Buy Silver Bars and Save on Premiums

If you're looking to buy a lot of silver assets, you'll want to consider silver bars. They have advantages over coins and rounds.

The Advantages of Silver Bars

There are several advantages to buying silver bars. The most important one is the lower premiums you'll pay to purchase them.

Premiums for silver bullion coins are often in the $1.50 per coin (per ounce) range (if you buy them in large numbers) and often higher. The rate is lower for silver rounds, usually in the $1.00 per ounce range.

The premium for silver bars is usually in the $0.79-$0.99 per ounce range, and sometimes as low as $0.59 per ounce for the larger bars.

There are a few other advantages as well.

• There's a wide variety of weights, from 1 troy ounce through 5 ounces to 10 ounces, up to 100 ounce silver bars (these normally have the lowest premium, since there's less production work and handling involved, per ounce).
• You can choose from a wide variety of producers. Some of the more popular ones are Johnson Matthey, Heraeus, Sunshine and Ohio Precious Metal. Some precious metals dealers, such as APMEX (American Precious Metals Exchange) sell their own brand.
• The smaller sizes often come with designs, such as the Morgan Dollar design or an American eagle. So you can amass a variety of different bars.
• Bars are rectangular, so they take up less storage space than the equivalent weight in coins or rounds. If space is in short supply, consider buying silver bars.

What You Get and Who Buys Them

Silver bars contain the same .999 silver (99.9% pure silver) that you'll find in bullion coins and rounds.

People concerned about having small amounts of silver on hand in case the economy collapses, or there's a natural or national emergency, will go with the 1 ounce bars. However, these aren't nearly as popular as silver rounds, which have about the same premium. These people also tend to buy junk silver (dimes, quarters and half dollars from prior to 1965 in the US, and 1969 in Canada).

People buying solely for investment purposes usually buy the 100 ounce bars, tending to ignore the smaller sizes. They find it easier to deal with a few heavy bars rather than many more lighter bars.

Are Silver Bars Right for You?

Are bars the right silver product for you? You'll have to decide whether you're purchasing to protect yourself against coming bad times, or if you're investing to hold until the price goes up enough to take a large profit.

Whatever your reason, there's a silver bar that's right for you. Find the dealer that's right for you and put in your order.