How to Buy Silver : A Beginner's Guide

How to Buy Silver and When to Buy Silver. A Beginner's Guide
This is a beginner's Guide on how to buy silver bullion. Some might want to know this because there is fear that the banks will collapse. Many of those in the know have been buying up gold during the past two years. What is less known is that many are buying up silver as well. How to buy silver (when one buys it and how one pays for it), what kind of silver to buy (silver bullion, silver coins, or silver stock) , and when to buy silver (the right time and wrong time to buy silver) are the topics that will be covered.

When to Buy Silver (or Anything for that Matter)
Generally, the time to buy is at the beginning of the upward trend. The way one knows whether there an upward trend is starting is by being well informed about how markets work and being able to logically deduce it. Few people tend to be in at the beginning of the upward trend. Then, there is the next wave. These are the people who examine the charts to see what is climbing. When they see a commodity beginning to climb, they join the bandwagon. These people pay about mid-level price for their silver (or anything else). The last wave is the general public who only learns about the particular commodity at the peak of the market. They rush in to buy it while the people who were at the first to figure out that there would be an upward trend, as well as those who spotted the upward trend, sell. Shortly, after that, the market falls and the third wave loses a lot of money.

Examples of these Trends (They are Called Bubbles).
This happened with the dot com crash, with the housing crash, and is currently happening with tertiary education. Essentially, by the time the masses begin to buy something, it is too late to buy it for profit. That’s when you need to sell.

Purpose of Buying Silver
There are plans afoot to float a global currency. There is also talk amongst several nations that the reserve currency will be removed from the USA. Many are expecting this to happen within the next few years. When it does, the dollar will be worth nothing, and it is only the buying power of silver, gold, or other trusted commodities that will have any value.

What Kind of Silver to Buy
There are three ways to buy silver.

Beginner's Guide Silver Bullion
One can buy silver bullion. Bullion are ingots (bars) which are rectangular in shape. They come in different weights, e.g. 100 oz or 1000 oz. The 100 oz silver bullion ingot weighs 6.86 lbs and so is easier to carry than the 1000 oz silver bullion ingot weighs about seventy pounds. Obviously, the 100 oz silver bullion bar is easier to carry around than the seventy pound one!

Silver bars comprise .999 (about as pure as it can get) solid silver. They are very convenient to have when money loses value (runaway inflation) because they not only retain their value but appreciate. They are universally accepted as a means of trade. Currently, at the time of writing this, the spot silver price is $37.32 per ounce. Obviously, 100 ounces is then priced at $3732 and 1000 ounces at $37,320.

Beginner's Guide Silver Coins
Numismatists sell coins. Traditionally, coinage used to be made of rare metals. However, as metals have become more and more expensive, the practice has changed. Even silver coins these days possess only a small fraction of silver. So, buyers of silver coins need to know exactly what they are doing when purchasing silver coins from a coin dealer. It’s also helpful to know some of the language used. A numismatist is another word for a coin collector. Sometimes, they might be willing to trade coins.

Numismatists put the value of the coin, not so much on the metal the coin is made of, but on what is printed on the coin. In other words, it has to do with rarity. While, on occasion, the coin may be made entirely of silver, the price of the coin might be a thousand times the price of the silver it contains. Therefore, it is not a good investment bet for silver. The value of coins, based on rarity, tends to fall when markets crash.

However, in a market where money has lost its value as a means of exchange (and many say that time is coming), it’s not always convenient to use a silver bar to buy a loaf of bread when a silver coin would do. In other words, silver coins are easier to carry around and to use as a means of exchange for smaller purchases.

So, the best silver coins to purchase are those minted by the government. The Canadians mint the Silver Maple Leaf. America mints the Silver American Eagle. Austria mints the Philharmonic , Australia mints the Kookaburr, and China mints the Panda, Many private mints also make silver coins. However, they tend to charge for the commemorative print value and not keep to the spot silver price. A spot price is the price that is paid at a particular moment. For instance, yesterday, the price of silver might have been $27 per ounce. Today, it is $37 per ounce. Tomorrow, it might be $47 per ounce. The spot price (right now) is $37 per ounce.

American Silver Eagle
The American mint does not sell coins directly to the public. They sell them to brokers and other dealers who, in turn, sell to the public. Currently, world wide, there is a shortage of silver because silver is running out. This probably accounts for the fact that the silver price has climbed far more rapidly than the gold price has. The American Silver Eagle price is climbing steadily.

American Currency Before 1965
American dimes, quarters, and half dollars, prior to 1965, contained 90% silver. If you have any of them, hang onto them. They will be worth a lot more than their face value in times of trouble.

Silver Stocks, Certificates, and Other Paper Promises
Anything that is not held in your hand or stored in your cupboards is a promise. Promises, as so many have seen, have a way of vanishing into fresh air, when the time comes to deliver. When markets are crashing, the best place to have your silver investment is right in front of you in a very tangible form.

Silver Bullion is the Best Buy!

Where to Buy Silver Bullion
Probably, the most reliable silver bars to be bought are Engelhard and Johnson-Matthey silver bullion bars. Engelhard silver bullion bars were minted by the Engelhard company until 1980. Each Engelhard bullion bar has a serial number to identify it as well as the name Engelhart embossed on it. You can buy Engelhard silver bars from dealers, Amazon, or ebay. Johnson-Matthey silver bullion bars are also highly reliable, being .999 pure. They, too, have a serial number on them with the company name. Although Johnson-Matthey are still in circulation and very highly respected, like Engelhard, the silver bars are no longer manufactured. Likewise, they can be bought at local dealers, online, and places like Ebay and Amaon.

Where to Buy Silver Coins
Silver coins are best bought locally. First do your research online. Then approach the various coin shops in your area and see if you can get them for the same price or less. As a rule, check out the spot silver price and don’t pay more than a 1% variation in price for the silver coin you buy. Remember that because insufficient silver is mined each year, refiners buy 200 million ounces of recycled silver from coin dealers (and other sources) each year, and you want to pay the same price that they do.

How to Buy Silver and When to Buy Silver
Hopefully, this article has been informative and you are now in a better place to be able to assess whether the time is right for you to buy silver bullion, and or whether you should buy bullion or coin.