Silver bars or 90% silver?

wheatguy

I was considering buying some silver but I was wondering are silver bars, rounds, or 90% silver better to buy? And my local dealer is selling used bars and rounds for $17.50, is that good price? Thanks.

bestmr

It depends on your preference. I have a little of all of the above. Personally, I like 90% and silver eagles basically because they are coins so that's what I'm going to buy going forward. As for the price, that's about average of what my local dealers offer. You could try the BST forums as sometimes a large amount is sold below melt. If your lucky, you can sometimes get some decent buys on ebay too.

Tomohawk

SILVER EAGLES!
SILVER EAGLES!
SILVER EAGLES!

Ok...I'll confess: I've recently jumped on the 90% face bandwagon. I'm about to go onto the BST to look for anyone willing to part with some for about 10x face, plus I'm starting to look at local swap meets (heard on this forum folks are finding people willing to sell at around 6x face.

AND (as if this post wasn't long enough!) I've also forayed into bullion...got some cool old Engelhard poured 10 oz's, and some modern.

I'm trying to get into the 1,000's of ounces as quick as the pitiful remains of my paycheck allow. Diversification seems best to me...

wheatguy

Thanks, I took a liking to bars, although I do like 90% silver. I have the opportunity to buy a Wall St. Mint or Sunshine 10oz. bar for $185, is that a good deal and should I buy it?

mkman123

Get both! I like 90% and silver bullion

Tomohawk, good luck finding people on the boards selling any for 10x......it would be snatched up in seconds of being posted.

Try flea markets, yard sales, etc. Might find a deal there.

Zubie

I've found it kind of comes in waves. I started with silver eagles, then really got into bullion a few months ago. Now, I've been buying a lot of 90% silver, mostly '64 Kennedys and recently a lot of Walking Liberty halves.
There are definitely some great deals on the BST board and I try to buy there before hitting Apmex and ebay.

Norseman88

<< <i>Get both! I like 90% and silver bullion

Tomohawk, good luck finding people on the boards selling any for 10x......it would be snatched up in seconds of being posted.

Try flea markets, yard sales, etc. Might find a deal there. >>



Yeah considering melt on 90% is roughly 12 times I find it hard to believe that anyone would sell you 90% at 10 times or less.

In fact here's a standing offer to pay 10.1 times face

Coll3ctor

"I'm about to go onto the BST to look for anyone willing to part with some for about 10x face, plus I'm starting to look at local swap meets (heard on this forum folks are finding people willing to sell at around 6x face"

halfhunter

With 90% I prefer BU solid date rolls. Of these I prefer OBWs.
A couple of years ago OBW rolls could be bought for around melt . . . Not much so anymore, and truely unopened OBW rolls are getting hard to find.
If anyone has some for sale . . . ? ! ? !

In January '09 I converted all of my circulated junk halves (40 & 90%) that I had amassed from years of roll hunting into ASEs and some cash.

HH

jmski52

All of the above have their merits. bestmr was on point - It depends on your preference.

Each type of silver has it's own market characteristics. Different premiums, different sizes, different finishes, different types. Whatever you get into, take your time enough to learn about it - even to the extent of buying some reference literature.

I like BU rolls of 90% silver (particularly OBW rolls), BU Silver Eagles and some private silver rounds, like those from Daniel Carr, or some foreign silver like Australian Kooks. I might even like the 5 oz. "National Quarters" that the Mint is coming out with this year.

There is more to choose from than you will ever have time or inclination to pursue. Good luck with your choices, it's all good.

PerryHall

I don't care if it's ASE's, bars, or 90%, I'll buy it all if it's priced right.

keepdachange

Anything under spot is perfect for me

gsa1fan

I agree with PerryHall!

RedHerring

The right price is always the key for sure.

That said my PREFERENCE is name brand bars.

I really like 5 and 10 ozers. Half kilo (500g) bars are almost exactly 16 troy ounces and are a nice size also.


But really, buy what you like and can get the best deal on............

jmski52

The right price is always the key for sure..............

But really, buy what you like and can get the best deal on............

I can make a very good case that the buy/sell spread is not always the best variable to optimize.

1) Although I like some "junk" 90% silver myself and can get good spreads when buying it, I also like the silver American Eagles. The premiums are higher when both buying and selling and the spreads probably aren't as good. However, they are universally-recognized and very fungible if I want to liquidate.

2) I like divisibility. A 10 oz. bar can be liquidated but only in it's entirety and all at once. More so for a 50 oz. or 100 oz. bar.

3) I like BU Rolls of Roosevelt Dimes, Washington Quarters and Franklin Halves. They always sell at a premium to "junk" 90% silver, but they tend to move up (and down) faster with the market. In addition, these are some of the coins that I grew up with. The more common rolls still track silver somewhat, but they also satisfy a numismatic thirst. If they are un-opened original paper rolls (harder to find these days), the intrigue increases - if you can resist the urge to open them.

Your purpose in buying generic silver is the profit motive, no doubt - but before you know it, you will start picking up knowledge and with that knowledge you will start to have preferences. Once you pay just a nickel over melt for a bar, or a coin, or a round because you "like it", then you have become a collector.

Good Luck with that.