Buy Pure Silver

When you buy silver it is recommended that you buy pure silver. That is silver which is 99.9 percent pure and above.

Some silver is not pure silver, such as sterling silver for example. Sterling silver objects are usually stamped with either the word "Sterling" or .925 percent or the Lion Passant mark as part of the Hallmark. Sterling silver is usually cutlery, candle sticks or candelabra for example, but not coins or bars.

Sterling silver is an English term for silver that applies to a silver alloy containing 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. This is quite different to fine silver which is a minimum of 99.9 percent pure. In fact no coins or bars should be described as sterling silver

In silver coins and bars one is looking for the fine silver, not the sterling silver.

Sterling silver originated in England round about the 13th Century, although some historians believe that it comes from the Old French esterlin. Yet another theory is that the word originated in Germany from the word easterling which meant the grade of silver using in the local currency. Be that as it may, for the purposes of owning and investing in silver one wants the best and purest silver one can buy.

One also has to watch ‘theme’ coins as these are not always pure silver either. Many are around 95 percent silver and some have additives such as other metals or colors to enhance the theme. These sorts of coins are more suitable for hobbyists and collectors than for the serious investor.

An exception is the early silver coins of the US which were not pure silver but which had only 90 percent of silver content up to 1964 when the value of the silver in the coins was dropped to 40 percent until 1970 from when silver was no longer used in silver coins.

These sorts of coins, also known as junk silver, can be very useful as a ready made medium of exchange if and when the future economy results in high inflation and it takes a bucket full of dollars to buy a loaf of bread, as has happened in the past. A bright silver coin is usually well accepted in lieu of a mass of paper!

So other than the junk silver coins above, it is a very good idea to preserve some of one’s assets and buy pure silver to be stored away.

How to Buy Silver

Many people ask how to buy silver. It might seem a simple question, but there are a number of things to look for when you want to buy silver and the most important points to keep in mind are.

Where to buy silver.
What silver to buy.
How much to pay for the silver.

Where to Buy Silver
When looking at where to buy silver the following points need to be considered when selecting a trustworthy silver dealer or mint from whom to buy the silver:

Finding out who the dealer is?
Do they have their contact details available on their web site?
Are they contactable by phone?
Do they actually talk to customers?
Do they have silver in stock or will you have to wait for it?
Have they been in business for years or are they only new?
Are there any complaints about them on the internet?
How do their silver prices compare to other silver dealers?
Do they offer silver with a low premium over the spot silver price?
What silver price do they pay when you go to sell silver back to them?
How much do they charge for delivery and insurance?

Doing some due diligence on the silver dealer is most important for the security, not only of buying the silver, but also handing over your personal details including credit cards, bank account etc to an unknown. Established silver dealers are the ones to look for.

What Silver to Buy
Sterling silver, for example, can look very nice on the dinner table, but is not really suitable for silver investment or savings purposes. Sterling silver is not pure silver but has a proportion of copper included to enhance the durability and hardness of the piece. Silver jewelry usually has a heavy labor cost attached to it. Silver ‘Theme’ coins and coin collections suffer the same problem. They have a very high premium and often contain substances other than silver. These are mainly for collectors and numismatics. There is no guarantee that the premium one pays when buying collectible or theme coins will be recouped when its time to sell

How Much to Pay for Silver
The price of silver is of course equally as important as where to buy silver and what silver to buy, if you pay too much above the spot silver price it will take longer to recoup your investment. Many people buy silver as a hedge or safe haven, so the premium they pay makes a big difference to their asset in this instance. Some silver coins attracts a high premium such as proof silver coins. Purchasing silver in small quantities will also increase the premium one pays. Buying a one ounce silver coin will generally have a much higher premium or ‘mark up’ than a reasonable sized silver bullion bar such as a fifteen kilo silver bar or even just a one kilo silver bar. Silver rounds also have varying premiums depending on the dealer and type of silver round being sold.

It is vital to do some research and check the various points above in order to gain the best possible advantage when it comes to buying silver. The astute and prudent silver investor will know how to buy silver because they have studied all aspects of buying silver and how to obtain it at the best possible silver price.

Buy Silver Now

Buy silver now it is often said, and with good reason.

Silver is one of the most popular of precious metals and has been used in coinage by many nations over the years.

It is also used extensively in industry and photography, due to its conductivity and thermal properties as well as excellent corrosion resistance. Silver is also use in jewelry as well as coinage for decorative purpose as well as value.

When it comes to coinage and jewelry, silver is graded in much the same way as gold. That is by how fine or pure it is and by the weight or Karat.

