Rodney

Here are two fairly serious Phoenix-area dealers in precious metal bars and bullion coins that I got from gold.org:

American Precious Metals Inc.
4040 E. Camelback Road
#101
Phoenix
AZ 85018-2735
Tel: +1 602 840 5500
Fax: +1 602 957 1671
http://www.apmaz.com/

Certified Mint Inc
3550 N Central Ave
Suite #1407
Phoenix
AZ 85012
United States
Tel: 800-528-1380 (Toll-free)
Fax: +1 602 234 2499
www.cmi-gold-silver.com

Also, here is a list of certified Arizona dealers for the Gold and Silver Eagles produced by the U.S. Mint. Most coin shops which deal in bullion coins also deal in small bars. They may or may not do palladium. But check 'em out. These are almost certainly brick and mortar businesses.

American Bullion & Coin Company 2710 North Steves Boulevard Suite 16 Flagstaff, AZ 86004 (800) 8979817 or (520) 5270047

Bullion & Coin Exchange 340 West University, Suite 31 Mesa, AZ 85201 (480) 4610963

Certified Mint 3550 North Central Avenue Suite 705 Phoenix, AZ 85012 (800) 7552382 or (602) 2342300

Coin & Stamp Gallery 4216 West Dunlap Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85051 (800) 9495888 or (602) 2422885

Valley Coin & Stamp Co. 10632 North Scottsdale Road Scottsdale, AZ 85254 (480) 9943325

Swiss America Trading 14455 North Hayden Road Suite 226 Scottsdale, AZ 85260 (480) 4433050

Daranyi & Company 422 North 5th Ave. Tucson, AZ 85705 (520) 6234711

Arizona Stamp & Coin 4668 E. Speedway Blvd. Tucson, AZ 85712 (520)
7951594

I have no idea. I invested in bullion coins, which contain other metals and thus are fairly hard.

I would recommend handling the precious metal a bit for fun when you buy it -- and then put it in a safe deposit box or home lockbox that is kept well hidden. And leave it there. Precious metals left around the house, especially when their presence is known to others, can vanish.

You say you want an incentive to save? Okay: whenever you buy a new bar, handle it a bit; then put it in the box and leave it there. So you only get to handle the metal when you've saved up for a new piece. Frankly, people who spend a lot of time playing with precious metal tend to be a bit on the weird side. Spend some time in any coin/bullion dealer's shop, and you'll see what I mean. I don't know if they were weird to start with, or if fixating on the metal made them weird. But I've met some guys who are practically lisping about "me precious," if you know what I mean.

Well, the lockbox of course. Also, look into alternative forms of investment silver and see if you like them better. For example, many dealers sell bags of "bulk silver" coins -- U.S. silver coins from the '50s and early '60s with no numismatic value. If you're worried about "hurting" the silver, this is one way to go. These are tough coins which have circulated. And who knows, you might get a few Ben Franklin 50 cent pieces or Mercury dimes in the stash. Those are fun and, if you truly need to play with the silver, can be incorporated into jewelry.

Edit -- also, I would look at the larger dealers, even the web dealers; some may be all right with small purchases like yours. One California dealer I know, www.golddealer.com, doesn't seem to have a minimum. The reason I say this is that prices at smaller dealers for bullion and bullion coins might be higher than at the large national dealers. Gold products move down through wholesalers and distributors to low-level dealers, just like any other product. The more hands the gold passes through before it gets to him, the more premium over spot price that the dealer must charge. So your storefront dealer's price for a gold eagle may be, say, $10 or more higher than the price of some big dealers who buy directly from the U.S. Mint and the big precious metals companies.