What Silver Should I Invest In? – Here's The Best Types of Silver to Buy & Sell

Investing in silver is an affordable and easy way to diversify some of your paper portfolio, assets denominated in fiat currency like stocks or bonds, with a tangible, valuable commodity.

Silver tends to hold its value over time and has been used as money for thousands of years.

Today, this hard asset can be traded in a highly-liquid global marketplace online in a few clicks.

Investment silver is available in coins, bars, and rounds in standardized weights (1 oz, 10 oz, kilos, and 100 oz being the most common).

If buying and selling quickly at a locked-in price is important to you, consider keeping your silver investment in private vault storage. It’s available to you 24/7 in the vault, held in your name, and is fully-insured. That way, you can mitigate risks of keeping it in your home and not being able to find a buyer when you’re ready to sell, storage holdings are liquid – take profits any time.

But first, you must decide which silver you want to invest in – and as experts in precious metals, GoldSilver is here to help. Here is everything you need to know about the best silver to buy and sell.

Why Invest in Physical Silver

Before we take a look at the best-selling silver to buy, let’s discuss why silver is a good investment.

Buying silver is worth your time and money (read: currency) for the following reasons:

• It’s a hard asset. While stocks, bonds, and other financial products are good investments, they are still digital promissory notes susceptible to depreciation. Silver, on the other hand, is a tangible asset. Even in an economic collapse, silver has always held value.
• It’s cheaper and more versatile than gold. Silver is cheaper and more accessible to purchase and use than gold. In general, it has outperformed gold in bull markets. Silver comes in smaller denominations than gold, making it more practical to use.
• It’s commonly used across industries. Aside from monetary use, silver is found in the majority of our electronic devices. Silver’s adaptable industrial use reflects its robust demand that will only continue to grow and be a valuable asset in our lives.

To learn more, read 10 Reasons to Invest in Silver.

The 4 Types of Silver You Should Buy

Silver comes in many sizes, shapes, and designs. Many investors select a mix of silver coins, bars, and rounds because of personal reasons, they like the aesthetics of the design, or to diversify their ounces in smaller and larger denominations.

Below, we’ve outlined the four types of silver worth considering:

1. Silver Coins

Silver coins are produced by sovereign mints, national or government-backed institutions including the US Mint. Silver coins are easier to turn into cash… liquidate... than rounds, because they are far more common and well known around the world. For example, there is always a market, a buyer willing to purchase, American Silver Eagles, the world’s #1 silver bullion coin.

Government-issued coins carry the backing of their government as to quality and purity, and are readily recognizable, making it easy to authenticate.

It’s easy to confuse coins with rounds. Though silver coins and rounds share similarities, they carry fine differences you should know about.

Let’s compare silver coins with rounds, starting with their similarities: 

• Both come in a standard coin shape.
• Both are available in similar sizes.
• Both contain similar pure fine metal content

Below are their key differences. Included are some key advantages and disadvantages that are worth noting:

• Silver rounds are produced by private mints, not backed or run by a government, most often in the 1 oz size (which contains the same full troy ounce of silver as 1 oz bullion coins). They may be part of a series that is continually produced. Or, they may be one-off limited-edition commemoratives celebrating specific world events, movies, sports franchises, etc. (like the Olympics), with a limited mint run.
• Generic rounds usually carry a lower premium than government-issued bullion coins because the designs and quality varies greatly compared to sovereign-minted coins.. There are literally thousands of different silver round designs, making them collectible much like baseball or Pokemon cards.Collectibles  may be touted to naïve investors as worthy of an exorbitant premium (the markup paid over spot price), because of their “scarcity”and limited-edition features.. But caveat emptor. Buyers rarely recover that premium when this type of coin is sold back into the marketplace.

GoldSilver does sell selected generic rounds. They’re cheaper than bullion coins and we believe they may have a place in your portfolio. However, we only deal with mints in which we have the highest confidence. Unlike bullion coins, rounds come in smaller sizes, from 1/10 to 1/4 and 1/2 ounce, we offer the full range. 

2. Bullion Coins

Bullion coins are most commonly found in the standard 1 oz size, and are widely available and accepted around the globe. Other sizes include 30 gram, two ounces and even 10 ounces.

There are some key facts you should know about silver bullion coins:

• Liquid. The main advantage of the smaller sizes is their liquidity. If you need cash, most any dealer will buy your 1 oz coins. But you might have trouble quickly moving that 10 oz Maple Leaf or collectible numismatic.
• Premium. As with gold, what you pay for a coin is the spot price per ounce for silver on that day. Added to this is the premium charged by the mint (known as seigniorage). In a sale, it works the other way; the premium is deducted from the price you receive. Premiums are sensitive to supply and demand. Generally, when demand is low, so is the premium, so that’s the best time to buy. When silver coins are flying off the shelves, or when supplies lag, the premium tends to escalate.

