May 7 2009

Things To Consider About Investment Silver

There are 4 major forms of silver to consider when starting a silver investment: coins, bars, 90% and loose.

There are two types of coins: collectible and generic. Generic coins are often known as “rounds” and collectible coins are often called “numismatic” coins.

It will be interesting and useful for you to know that generic coins, or rounds are generally produced by private mints who create coins with interesting designs, but have no rarity or special value associated with them. You can usually find the words “.999 Fine Silver” and “One Troy Ounce” on such coin. It is understood that the value of a round is based not on the condition or rarity of the coin but on the content of the precious metal.

As concerning numismatic coins they are almost always more expensive to purchase than generic rounds and when you go to sell them they more often than not receive a premium price. It should be also pointed out that like generic rounds, they often indicate the purity and weight of the metal on the coin, but the difference is that unlike generic rounds, they have a perceived value to the public beyond their precious metal content.

In most case investors prefer generic rounds over numismatic coins. It is possible to purchase coins in bulk from large dealers, or you can also buy coins by the ounce in coin shops across the country. It should be mentioned here that nearly every county in the U.S. has at least one coin shop where you can find dozens of items, but in times of high investor demand all items can be completely sold out.

Actually bars are often preferred by a lot of investors for their investment. And the reason for this is that they are easier to stack and store than coins, and, in addition, they are available in much larger weights than the typical one ounce coin. You might probably know that bars are found in one ounce, five ounce, ten ounce, 100 ounce, 400 ounce, and 1000 ounce varieties in the U.S. It should be also mentioned that bars may also be found in weights that are not typical, for example, 105 troy ounces, but this would still be considered a “hundred ounce” bar. You should pay attention that when you buy bars, you are charged for the actual weight of the bars you buy.

There are such companies that manufacture bars specifically for investing (Johnson Matthey, Engelhard), and these bars are beautifully designed and polished for a better view. The other type of bars that could be found is a plain looking block with the weight of the bar, “.999,” and perhaps the minting company’s logo roughly stamped on it. As the matter of fact, that these bars are meant more for industrial uses instead of the investor.

If you are going to buy a bar, remember that to find bars in coin shops is more difficult than rounds but still possible

Except nickels and pennies, U.S. coins minted before 1965 contained 90% silver and about 10% copper, but after 1971 silver as the precious metal content were gone. It is possible to find bags of 90% silver coins in coin shops or at auction on eBay.

The other category of silver investment to be mentioned is silver as a metal that is loose. You see, there are a lot of investors, who obtain items that were probably meant for industry, or have been packaged in unique ways. The example for this could be the fact that recently one of the major online dealers ran out of rounds and bars, but was willing to sell silver “shot.” As a matter of fact it was simply small ball-shaped pieces tossed into a bag.

To conclude it all it should be said that there is no matter what market it was created for because when it reaches your hands it is still valuable as an investment.

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May 7 2009

Things You Should Know About Gold And Silver Investment Opportunity


Considerable and rapid movement upward of gold and other precious metals in the market is the theme that could not be missed. More and more investors wonder what investment vehicles are the best choices to choose that upward price appreciation in the precious metals market. Of course, a lot of people want to purchase and hold the precious metals themselves, but there are a number of alternatives. You should know that each of these different options has its pros and cons. You will have some basic information on the most common possibilities that should be known. It depends on what your goals are, you can choose to use one or more of the available options. Actually, this is not an investment tip; it is, better to say, a short explanation to each of the best known chances for precious metals investment.

Let’s start this list with US and international gold bullion coins. The US and many other countries have made and are continuing to make gold bullion coins for sale. You should know that these are not coins which are rare and have numismatic value, but are coins made for investors interested in their bullion value. It should be pointed out that the great advantage of bullion coins is that they are easily available, liquid and portable. In addition, most coin shops purchase and sell them. If you are going to purchase small amounts of gold, perhaps half an ounce a month for investment purposes, this is the kind of thing you may be interested in. As concerning the disadvantage, it is that they have a significant cost of getting in and out. As a matter of fact it will cost about $25 plus the spot price for 1 ounce coin, and you will receive a few dollars less than the spot price if you sell it. So, you see, the cost for a buy and sell combined is about $30. Here it should be also mentioned that foreign bullion coins, such as Canadian Maples or Krugerrands are slightly less liquid but may also have lower buy and sell costs. You should also know that there are also one ounce silver bullion coins, and they are available with a similar significant cost of selling and purchasing.

The second investment opportunity to be pointed out is US 90% coin silver. As a matter of fact, until 1964, all US coinage other than nickels and cents were made of 90% silver. So, it’s obvious that these coins also have a bullion value based on their silver content. It is possible to buy from just a few to a big bucket full, and they are sold both by weight and by face dollar amount (by weight is probably the better deal as some old coins are worn). These coins are available at most coin shops and there is a significant cost to buy and sell like other bullion coins.

The last but not least investment opportunity is US Gold numismatic collector coins. There are many investors who are interested in gold collector coins. These are coins with a large numismatic (coin collector) value premium in addition to their bullion value. You should also know that these coins will fluctuate somewhat with precious metal prices, but many times they also contain a significant price premium because of their desirability as collector coins. As a matter of fact, sometimes the collector price appreciates significantly, but these coins are probably not the best vehicle for those people who really wish to invest in the appreciation of precious metal prices.

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