Who We Are

Augustus Gold & Silver is the latest Premier Internet Buyer of Gold and Silver Items in North America. Augustus began operations in July of 2008 after its co-founders, Ray Holley and Jerry Nelson, knew it could not be put off another day. As lifelong students of entrepreneurism and followers of some of the greatest business teachers of our time, they knew that no idea- no matter how big- was too great. They each had a strong desire to build a great company, but it seemed most of their good ideas were mired with problems- government regulation, permitting, and continual litigation and legislation that was likely to change an industry's fundamentals at the stroke of a pen or gavel.

Ray had spent the past 15yrs working in middle-management for retailers like Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and Costco, and worked for Jerry in 2006 on a project as a free-lance business consultant on one of Jerry's other endeavors. The consulting work was Ray's way of testing the waters outside the "E Quadrant," and during that time they grew to admire one another's business abilities.

Jerry grew up in his family's business. He worked with his father doing land development and building custom homes. Through his 18yrs with the company, they saw tough times periodically- during the down-swings of the real estate market. It was during these times that Jerry really wanted to get out and do something more profitable. In these times his father would always say, "Taxes, Trash, Liquor, or Funeral Homes... Those are about the only businesses that are recession-proof!" There are a few more, but JD was mostly right.

So the co-founders were looking for a business that fairs well in all economic conditions without much regulation or government intervention, and they agreed in the beginning that they wanted to be in a business that truly helps people, especially in light of the extremely tough economic times the Country is experiencing today. Both agree that Alternative Energy can and will eventually be society's answer to decades of corruption, conspiracy, and outright insanity that has repressed every aspect of advancement of this world, and that it will create the greatest economy in history, but there are way too many Bozos still standing in the way of progress on that horizon for now.

Nelson and Holley knew that the precious metals business was largely unregulated and became increasingly aware of the deceptive practices of many in the industry. Some cheat on weight and use excessive rounding in their calculations, and most seem to skimp on karat values. But ALL seem to obscure their evaluation and pricing practices, and nearly NONE disclose their actual prices per gram or per pennyweight. The duo studied many different investigative news stories that all revealed that some of the largest online buyers were paying 11%-19% of the market price for net weight gold in scrap jewelry. They knew that people deserved more- that people deserve to be told the truth, and they knew that they were going to take care of it. The co-founders knew that they could make an honest buck and feel great about saving thousands of people from so many predators in the business.

"We believe that people deserve more and deserve to understand the process... Those are the main reasons Augustus is here." -Ray Holley