So I've been lurking for a while and enjoying all the info available here.

I'm looking for an engraver that would allow me to engrave on metal. (Anodized dog tags, silver, etc) and would allow me to use my own vector images.

This is for fun and not for profit, so I'm not looking to do large volumes. A guy near me has an unused EGX-30, not the 30a, for $1500. Is that an okay price? What's the difference between the 30 and the 30a.

More importantly, will it engrave on silver? The product website says brass and aluminum.

Thanks for any help you can give me.