Investing in Silver? Examine Your Options

Recently attention has been focused on silver, one of the precious metals which historically has been used by investors to help safeguard and protect their investments. Shiny and strong, silver has a high electric conductivity that makes it a natural choice for everything from printed circuit boards to solar cells and electric vehicles. Silver doesn’t normally get much limelight, overshadowed by gold. But silver can play a very important role to investors looking to safeguard and protect their wealth.

There are numerous options available to invest in the silver market, from silver bullion to silver ETFs to a silver IRA to silver mining stocks. Silver coins are among the most popular types of bullion you can buy because they’re easy to buy in bulk and keep in your home. We will review a few silver investing options here today with a focus on the best silver coins to purchase.

Silver American Eagle

The Silver American Eagle is the official silver bullion coin of the United States of America. First minted in 1986 and issued by the US Mint, this coin has become the standard by which other silver bullion coins are judged. The Silver American Eagle contains one troy ounce of 99.9% pure silver and has a legal tender face value of $1, although as with any precious metal bullion coin the value of its metal content is worth far more than its face value. With over 500 million Silver American Eagles having been produced so far, it remains one of the most highly desired silver bullion coins by both investors and numismatists.

Canadian Silver Maple Leaf

The Silver Canadian Maple Leaf bullion coin is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint and was first minted in 1988. With a metal content of 99.99% pure silver, it is one of the purest silver bullion coins in the world. Becoming increasingly popular with both collectors and investors, over 200 million of these coins have been minted since 1988.

Australian Silver Saltwater Crocodile

The Silver Saltwater Crocodile coins from the Perth Mint in Australia have quickly established themselves as among the most popular bullion coins available to precious metals investors. With the Perth Mint’s reputation for producing high-quality investment-grade coins, investors know that they’re getting the best coins for their money.

Royal Mint Silver Britannia Lunar Series

Given that the UK’s official currency is the pound sterling, you know that Great Britain has a long history of minting silver coins. Today its Silver Britannia coin is one of the best-known European bullion coins. In addition to regular production of the Silver Britannia, the UK’s Royal Mint also produces special annual versions of its Britannia silver bullion coin to commemorate the Chinese lunar new year. Each coin features a smooth edge with privy marks around the edge to commemorate animals from the Chinese zodiac, with the privy mark changing each year.

These limited edition privy mark coins have always been popular with investors, and because older coins are no longer in production, this could be your last chance to get your hands on some of these special coins.

Other Silver Investment Options

There are other silver investment options that investors can choose today too, including investments in “paper silver” or assets tangentially related to silver. However, these investments have their drawbacks when compared to investing in silver coins or bars.

Silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for instance, are a popular choice but have several disadvantages. The ETF purports to offer investors exposure to silver, but investors do not actually own silver or even a portion of the silver. Investors own shares that the fund issues, which supposedly have silver backing, and they can’t convert their shares to silver. This eliminates one of the advantages of investing in silver, namely the ability to own physical silver.

In addition, many wonder what is to keep the ETF from issuing more shares than it has silver backing? Investors just have to take the fund’s word for it. Throw in the issues with custodial and sub-custodial arrangements and you have to question how much unencumbered silver many of these ETFs actually own.

Other investors choose to invest in silver mining stocks, reasoning that if silver rises in price, silver mining stocks should too since their product is getting more valuable. But mining companies are just like any other company, and ineffective management, labor disputes, and rising energy costs can eat away at their profits, resulting in lackluster stock performance even when silver prices shoot up.

That’s why so many investors choose to invest in physical silver coins or bars rather than investing in other options such as silver ETFs or silver mining stocks. One of silver’s greatest advantages is that it’s a tangible asset. Unlike most financial assets today, you can hold a silver coin in the palm of your hand. With the ability of silver to protect against inflation and economic turmoil, not to mention the ease in the modern day of investing in physical silver such as through a silver IRA, there are few reasons not to prefer the safety and soundness of physical silver coins and bars.

If you’re looking to invest part of your retirement savings in silver but don’t know how, or if you want to learn more about investing in silver, contact the experts at Goldco today. Goldco’s experienced representatives have helped thousands of investors just like you get started in investing in silver.

Don’t let another day go by without protecting your retirement savings. Call Goldco today.