THE FOUR SILVERS

When it comes to Stacking Silver, there are four main kinds on offer... We'd like to know which you like best.
1) Bullion Bars:
Silver Bullion Bars come in many different shapes & sizes from a myriad of different mints/refiners/assayers. From 1oz Minted (like a coin) Bars like Scottsdale's "The One", PAMP's Lady Fortuna, Johnson Matthey or Engelhard's serialized bars through to "Generic" Morgan Dollar & Flying Eagle Design, all the way up through 5, 10, 100ozt, 50g, 100g, 250g, 500g & 1kg minted, cast or poured Bars.
These bars are a great investment in straight silver...in my opinion the larger of these bars are going to be your best value % over spot however It's always wise to have a range of smaller bars or other smaller sized forms of silver (as mentioned below) as 30-50% of your total stack. This provides the ability to sell or trade/barter small amounts without having to "cash in" a large portion of your stack when you only need a little bit of $$$ or

2) Silver Bullion Coins:
This term refers to Government Issue Silver Bullion Coins which carry a (largely symbolic) "Face Value" well below the coins "Intrinsic Value" (that is It's Silver Content). For example: A 1ozt American Silver Eagle (ASE) only carries a USD$1.00 Face Value however the coins Intrinsic Value is currently around USD$32. These Coins however tend to fetch a higher "premium" (% over spot price). This is for a number of reasons. Firstly the Government of the nation that issues the coins Guarantees their weight & purity. Secondly, some Governments issue "Limited Mintage" coins as standard (Australian Kookaburras or Lunar Series for example) and other Governments issue limited edition &/or "Proof" versions of their coins. This creates a demand driven rarity factor which often means these coins command premiums far above their Silver Content alone. Allot of these higher premium coins could be considered "Numismatica", that is collectible coins. Examples of these coins are: ASE (as above), Kookaburras, Koalas, Canadian Silver Maples (& the R.C.M. Wildlife Series), Chinese Pandas, Armenian Noah's Arks, Vienna Philharmonic's, Brittanias etc.
3) Silver Bullion Rounds:
You'll often hear these (usually) 1oz or less rounds referred to as "Generics".....These "Rounds" are based on the same format as a coin except have no "Legal Tender" Status & are minted by any variety of Private Mints. They are a low premium alternative to the Government Issue Coin which offer all the benefits of having smaller amounts of Silver on hand (as discussed above) without the cost. Many Private Mints have really done a great job with these coins... Scottsdale's 1oz "Omnia" Rounds are lovely as are many of the Indian Head/Buffalo Rounds.
4) "Junk" Silver:
Finally we get to REAL money, the way it used to be! The term "Junk" Silver refers to (generally) Pre-1969 .900 (90%) or less, coinage that has been in circulation. Virtually all governments worldwide abandoned the "Silver Standard" coinage prior to 1970, most slowly withdrawing the currency from circulation as it made its way back to the Reserve Banks....EXCEPT, many people were smart enough to hold onto their Junk Silver & it is now widely traded at both Bullion Value & as Numismatica. Well, that's the brief rundown of The Four Silver's. Now let's hear which you like best & why!?!

*Disclaimer: Information & "Advice" is given under the express understanding that it not be taken as investment advice. Although we make every effort to be factual, mistakes are made: The author, site admin &/or anyone involved will not be held liable for any loss sustained as a result of information contained herein. ©2012 TheBullionBoys.

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