The American Silver Eagles are the best-selling silver in the world. First issued in 1986, they are only offered in a 1-ounce version (although we also have 500 oz). Nowadays, the 90% silver coins that were used on a daily basis have become excellent investment vehicles for people who want to buy silver as little or as much as they want. For those who want an alternative to rounds and want the silver closest to their market price, there are silver bars.
If you're stretching your silver investment dollar as far as you can, you can squeeze in a little extra value by buying “generic 1 oz silver rounds.” British Britannia silver coins are commonly traded in the UK, where they capture a significant share of the market, and less frequently elsewhere. The 1988 silver maple leaf, the first year the coin was produced, had a mintage of more than 1.1 million units, while the 1992 issue had a mint of only 343,800. Therefore, it will generally cost more than a silver round bar or a silver bar of similar purity, weight and fineness. A typical silver bar sold on-site is often not very artistic, but gram-for-gram is one of the cheapest methods to buy silver.
However, I don't suggest buying 100 oz silver bars unless you already have at least a thousand ounces of silver, so you don't have more than 10% of your entire stack in a single piece of physical silver. Ten-ounce silver bars offer many of the same advantages as 1-ounce silver bars, but with a lower premium over the spot. We'll cover the various methods of buying silver, such as ETFs and futures, as well as the different types of silver bullion you can buy, such as coins or bars. They cost quite a bit more or less twice the price of their silver content at current rates, so they definitely shouldn't be your only coins, but they are a welcome addition to any diversified silver portfolio.
This is in contrast to the other ways that investors gain exposure to silver through financial markets, silver miner stocks (silver stocks) and publicly traded notes mentioned above. Many physical and online traders who sell rare coins are also engaged in selling silver. Trusted coin traders will have far more silver bullion products available for sale than the mint, in most cases. The reality is that unless you have an active coin dealer or bullion broker, you can't expect to find silver below the spot price in a retail environment.
