What Type of Silver Should you Own?

A number of years ago, I wrote about the different TYPES of Silver and what you should own. It's been a few years, and occasionally I still get people asking me my opinion on the type of silver to buy. Most people who read my blog, will go down the page only so far. After almost 5 years, I've got quite a few blog posts. So I thought I'd post a NEW post on what TYPE of silver you should own. I'm not mentioning the type of GOLD to buy, because of the ratio difference, most people simply buy very small amounts of gold.

Let me list the different types of silver and the PROS and CONS of owning it. Then YOU can decide what is easiest and best for you. I will be mentioning United States 90% silver currency; e.g. silver dollars, half dollars, quarters, and dimes. For my foreign readers, which I now have followers in more than 15 countries; you will need to compare this area to the type of silver currency you have in your own countries.

One important thing to remember. While it is natural and expected to pay a premium on silver; (The coin shop or company selling it to you has to make a living too); be careful in how much you pay. Especially for things like American Eagles, Maple Leafs, 90% coins, specialized coins, etc. The reason being..... when you sell them back, MOST TIMES, you'll only get SPOT PRICE.  You might get a little more for an American Eagle vs a Round, but not much. And if the SHTF and there's a currency or economic collapse, and silver/gold are being used as money/barter; ALL SILVER will be worth the same per ounce. NO ONE is going to pay you more because it's a morgan dollar or an eagle vs a round. Even the rarest silver dollar; worth $20,000; will only be worth what an ounce of silver is getting on that day.

So..... let's begin.

1. Paper Silver: This is basically for the INVESTORS. I don't promote investing in silver and gold, but I wanted to list the types here for those curious. They include.

• Silver ETFs
• Silver Futures Contracts
• Silver Mining Stocks
• Silver on Account

PROS: 

• Easy to buy and sell
• Can be used in IRA's and retirement accounts
• Don't need to figure out storage or safekeeping

CONS:

• There are hundreds of paper ounces of silver for every REAL physical ounce available. If there's an economic crash where silver and gold are used as money, your paper silver is 100% worthless
• Depending on the rest of the paper holders, if you ever wanted to exchange your paper for physical, it could take many months to get the physical silver. The broker will try and force you to sell/trade it back for "DOLLARS" or your currency. That's not useful if the currency crashes.
• There is a 100% track by the government and anyone else on your transactions and holdings
• If there is an economic collapse, the government could confiscate any physical silver that your paper silver supposedly represents
• Very difficult to transfer to your family as an inheritance

RECOMMENDATION: I do NOT recommend paper silver AT ALL in ANY FORM. Silver and Gold should NOT be considered an INVESTMENT. 

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2. Large Silver Bars: This is basically the 100 ounce and larger bars. Most people will only go as high as 100 ounce bars. There are a few different types. Most are serial numbered; whether they are registered is another question.

• Government Minted: like RCM (Royal Canadian Mint) and the Perth Mint
• Assay Type: Bars that are REGISTERED like with the US Assay office; or it has a serial number and is registered with a recognized agency. (Government minted above are serial numbered and registered.
• Older recognized private mints: Like Engelhard, JM, (Johnson Matthey) Almost always serialized. 
• Modern private mints: Academy, Sunshine, APMEX, Silvertown, etc. May or may not be serial numbered

PROS: 

• Lowest premium above spot; vs 10oz bars, rounds, coins, etc. Cheapest per oz way of buying
• Easiest type to store. Some, like Academy, APMEX, A-mark, make stackable bar

CONS:

• Difficult to sell other than to a coin or precious metal dealer; because most people don't want 100 oz at one time
• Almost impossible to use for trading or bartering purposes. I.e. if silver is $100 an ounce, you will have a $10,000 bar of silver. How do you make CHANGE for $50 worth of food
• If you have multiple heirs that you want to leave it to, it's difficult to make smaller pieces
• Can't really carry it with you as "Money" if needed during an economic collapse

RECOMMENDATION: If you are only going to own about 500 ounces of silver, then I see no need for you to have any 100 ounce bars. If you are up to 1000 ounces, you might consider a couple for ease of storage; or to use for LARGE TRADES or Cashing out. If so, stick with the Government Mint like RCM or Perth Mint. If you can't get those, get U.S. ASSAY bars if you can. If not those, I recommend going with NAME BRANDS that everyone knows; such as APMEX or A-MARK. Make sure they are serial numbered. Bars like Engelhard are recognized, but because most are older and no longer produced, you pay a very high premium for them. APMEX and RCM you'll get the best deal on.

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3. Small Bars: These are the 10 ounce and 1 ounce bars. Just about ALL of the above 100 ounce bar points are the same for the 10 ounce bars. The main difference however, is that 1 ounce bars are exclusively PRIVATE mints like Apmex and the others. You won't really find 1 oz bars from the governments.

PROS:

• Lowest premium above spot; vs 1oz bars, rounds, coins, etc. 
• Easy to store. Some, like Academy, APMEX, A-mark, make stackable bar

CONS:

• Difficult to sell other than to a coin or precious metal dealer; because most people don't want 10 oz at one time. 
• Almost impossible to use for trading or bartering purposes. I.e. if silver is $100 an ounce, you will have a $1,000 bar of silver. How do you make CHANGE for $50 worth of food
• Until silver becomes mainstream, you may find some buyers or traders not familiar with a 10 ounce bar. They may not "TRUST" it. 