Because it is used so much in industry and photography there is, unlike gold, a loss each year and, coupled with the shortage and value placed upon it, the price continues to increase on a long term basis and hence the mantra, buy silver now.

The spot silver price does not appear to reflect the real value of physical silver so this may not be immediately appreciated. That is until one tries to buy silver on the physical market, when one can quickly find out that silver is a little harder to come by and more valuable than the spot price leads us to believe.

Of the many types of physical silver that can be available, silver rounds are probably the best to buy as they are pure silver, have a smaller premium than many other silver products and are easy to store and sell when the need arises.

Silver rounds are silver coins produced by private mints and so the coins are not legal tender in the same way coins produced by government mints are. This does not matter as one is not going to use such coins as legal tender. Silver rounds hold their value and, as the price of silver increases, they increase in value and make an excellent way of keeping ones assets safe. You can also sell them in the future in quantities as low as one ounce of silver at a time. Its inevitable the current shortage of silver will continue into the future and the demand for one ounce silver rounds is likely to be extremely high as demand continues outstrip the rate at which mints can produce them. When the general public wakes up to the demise of all paper currencies and the sky rocketing silver prices, a single one ounce silver round will fetch a silver price far higher than the spot silver price at the time or perhaps even be able to be exchanged for goods and services directly.

So if you can buy silver rounds then, you will be able to accumulate silver at a good silver price, as the shortage of silver is only likely to continue, then this is really the best time to buy silver now.

Buy Silver Coins

If you want to buy silver coins, some silver coins are a better buy than others.

Some mints produce "theme" coins and these have additions in them. The Perth mint, for example has a range of silver "theme" coins covering anything from the FIFA World Cup, to various flora and fauna, Cities, fire engines, you name it. These coins are usually one ounce 99.9 percent silver with a limited mintage and depict a particular aspect of a country of historical event or activity. As mentioned there is even a Fire Engine Theme of silver coins the Perth Mint produce for the Cook Islands and you can buy a silver coin with a 1934 Commer Fire Engine imprinted on it in red. They are offered in presentation case (red of course in this instance) and come with ornate and expensive packaging. They tend to cost about twice to three times the value of the silver in the coin.

These types of silver coins could be classed as numismatic coins and are primarily for collectors. They are expensive in that the Many mints produce these coins primarily as a revenue producer for the mints. They are too expensive, you are not just buying silver, you are buying the packaging also. When you buy silver coins in this fashion the silver price becomes very expensive.

You can buy silver coins a lot cheaper than that. The idea is to buy silver coins as close to the spot price as possible. You do not want expensive packaging and nicely printed bits of paper unless you are a collector.

The silver coins to buy would more likely be silver Eagles or silver Morgan’s or silver Maples which offer a better investment.

Examples of silver rounds include the Australian Kookaburra, the Canadian Maple Leaf, the Chinese Panda, the UK Britannia and the USA Eagle.

All come in one ounce silver weight but you can get some in larger sizes such as two ounce and even ten ounce coins. Of course the larger the coin the less the premium (amount charged over spot for the coin by the mint or dealer) and the better the investment. If you are buying silver for investment purposes, you have to take into account the total cost of that purchase including the premium, shipping, storage cost of buying and later, perhaps, the cost of selling in order to determine the viability of the purchase.

One can buy silver coins therefore which are a good investment for the future if one takes some time to do due diligence and study what is available in silver coins.

Buy Gold and Silver

Yes, buy gold and silver! Relying on paper money for savings has always had potential dangers but never more so than now, in that more and more governments have control over banks and subsequently over the deposits and funds.

Within the Bailout approved by the US Government, is some information that any investor should be well aware of. Basically according Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, banks do not have to have cash on hand. The Federal Reserve no longer has to maintain an Earnings protection account for the supplemental reserve fees they charge banks. In effect this means that they do not have to give back any of those funds to banks. Banks do not have to, therefore have cash on hand. (money.cnn.com/2008/10/01/news/pdf/index.htm).

This also means that banks do not have pay out cash if they have none to spare. And with the banking system as it is today, a run on any bank is devastating as they do NOT hold the cash to pay all their depositors. In addition in any crisis the banks will be keen to keep the funds within the banking system and dispense as least cash as possible. One could easily see a ‘bank holiday’ appear in an effort to restrict the movement of cash from the banking system. One would still be able to transact business through the use of cards and bank to bank account transactions, but drawing cash. Ah ... that would be different.

This means that, these days, it can be very risky maintaining any more than operating expenses in a bank account and one should be looking for other avenues to preserve ones assets.

