industry
- Unmatched Customer Service
- No High Pressure Sales Tactics
- Outstanding Ratings & Customer Reviews
- FREE and Easy IRA & 401(k) Rollovers
- A+ BBB Rating and AAA BCA Rating
- Highest Buy-Back Guarantee
- 2021 Company Of The Year Award
With that said, let us get back to our Monarch Precious Metals review.
What Is Monarch Precious Metals?
Monarch Precious Metals is a dealer-refinery operating out of Oregon. What do we mean by dealer-refinery? Most dealers tend to source the entirety of their products, and most refineries only sell what they mint themselves.
Monarch Precious Metals operates a somewhat curious space in-between. Only some of their products are proprietary, whereas others were made by refineries around the world.
The company opened in 2008, undoubtedly riding the high in precious metals demand that came as a consequence of the financial crisis around that time.
That they have stayed in business after precious metals prices slumped in 2011 is a bonus, though some of the company’s sides leave wanting. The products themselves look good, but customer service comes off as more of an afterthought to them.
Monarch Precious Metals Reviews & Ratings
However, a major downside is that they do not have any accreditation by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), lack Business Consumer Alliance inclusion, and have fairly negative reviews.
Additionally, this is the only review they have on TrustPilot so far.
Now, let us go over the company’s products before moving on to some parts that we feel could be handled much better.
Products And Services
Monarch Precious Metals’ product offering can easily be called the company’s strongest side. Though some reviews hint at issues with the delivered goods, the quality itself does not look disputable.
Like many private mints, Monarch Precious metals has a wide array of bullion products. The company’s primary focus is on silver, and the palette of available items in this category is greater than all the others combined.
That said, Monarch does place an emphasis on specialty and novelty products that extend past just silver bullion. You will find some interesting items in their inventory that are unfortunately offset by some of the lackluster reputation the company has accrued.
Gold Monarch Precious Metals
Somewhat surprisingly, those looking for gold Monarch Precious Metals will have the least options available, despite it being the flagship precious metal. Monarch does not mint any gold product itself besides rounds.
Furthermore, the amount of gold bullion products that they offer is there almost as if to not leave a complete void. The gold rounds on offer have a fairly straightforward, if not to say bland, design. They carry the company logo on one side and a design reminiscent of sovereign mints on another.
Considering the diversity and complexity of round designs available from private mints, this can come off as disappointing. The company will also occasionally offer small gold bars in their inventory, but this is more of a “were you browsing the site when it was added” thing.
They are definitely not a dealer you can count on for a steady or larger gold bullion supply. Likewise, their gold rounds are conspicuously small, with the largest denomination being 1/10 oz.
Smaller products carry higher premiums, and rounds weighing as little as 0.008th of an ounce will likely be unappealing to many.
Silver Monarch Precious Metals
This is where Monarch Precious Metals has the strongest showing. The array of silver products is considerable. The weights of the products range from 1-gram fractions all the way to 120-ounce pieces.
Monarch groups third-party silver products in the same category based on weight and product type. This means that there can be plenty of uncertainty when it comes to knowing where the bar or coin you are purchasing came from.
Further, some of the sovereign coins that they sell are listed as “imperfect”. This presumably means they have some kind of blemish on them, but it is up to the user to guess how much and what kind.
Monarch’s own silver products are much clearer and involve rounds, bars, and everything in-between. All of the products are claimed to hold a 0.999 silver purity, which should make them IRA-eligible. The site, however, offers very little assistance for buyers looking to store the purchased items in an IRA.
The round designs are very competitive, with some of them being colored and others sporting intricate and amusing designs. Bars are not too far off, either, as plenty of bars have unique designs on them. One, for example, is styled to have a motif of Ancient Egypt.
There are other products that you likely have not seen before, including things like an arrowhead made from 0.999 pure silver. Something for folklore hunters, perhaps?
Another strong point of the firm’s silver offering is the silver grain product, which is presumably the same ore Monarch receives from miners or refineries and uses to make its items. The grain can be bought on an ounce basis.
Copper Monarch Precious Metals
Copper is not exactly a mainstay when it comes to bullion dealers, primarily because it is not a precious metal. Generally, if you do find copper somewhere in a bullion dealer’s product listing, it will be as part of an alloy used to make American Eagles or Krugerrands.
Not the case with Monarch. Their copper offering is so extensive that it is almost a throwback to a time when the currency was gold, then silver, and then copper.
