Gold and Silver Investment - Silver investment

There are various ways of investing in Silver, either in physical form or ETFs  However, it is always better to own some physical Silver and there are 3 types of silver bullions that you can consider. These are .999 pure silver.

1. Bars

2. Rounds

3. Coins

These silver bullions are usually measured in troy ounces. For bars, they usually come in 1,000 oz, 100 oz, 10 oz and 1 oz. Rounds and Coins are usually in 1 oz, 2 oz, 5 oz and 10 oz. Bigger sizes are also available but the 1 oz to 10 oz are the most common . There are some that comes in 1 kilo, which is about 32 ounces.

The most well know brands are Englehard, Johnson Matthey, Credit Suisse, Perth Mint, Royal Canadian Mint. The others are by private mints e.g. Sunshine, Academy, Heraeus etc. There are also many other private mints that produces silver bars and rounds

Some interesting history regarding Engelhard and Johnson Matthey

There were huge quantities of Engelhard and Johnson Matthey silver bars produced in the 1970s and 1980s. By the middle of 1980s, the Reagan administration had managed to bring down the rate of inflation, and silver demand started to dip. Because of this, Engelhard and Johnson Matthey ceased production of silver bullion products.

Because of the abundant supply, Engelhard silver bars and Johnson Matthey silver bars were readily available, until the 2008 Financial Crisis when silver became such a demand that almost every seller were hoarding their silver than selling them.

Below are some photos of the silver bullion

Silver Bullion Rounds

Silver Bullion Rounds are usually minted from .999 fine silver. They are minted by private mints or refineries. These rounds look like coins but do not have any face value or legal tender status. For this reason, Silver Bullion rounds are usually cheaper the governminted coins and they sell less of a premium about spot price. These Silver rounds are made in many different designs, commemorative, people, events, places etc.

Although Silver Bullion rounds are cheaper, there are some which have become collector's item and some of these do command a higher premium above spot. One example is the Liberty dollars which were distributed by Liberty Services (formerly known as NORFED), based in Evansville, Indiana. Liberty Dollar was based on the Liberty Dollar "Base Value" created by Bernard von NotHaus. The Liberty Dollar was a private voluntary barter currency. It was not government money and was never intended to be used as "Legal Tender", "Current Money" or a "Coin".

However, in November 2007, the entire operation was raid by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Secret Service. It has since ceased operation. These private Silver rounds are now collector's item.

Another Private silver round bearing the image of Senator Ron Paul has also become a hot collector's item

Silver Bullion Bars

These are the same as the Silver Bullion Rounds, which are usually minted by private mints or refineries and contain .999 silver.  Designs varies and some are creatively made in a way that you can stack them up, e.g. the Academy Silver Bars

Always check the daily spot price and try to get as close as possible to the spot price. Generally, common bullion is about $1 plus to $2 above spot if you are buying in small quantity. But if you are buying 500 ounces and above, it can be as low as 40 cents above spot.

Do your due diligence and you might be able to get some decent deals.

Generic Silver Bullion is one of the cheapest form of silver because compared to numismatic coins or government coins, there is a higher  premium above spot price. For example, the China Panda series, the Australian Kookaburra and Britannia.

Siver Coins

Silver coins are usually minted by government mint or outsourced to establish private mint s.g. Perth Mint. It has a face value and is legal tender

This is a China Panda Silver bullion coin - 1 once of pure silver

China Panda Silver coins usually command a higher premium about spot price because these are collector's item. They are in much demand all over the world and usually cost twice or more than spot price. However, a key date year 2000 is already commanding USD$120 a coin

The normal dates are retailing about $30 and above, basing on Silver spot price at $16. You can keep a couple of them as they are collector's item.

Do take note the there are alot of counterfeits panda coins from China. Some of these are silver plated. Make sure that your sources are reliable before you make any purchases

This is another Panda coin and it weighs a massive 1 Kilo, about 32 ounces. I like to use this as a paper weight :)

There are other popular Silver Coins - the US Silver Eagle, Canadian Silver Maple and the Australia Kookaburra

American Silver Eagles coins are the most popular silver bullion for investment. Check out the most competitive price here

Do consider buying some physical silver as part of your investment. It is always safer than paper currency. Paper currency is after all .... a piece of paper