Live Metal Prices / oz
Gold:
2212.02 USD
Silver:
24.71 USD
Platinum:
906.71 USD
Palladium:
1015.70 USD
Rhodium:
5150.00 USD

What Kind of Silver Bars Should I Buy?

09 Dec 2019 - Investing Information

Generally referred to as "the poor man's gold," silver has been demonstrated to be an efficient form of investment owing to its relative accessibility and affordability, and its significantly higher number of applications when compared with other precious metals like gold. Like gold, silver has for several millennia served as a currency, an investment, and a store of value, despite its price being speculative at best. Whether it is for an inflation hedge, as an investment, or for survival purposes, the decision to purchase silver like any other precious metal should be the product of rigorous assessment of several factors like the premium, price, and timing.

Having chosen silver as your precious metal of choice to invest in, the question of why you should invest in silver bars as opposed to silver coins is a common one for which we can assist you. Three key reasons support your decision to invest in silver bars over silver coins.

  • Cost

Despite being less aesthetically pleasing than silver coins, silver bars present lower premiums with high purity levels. Hence, for the same amount of money, you will buy more silver bars than coins, except for when purchasing large format silver coins.

  • Durability

Unlike silver coins, silver bars have been reported not to tarnish if preserved correctly.

  • Ease of storage

Because silver bars take up less storage space, they are cheaper to store if a safe storage space must be taken into consideration. As a result, silver bars are the ideal choice for private collections.

Once the decision to purchase silver bars has been made, the next questions include what brand, size, type, and weight of silver bars to buy.

  • Brand

Often associated with credibility, several silver brand types exist from which to choose. The most recommended Swiss suppliers of silver bullion include Argor Heraeus, PAMP, and Valcambi. Renowned for their high services in refining precious metals, including silver, these three refineries have, by the outstanding services provided, distinguished themselves as leading global players. In addition to being easily recognized worldwide, Argor Heraeus, PAMP, and Valcambi products are accompanied by assay certificates to confirm their purity and serial numbers per bar to identify and keep track of them if lost. Despite their popularity, however, there is no doubt that often, some clients want silver bullion other than Swiss products, in which case we recommend the Silver Britannia Bar from the Royal Mint.

Irrespective of the brand you choose, however, to verify the authenticity of the product, several pieces of information including the purity of the bar, its weight, the refiners' hallmark, and a unique serial number are either cast or stamped into each bar.

  • Size

In deciding the silver bar size to purchase, three key factors should be considered:

  • Assaying - The larger the silver bar, the higher the cost to verify its purity and the slower its sale rates.
  • Divisibility - How easy is it to divide the silver bar into smaller, easier-to-sell pieces?
  • Ease of resale - Larger silver bars are significantly more challenging to sell since there are fewer investors with sufficient means to purchase them.

Given the factors mentioned above, larger silver bars offer a relatively smaller premium than their smaller counterparts and, as such, are not always encouraged except for precious metal refiners. Ideally, 1kg silver bars are promoted thanks to their divisibility-low premium balance, together with 10 oz silver bars.

  • Type

Two options exist:

  1. Cast silver bars – Presenting a more natural traditional appearance, cast silver bars are designed through a cost-effective and straightforward process involving melting the metal and pouring the molten liquid into a mold. Ranging from 100 oz - 1,000 oz, cast silver bars are the preferred option for precious metal investors since they simultaneously present lowest premiums, occupy less storage space, cost less, and maintain the same purity levels as the minted silver bars and silver coins.
  2. Minted silver bars – Characterized by a high-luster polished finish, minted silver bars exist as cleaner, more refined, and packaged 10 oz bars. More ideal for smaller private investors, minted silver bars offer their owners the flexibility to sell and resell small quantities of silver. However, because of the costly process involved in making them, they have higher premiums than the larger cast silver bars.
  • Weight

This property is primarily determined by how much you are ready to invest. For buyers of large amounts of silver in the thousand ounces range, we recommend 1 kg and 100 0z silver bars. Meanwhile, 10 oz bars are ideal for smaller purchases.

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