RECOMMENDATION: I definitely recommend having some 10 ounce bars on hand. They are cheaper to purchase than smaller increments. They are easy to store. Not too big or too small for selling back to a coin or precious metal dealer if you need paper money. Easy to carry a small amount on your person for trading or bartering. If you plan on having around 500 ounces of silver, I would say having 100 ounces (10 X 10 ounce bars) would be about right.

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4. 1 ounce Rounds: These are the 1 oz silver rounds that look SIMILAR to coins. They look similar to government issued silver coins like the American Silver Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf, etc. But ROUNDS are ALWAYS PRIVATE MINTS. They are never made by a government and they are never serial numbered. There are many private mints; some of them are.

• Apmex
• Sunshine
• OPM
• A-Mark
• Silvertown
• RMC (Not to be confused with RCM - Royal Canadian Mint)

PROS:

• Cheaper than government minted 1oz coins like Eagles and Maple Leafs
• Can be bought 1 oz at a time or in quantity
• Small amounts of silver can be carried in your pocket for spending, trading, bartering if needed
• Easy to purchase smaller cost items should a major hyperinflation situation occur. If silver is $100 per ounce, it's easier to purchase $50-$100 worth of goods. Even willing to let the other person "KEEP THE CHANGE" if needed. Better than vs 100 ounce bar worth $10,000

CONS:

• Until the common person gets accustomed to silver as money, some may not recognize or trust a private mint coin as silver
• Some companies try and sell "Specialized" rounds. STAY AWAY FROM THEM!!! Know; the Star Trek series; Wizard of Oz; or any specialized round. If silver spot price is $20 an ounce, a round will normally be about $22. The specialized, they will sell you at $30. It's a RIP OFF.

RECOMMENDATION: I definitely recommend that these one ounce rounds be the majority of your holdings. They are the perfect balance of size and value. The premium is about $1.50 - $2.00 over spot, but that still less than American Eagles, Maple Leafs, etc. And for my readers in countries outside of the United States, these may be the easiest for you to obtain. 

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5. 1 ounce Government Mint: Identical in size to the rounds I previously mentioned, but these are not minted by private companies; rather by government.

• American Silver Eagle
• Canadian Maple Leaf
• Austrian Philharmonic
• Australian Dollar
• British
• Mexican Libertad
• numerous others

PROS:

• These are the most recognized of silver ounces
• The easiest to exchange with common people
• If worse case scenario, and silver was worth less than $1.00 an ounce, these are legal tender and are still worth something. (Although I never see the value of silver that low)
• Can be bought 1 oz at a time or in quantity
• Easy to purchase smaller cost items should a major hyperinflation situation occur. If silver is $100 per ounce, it's easier to purchase $50-$100 worth of goods. Even willing to let the other person "KEEP THE CHANGE" if needed. Better than vs 100 ounce bar worth $10,000

CONS:

• Much higher premium. Usually $2.50 - $3.50 over spot per ounce
• No other con

RECOMMENDATION: If it wasn't for the much higher premium, I would suggest having ALL of your silver in U.S. American Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, Philharmonic, or any other government mint. But assuming 500 ounces of silver will cost about $1,500 more than if you bought rounds, at $20 an ounce for silver, you could have 75 ADDITIONAL OUNCES of SILVER if you bought rounds instead. Because of the possibility, initially, during an economic collapse, that many people won't be familiar with rounds, I do suggest having some of these on hand. Approximately 10%. If you have 500 ounces, have around 50 ounces of the government minted 1 ounce coins.

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6. TRUE Silver Currency: In the United States, these would be considered just about all dimes, quarters, halves, and dollars that are 1964 or older. There are SOME a little newer; but for all intent and purpose, stick with 1964 or older. This coins have 90% silver in them. Total weight silver in a dollar's worth of US coins, is approximately 0.715 ounces. For my overseas readers, many countries have coins that had/have silver in them. You will need to research this yourself

PROS:

• Just about every citizen knows what the coin is. No matter the denomination. Some of the very old ones however they may not recognize; e.g. Barber dime
• Very small denominations can be used for survival should the dollar and economy crash, and silver and gold be considered money. I.e. If silver is $100 an ounce, a silver dime would be worth about $7.00 . That's a lot easier to work with, than a one ounce silver coin or round worth $100 and you aren't buying a lot.
• Can be bought and sold in the smallest amount as you can afford

CONS:

• Until people get use to Silver being money; during a SHTF scenario, they will see the 1964 quarter as only WORTH $0.25. They may not recognize the silver value
• Some of the HIGHEST PREMIUMS. Not necessarily as high as the 1 oz Silver Eagles and such; As CURRENCY, they have numismatic value. Some people COLLEGE OLD COINS. Plus, being they aren't manufactured any longer; since 1964; they are becoming more rare
• Takes a lot of coins to equal a large purchase
• Because of the numismatic value, stay away from the SILVER DOLLARS like the Morgan and Peace dollar. If silver is $18 an ounce, 4 quarters will cost about $14.00 (Remember, there's only 0.715 of an ounce) 10 dimes will cost the same; about $14.00. But a MORGAN or PEACE DOLLAR will cost around $20.00 It has slightly more silver; 0.773 oz vs 0.715; but because they are rare, they will charge you so much more. Buy quarters, dimes, and even halves. Stay away from the silver dollars. 

RECOMMENDATION: I definitely think you should own some of the 90% silver type currency. (Or whatever is available in your country). Like the government eagles, maple leafs, etc. I recommend about 10% of your stack. If silver and gold are ever used as money, even on a temporary basis because the dollar totally crashes, it will be nice to have increments that are very small and can be used for everyday purposes. 

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So, there you go. Those are the types of silver; and my recommendations. Comment on my blog if you have any questions.

CYA: SE: