Need Advice: Silver Bullion

[JohnA]

If I was to buy silver bars, which brand should i get?

Or is it better to get fiat bullion. If so for me is the Eagle the cheapest way to go?

[mr-dead]

You have a big advantage being in the US over us in the UK as silver is tax free for you.

If you are buying bars just grab whatever is closest to spot, all about building as many cheap OZs as possible.

If you opt for coins then Eagles are the most logical choice and will be the most liquid when it comes to sell up time.

[Lowlow]

Coins, rounds, or bars is your decision.

Bars have the lowest premium, but you're limited to buying/selling an entire bar.  Not a problem if you're moving in and out of a large position, more of a problem if you are having thoughts about a SHTF type of situation since you'd really only use large bars for large transactions like buying a house, etc.

Coins vs. rounds is a difference of premium.  A coin is a government minted round, round being the term used for a coin that is made by a private mint without any government assurance of its weight.  The premium on government coins is totally worth it on gold because the premium is so small compared to the price (a very small percentage of the price), but many bullion buyers think the premium is too high on silver because it makes up a substantial percentage of the price and they prefer rounds or bars.  That said, coins do typically hold their premium, meaning that if you sell them you can usually recover the extra premium that you paid for that government assurance.

If you're in it for the bullion, 90% silver is also a good option - basically these are older, recognizable coins made before 1965 in the United States that are made of 90% silver.  The premium over spot is low, and if you have SHTF type concerns the coins would make good barter items if necessary because they come in small denominations that would make them very useful for barter.  They are less useful for a pure investment play because they are harder to liquidate than 1oz 999 rounds and coins (in my opinion).  You do also pay a premium for 90% silver, and it's questionable if you can recover that premium, it really depends on how much time and energy you put into selling them.

In general all of this can be summarized with a rule of thumb ... the larger the item (bar, coin, etc) the lower the premium is going to be as a percentage of the price.

[KevinG]

Since you live in the US eagles are the best to liquidate. But I believe the cheapest coin on the market are the Niue owls

[Pete]

There are several bullion dealers in the USA that sell coins and bars very close to spot and with no tax to pay you are very fortunate.
Why not call some of them and ask if they remit the same per ounce buying back coins, rounds and bars.
Chances are silver Eagles win overall but you never can tell.
I believe APMEX and some other big dealers show buyback prices on their websites.

[PuraPlataPura]

On ‎4‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 21:09, JohnAnsink said:

If I was to buy silver bars, which brand should i get?

Or is it better to get fiat bullion. If so for me is the Eagle the cheapest way to go?

If you are looking to add Oz's to your portfolio and don't care much for the aesthetics of the coin, you should also consider cull/damaged Silver Eagles... you could find really good deals on those and very close to spot price.