About Silver bullion
From Silver Bullion
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About Silver bullion
Silver bullion - precious metals in the form of bars, wafers, ingots, coins or round in form of .999 purity.
Silver bullion is marketed in Troy Ounces (oz), 1 Troy ounce (1 oz) = 31.1 grams.
Silver bullion is the form of silver traded mostly for investment purposes. From silver metal, coins, rounds, bars and ingots are struck or cast to form a physical product that is bought or sold on the basis of the silver content and current spot price.
Changes in government attitudes have resulted in paper replacing silver as a currency, but this has not diminished the value of silver. Silver bullion is more valuable now than it ever was. Silver bullion is still readily available at a good price, currently at only 1/70th to the price of gold in 2010. But silver is only 1/13th times more common than gold - which means that silver bullion is currently grossly under-priced by the market.
History of silver bullion
Throughout history, silver bullion among the gold bullion has served mankind as a primary monetary metal because silver bullion is durable, divisible, convenient, has utility value, and cannot be created by fiat.
The inflation of the early 70s prompted investors to protect their assets by investing in silver and gold bullion. In order to accommodate this sudden demand many small refiners began producing .999 fine silver products such as silver bars an silver rounds.
Types of silver bullion
The types of silver bullion available are:
- silver nuggets;
- silver bullion bars or ingots;
- silver bullion coins;
- silver bullion rounds;
- junk silver coins (often sold in junk silver bags).
Silver nuggets
When silver nuggets are mined in their raw, natural form, they are mixed with several other elements and impurities, which must be removed.
Nuggets are very hard to come by and require an experienced eye to judge their true value. Of course there is the silver content and silver has a definite value per oz. But nuggets are rare and that rarity will add to the value of the nugget.
Silver bullion bars and silver ingots
Silver bars (silver ingots) are a better option as they are produced to specific standards and are marked on the bar. You can purchase from a 1-oz bullion bar up to 1000-oz bar, but 100-oz silver bars are the most popular on the market.
A silver bar should have stamped on it, the amount of silver content, the degree of fineness which should be 999.0 or more, the name of the mint in which it was struck and serial number.
The smaller bullion bars are proportionally more expensive due to mark-up over silver spot price and shipping costs. Usually the smaller bars are sold for decorative or aesthetic value, even as jewellery. It is the 100-oz and 1000-oz silver bullion bars that are popular with collections for their investment value.
Engelhard silver bars and Johnson Matthey silver bars are the most popular among investors in precious metals.
Silver bullion coins
Silver bullion coin - a silver coin with a symbolic face value but traded at the current bullion price.
Silver coins are probably the most popular way of purchasing and collecting silver bullion. Not only is there an aesthetic appeal and beauty about silver coins there can also be an excellent investment value.
American Eagle silver coins, Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coins and the Australian Silver Kookaburra are the most popular forms of investment in government minted silver bullion. These all contain 1 oz of pure silver.
Because it is not expensive to purchase silver coins it is easy to build up a good quality collection with dates of issue and proof sets. This would be an excellent way to collect silver bullion.
Silver bullion rounds
Silver rounds look like silver coins but do not have any face value or legal tender status. Bullion rounds are usually minted from .999 fine silver by private mints or refineries.
Silver bullion rounds are usually cheaper then governminted bullion coins and they sell less of a premium about spot price.
Silver rounds can be bought with different designs (people, events, places) or ordered with a custom design.
Junk silver coins or junk silver bags
Junk silver is an informal term used for any silver coin which is in fair condition and has no numismatic or collectible value above the bullion value of the silver it contains. Junk silver coins are sold based on the value of the silver content plus a mark up.
Junk coins are often sold in junk silver bags, a $1,000 face value junk silver bag usually contain over 700 oz of bullion silver.
Junk silver coins do offer several investment advantages: they are very liquid, are legal U.S. tender and has a very low premium over spot silver prices.
Junk silver coins contain 50%, 90% or 92.5% (Sterling silver) of bullion silver.
Silver bullion prices
The spot price of silver is reported every business day in all major newspapers, network television and radio and online. The silver bullion prices has been notoriously volatile as it can fluctuate between industrial and investment demands. You can find the latest charts with silver prices at Silver bullion prices.
Where to buy silver bullion
You can find silver suppliers on Ebay or can ask your local silver bullion dealers.