Our work to keep premiums as low as possible. And if by chance it isn’t, you confidently buy knowing all products are backed by our price match guarantee.

3. Silver Bars

Silver bars have a rectangular shape and, depending on the weight of the bar, can vary in thickness.

Some people might think that bars have greater purity than coins. Not so. Both bars and coins contain the same amount of silver by weight.

Most bars come in a purity of .999 fine (99.9% pure), the same as a Silver Eagle, or .9999 fine (99.99% pure), the same as a Canadian Maple Leaf.

Here are the main things to know about silver bars:

• Lower premiums. The biggest advantage to silver bars is that they carry lower premiums than coins because they have less intricate designs and are larger. Thus, they are easier and less expensive to manufacture. You get more ounces for your currency.
• Less liquid than coins. For instance, if you take one to a local coin shop to sell, they may not want to buy it for any number of reasons. But bars can be an efficient and convenient way to store larger holdings by weight.
• Sufficient verification attached. Silver bars from any reputable mint will have the manufacturer’s stamp and/or serial number on it, which is generally sufficient for verification when you sell. However, as noted, the sale of large bars could be a problem if they’re physically in your possession – making owning large bars in storage more preferable.

GoldSilver keeps an inventory of silver bars from a variety of mints and in sizes from 1 to 100 ounces.

Shop Silver Bars

4. Junk Silver

So-called “junk silver” coins are misnamed. They’re anything but junky. They are simply U.S. dimes, quarters, and half-dollars issued in 1964 and earlier. Junk silver circulated freely in commerce during that time period and were the last precious metal coins to do so.

Their accumulated wear gives most of them a less-than-brilliant look, hence the descriptor “junk.” Afterward, they were discontinued and replaced by coins using a cupronickel alloy.
 
Unlike modern bullion coins and rounds, junk silver is not pure, but they are 90% silver. Thus, they are priced accordingly in the market as per their metal content.

Junk silver is not as popular as our modern bullion coins, but they are valued by collectors and those who appreciate their history. More importantly, they hold excellent value for the following reasons:

• Low upfront investment. Junk silver coins offer low premiums over spot price, making them an affordable investment.
• Long-term viability. Junk silver is rare, US coinage containing pure silver content, it likely will never lose investment demand.
• Easily identifiable. Most junk silver coins do not need an evaluation to see if they’re the real deal. They are recognizable to most people, as they resemble the current silver coins we use today.

We offer junk silver in $100, $500, and $1,000 face value bags, priced by their fine metal weight in troy ounces.

Selling Your Silver

If you’ve bought silver and are ready to take profits or liquidate your investment, there are a few selling tips to keep in mind:

• Selling silver bars requires finding a willing buyer who trusts you. It’s better if you buy and sell through a dealer, like GoldSilver, that has a guaranteed sellback option. Even better, simply leave large silver bars within our “chain of custody,” so there will be no question of their authenticity. One easy way to do that is through our allocated storage program.
• Selling junk silver involves finding a buyer/dealer who specializes in junk silver, as you may be able to receive a slightly higher premium from them. Since junk silver is not as popular as other types of silver, your best bet is to find someone who holds expertise in this area and who can give you the price you deserve.
• Selling silver coins overall is fairly easy.. They are in demand all over the world, so liquidity is not normally problematic. However, some coins are easier to convert or sell in certain markets. For example, North American coins are usually easier to convert into currency in the US market than coins from other areas of the world.

The Top Silver Coins in Demand

To gain a comprehensive understanding of all the coins you can invest in, below are the best-selling silver bullion coins. They have been listed in order of their popularity and demand in the market.

1) American Silver Eagle 

American Silver Eagles are the best-selling silver in the world. First issued in 1986, these are offered only in a 1 oz. version (although we also have a 500 oz. “monster box” available).

These silver coins are universally recognized and sellers will always find ready buyers. Other sovereign coins, though to lesser degrees, offer this same advantage.

While American Silver Eagles command a relatively high premium up front primarily due to seigniorage, the additional cost over spot that national mints like the US Mint charge, you are almost certain to recapture it (or potentially even profit from it) when you sell.

They are also Individual Retirement Account (IRA)-approved investments, add them to your precious metals IRA today.

