Which Type of Silver Bullion Should I Buy?
Coins or Bars?
If you are investing in silver, the most important question that you really need to ask is ‘Which is the best deal for me?’.
Silver Coins
As with gold, silver bars were once our customer’s most popular choice, these days it is most definitely coins. Silver coins are often more convenient than bars, and can often be bought for lower premiums than bars, weight for weight.
Various Design of Coin Available
There is a wide selection of silver coins from all over the world. As well as the element of design, buyers may also want to consider whether they would like to buy older or new “bullion” coins. We stock silver coins from all the main mints including the Perth Mint’s Kangaroo, Kookaburra, Koala and Lunar coins, the US Mint’s Eagle, the Royal Canadian Mint’s Maple, the Bank of China’s Panda, the Austrian Mint’s Philharmonic. These are just a small selection of silver bullion coins issued each year. Silver coins are mass produced and are available at very competitive prices compared with similar size bars. Silver coins are almost universally recognised so they are also easy to resell.
Silver Coins Continued
Whilst most mints stick to the best-selling one ounce silver coin, the Perth Mint have produced many of their ranges in a variety of weights.
The Australian Lunar Series
The Australian silver lunar series includes ½ oz, 1oz, 2oz, 5oz, 10oz, 1kg and the massive 10kg. Their Koala and Kookaburra series vary between 1/2oz to 1kg. Some sizes are issued to mintage limits which makes certain weights and years very collectable. The Australian Lunar 10kg silver coin is limited to a 150 mintage each year. These coins are highly sought after and allocations are difficult to secure. These are not necessarily the best value coins but certain collectors are prepared to pay the high premiums to ensure they add the coin to their collection.
Britain’s Royal Mint issues coins such as the Britannia, British Lunar and more recently, the Queen’s Beasts. These coins are exempt from Capital Gains Tax which may be an important factor for UK residents.
All of these mints are competing with each other to produce silver bullion which will capture the interest of both collectors and investors.
Silver Bars
When purchasing silver bars, the main thing to think about is the size you would like to own. One kilo silver bars have a low premium due to their size - 32.15 troy ounces - but the price is not as easy to track as a 1 oz silver bar. Smaller bars, such as fractional kilo bars, and one ounce bars, combine convenient size with reasonably low premiums. These are the various different sizes of silver bars, some are more unusual so we may not be able to provide all of these sizes. You might think that we would advise one kilogram silver bars and one ounce silver coins as the best silver investments,in that order. Our advice can differ with changes in the market and depending on the amount you are looking to invest. One of the main things to consider is whether or not you will need access to your investment.
Further Reading
You may wish to view all of our articles on our silver guide
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