So hence the phase, buy gold and silver. In fact the more restrictions are put in place the more likely it will be that people will be demanding their cash out of the bank and placing it into good and silver as a time honored natural safe haven in these economically unstable times.
This means the demand for gold and silver is going to continue to rise and this will inevitably mean an increase in the value of gold and silver as the value of the dollar decreases. It is going to take more dollars to buy gold and silver and if one has gold and silver, one will get more dollars when one sells any.

Buying gold and silver in the form of coins, rounds, small and large bars would give one a diversity where one could cash in an amount appropriate to ones needs in times of emergency and that could be a life saver in these troubled times.

Buy Silver Online

Many people buy silver online. With the established use of the internet this has become the easiest way to buy silver for anyone around the world and certainly in the western countries.

There are some important points to keep in mind when you buy silver online however.

Firstly deciding what type of silver to buy. One can buy silver theme coins, which are most attractive and good for the hobbyist or collector. These are very nice and certainly attractive but they are not for the serious silver investor as the cost is far above the value of the silver and the time it would take to recoup ones cost is far too long.

Or one can buy silver bullion in the form of American Eagles or Canadian Maples and Chinese Pandas for example. These are a better investment and silver buy as the premium is somewhat less and the demand is there for those kinds of silver coins. But the best silver to buy is silver rounds. These are silver coins manufactured by private mints as distinct to government mints and are different in that they are not legal tender as government produced silver coins are. These tend to be cheaper as less ornate and you don’t have to pay for such high quality stamping such as in proof coins for example. One is, after all. Only buying silver coins for investment value not as a hobbyist collecting coins because they are pretty.

There is also silver bullion in the form of silver bars. Here there is a selection of silver bars from one ounce through to many ounces and kilos. The smaller one and ten ounce, and even one kilo, can be easily bought and sold. The larger bars, such as the 15 kilo bar for example may suit but it is a harder bar to buy and sell due to the value being so high and, with the expectation that silver is going to go up markedly in the not too distant future, may be a lot more awkward to buy and sell.

When you buy silver online, as well as the premium, you do have to consider other factors, shipping, insurance and possible resell costs. Also secure storage, particularly if you have a number of silver bars or silver coins to keep.

Another important factor is knowing who you are dealing with when it comes to silver dealers. Doing due diligence on any dealer you would like to buy silver from is very important. Who are they? Where are they? Are they contactable easily by phone? How do they want to be paid? What is their return policy? Such questions need to be answered before one buys silver from a dealer online.

One method of avoiding such concerns as the above is to utilize a system such as GoldMoney.com (see video below). Here one can buy silver online by opening an account at goldmoney.com and buying silver for premium, have it stored in special bank vaults in either London or Zurich for a small storage fee and know that it is secure and available anytime to sell if required. This is good if you want the convenience associated with someone else doing the storing and security for you. One can also buy gold bullion and take delivery of 1000 gram gold bullion bars.

But really there is no substitute for having physical silver in the form of small easy to transport and use coins where the quality may not be perfect, but the silver content is. Buying silver online can be a safe and convenient method of stocking up on silver, then, provided one keeps in mind the above points.

Buy Scrap Silver

If you can buy scrap silver, you can sometimes get silver for a good price.

But what is scrap silver? Scrap silver is any silver that can be found in bags of old coins, old coins in the attic perhaps, old unused photographic paper as well as in electronics, and other areas. Sometimes you can find silver wire (not tin or steel) in very early radio or TV equipment. Silver is mostly used in industry and the photographic world so that is where you are most likely to find scrap silver.

You can buy junk silver coins or bags of old silver coins. These usually have around 40 percent of silver in them. It can be a worthwhile exercise to check each coin and ensure there are no historically valuable coins in the bag (very unlikely but still possible and has happened). The condition, to be a collectors coins, needs to be very good, unless it is a particularly old coin such as a early Morgan where the value can be surprisingly high.

A good look around and it is possible to spot a bargain and buy scrap silver for next to nothing. Then you can either hoard it or sell it on the open market. If you want to sell it you can find many sites on the net that are willing to buy scrap silver, especially with the current shortage around, and you would likely get a small amount over the current spot rate.

You can also go to a scrap metal dealer who will be happy to take the silver off your hands, but again, make sure you are quoted a scrap silver price that you know what the current spot silver price is and that you don’t sell it for less than it is worth.

With scrap coins or junk coins, you would need to establish if the coin had any value to a collector before selling as scrap. A collectors coin has to be of reasonable quality and in an uncirculated condition. Going to a silver coin dealer and getting a valuation is a good idea if you come across one of those early silver coins. Some of the early silver coins can be quite valuable, more so than scrap silver, so it pays to be diligent and check these things out.

To buy scrap silver can be a very worthwhile exercise but, like anything else, you do need to do some research and find out as much about the silver you accumulate this way.