Physical Attributes 

The contemporary American Silver Eagle features the classic obverse “walking Liberty” design but should not be confused with the historical half-dollar on which it is based. It contains one troy ounce of .999 fine silver and carries a face value of one dollar (though of course it is worth many times that).

2) Canadian Maple Leaf

The Canadian Maple Leaf is the second most-popular silver coin, and one of the most highly recognized coins in the world. It has been a product of the Royal Canadian Mint since 1988. It has the highest purity of any silver coin at .9999 fine, and the 1 oz size carries a legal tender value of CAD $5, while the true market value is significantly higher.

Physical Attributes

The design features radial lines emanating from the center of the coin, machined precisely within microns to ensure consistent die production and coin striking. The specific width and pitch of the lines create a light-diffraction pattern which makes the silver Maple Leaf unique among bullion products.

Newer Silver Maple Leaf coins are available with MintShield, a proprietary surface protectant—transparent to the user—that is proven to significantly reduce the occurrence of white spots on silver bullion.

The reverse may also feature an engraved security feature consisting of a textured maple leaf, micro-engraved with laser technology. A numeral is visible under magnification, denoting the coin’s year of issue. All of this is intended to represent the cutting edge in bullion coin security.

Maple Leafs are also available in 500 oz mint cases .

3) Austrian Philharmonic

The silver Austrian Philharmonic  coin features the same design as the gold Philharmonic, Europe's leading gold bullion coin. First minted in 2008, the silver Philharmonic has now taken its place as the highest minted and most well-known silver bullion coin in Europe.

The Austrian Philharmonic is .999 fine silver and carries a face value of €1.50‎, while the true market value is much higher.

Physical Attributes

The obverse of the coin features the Great Pipe Organ in Vienna's Golden Hall, which houses the Philharmonic Orchestra. The reverse of the coin depicts an array of instruments from the world-famous orchestra.

In addition to single 1 oz. coins, we offer a 500 oz mint case. 

4) British Britannia

 British Britannia  silver coins are commonly traded in the UK, where they capture a major portion of the market, and less commonly elsewhere. They are legal tender, and have a face value of £2 sterling.

The obverse features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the reverse a depiction of the iconic Britannia figure, the symbolic protector of the British Isles.

Physical Attributes

Britannias minted in 2017 and later have a security feature consisting of a speckled radial sunburst which gives these silver coins a striking look that is very difficult to counterfeit.

First produced in 1997, the coin was originally minted to the “Britannia silver” standard (.986 fine) but was upgraded to pure silver (.999 fine) in 2013.

5) Other Silver Coins

Other silver bullion coins are less frequently traded, but the investor may wish to acquire some, because of a special interest in a country or to add variety to his or her portfolio. All are 1 oz. and they include:

The Australian Kangaroo, .9999 fine and struck by the Perth Mint since 2016.

The Mexican Libertad, .999 fine, first issued in 1981 and prized by investors and collectors alike for its beauty and lower mintages.

The South African Krugerrand, .999 fine with legal tender status but no face value just like its golden twin, one of the most successful bullion coins in history

How Much Silver Should I Buy for My Portfolio?

How much silver to acquire for your portfolio is a topic of debate. The truth is, there is no straight answer to this question that applies to everyone. Individuals have different investment goals and tolerances to risk.

Though there is no one-size-fits-all approach, there are questions to consider to help you put together a customized strategy tailored to your goals.

• What are your investment goals? Are you looking for a short-term or long-term gain? If you’re looking for a long-term gain, we advise buying enough silver to ensure a buffer against a market crash or personal emergency.
• How much silver do you need to impact your investments and lifestyle? As a general rule of thumb, at least 5% of your portfolio should be in precious metals. Anything lower than that will not help you actually profit off your silver. But of course, this percentage is contingent on other investments you have in place.

Keep in mind, silver bullion coins are one of the foundations of a diverse and stable portfolio. They are a safe and secure method for investing in physical precious metals. In addition, silver bullion coins have a rich history as one of the oldest forms of money in the world and have actually circulated as currency more often than gold.

Shop Silver Bullion

Invest with GoldSilver

Investing in silver starts with GoldSilver. We offer an unrivaled variety of silver coins to choose from, along with many other special online features, such as:

• Our sellback policy, under which we will buy back most bullion products, whether you bought them from us or elsewhere
• Global and flexible storage options including allocated and segregated secure vault storage and fractional ownership with InstaVault Silver
• The ability to purchase with cryptocurrencies

Begin diversifying your portfolio by buying the best silver coins and much more with us today.