There are several zodiac-themed copper coins that are undeniably well-crafted and could definitely pass off as something with numismatic value to the untrained eye. Some of the more unusual copper products come in the form of different kinds of copper dice and dominoes. There is even a copper ruler available.
It is clear that Monarch knows, or presumes, that a lot of people enjoy copper as a material and is catering to this client base. In fairness, while not nearly as valuable as precious metals, copper is an attractive alloy, and well-crafted products from it are hardly off-putting.
With how well both silver and copper are represented on the site, we would imagine that something about the company’s bottom line makes it unfeasible for them to deal in gold Monarch precious metals in any meaningful way.
Other Products
The website has an entire “gift ideas” section where they will suggest how you might wrap a product of theirs to make it as presentable as possible. Gift bags and gift boxes of different kinds are available in combination with virtually any product.
Perhaps the most important item in this category, though, are custom-made products. Like any private mint worth its salt, Monarch offers an array of items that can be tailored to the customer’s liking.
They also have some more unusual items, such as silver rounds with a domed shape. Oh, did we mention the copper ruler?
Pros & Cons Of Monarch Precious Metals
Product selection: Undoubtedly the company’s strongest point, the selection of products that Monarch has will satisfy many. The more unusual items can be difficult to find with most other vendors, making us wonder if Monarch is trying to cater to specific clientele groups alongside bullion buyers.
Navigable website: The website is fairly straightforward: create an account and you are ready to start purchasing. It is free of clunk almost to a fault, having a bare-bones design with just item listings. While their third-party listings can leave some wanting when it comes to knowing what you will receive, the items that have their own listing are described accurately and clearly.
Pricing: Between gold rounds weighing less than a gram and copper coins, there is definitely an aura of affordability to the overall palette. The one-ounce items and the like are competitively priced, but fraction and copper products will allow a greater array of buyers to find something to their liking.
Location: Being based in the US will, for many, be a plus when dealing with a refinery, since many of the top refineries ship from overseas.
Product quality: Although there were some complaints about the state of the received items on the part of customers, there is no denying that Monarch’s craftsmanship is on point. After all, how many refineries are selling a silver arrow?
Minimal online presence: With their copper products reminiscing ancient times, we wonder if Monarch sometimes forgets the importance of maintaining an online presence. For one, they are not accredited by the BBB. And they can be found neither on BCA nor TrustPilot. It is almost like the company does not care about its reputation past what can be obtained through word of mouth and the like.
Some negative reviews: There are some negative reviews, though not many, which again leave open questions. It is visible that Monarch did reply to the customers and attempt to resolve the issue, and it is not clear how much of the issue was caused by Monarch’s products or customer treatment as opposed to misunderstandings.
Lack of positive reviews: Not maintaining an online presence means you will lack positive reviews, which is exactly what has happened with Monarch. They could have hundreds of satisfied customers, but without any of them leaving reviews, one wonders what the company day-to-day looks like.
Lack of product transparency: Some of their products could be more accurately described on the company website, making us wonder if this isn’t the cause of some disputes.
Claims of damaged products: Some of the negative feedback involves claims that the products came with damages. Is this a case of Monarch improperly packing and shipping an item, or the customer not understanding what the “imperfect” tag means? Without greater company transparency, this question is difficult to answer.
Verdict: Is Monarch Precious Metals Reputable?
The verdict and the answer to this question are not as straightforward as with other companies. Normally, when asking if Monarch Precious Metals is reputable, one would expect the question to refer to the quality of the company’s products and service.
In this case, however, Monarch’s lack of reputation seems to have more to do with the company not caring about outreach all that much.
The company is not a scam company or anything of the sort, and the products seem to be of good quality. If they were consistently shipping bad items, we imagine we would hear about it a lot more than just the 3 customer reviews on BBB.
Despite this, a company that has been in business since 2008 and deals in precious metals should have a much more significant presence and, indeed, reputation. It seems that it operates in a what-you-see, what-you-get capacity, which simply does not cut it at a time when many competitors are going out of their way to get their brand across.
While there are not any complaints and not really any indications of bad customer service, the lack of any IRA assistance is another issue. Monarch Precious Metals should know that IRA eligibility is very important to many bullion buyers and clarify it up-front as opposed to presumably only answering questions over it through email or phone.
And that’s it!
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