Investment Basics in Silver Coins
Silver coins are believed to be among the first mass produced coins. The history
of silver coins can be traced as far back as 700 BC, and the Greek silver drachma
and the Roman silver denarius are among the most well known examples of the early
use of silver coins. However, silver coins began to be phased out of circulation
late in the twentieth century when the value of the silver in minted coins began
to exceed the face value of the coins themselves. This first happened in 1964.
While coins in circulation today no longer contain silver, national mints worldwide
continue to mint silver coins for investors and numismatists. The most common
silver coin issued today are generally 1 oz., .999 pure silver coins. Some
of the most well known silver coins minted today include the U.S. Mint's
Silver American Eagle coin,
the Royal Canadian Mint's
Silver Maple Leaf coin, the Perth Mint's
Silver Koala coin, and the Chinese
Silver Panda coin. The privately minted
Silver Buffalo
coin is also a popular silver bullion choice.
Given silver's historical use as a medium of exchange and its value in the coin
collecting universe, silver coins represent a key part of many investment portfolios
today. However, the price of silver, and silver coins, has not been without
volatility. In the 1980's, silver's prices saw a surge due to an attempt by
the Hunt brothers to corner the silver market. The Hunt brothers infamously
attempted and failed to corner the world market in
silver using the fortune that they made from oil. Their brief accumulation
of a massive silver position caused an explosive rise in silver at the time.
In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, prices of silver and silver coins fell
precipitously, only to rebound to just short of $50 per oz in March of 2011.
Prices subsequently fell sharply and are currently in the mid-30s. The future
of silver prices, and thus the value of silver coins will remain a hotly debated
topic going forward.
It should be noted that the value of silver today is not only measured in dollars
but is also contrasted in ratio with the value of
gold.
Silver Coin Facts
Silver coin demand is only one component for the overall demand for silver.
The three main demand drivers for silver are industrial demand, investment demand, and jewelry demand.
Industrial demand remains the largest of these three components by a wide
margin. However, the composition of silver industrial demand has changed markedly over the last few decades.
Specifically, the advent of digital photography has led to a steady ongoing
decline in demand for consumer color film which had long dominated industrial demand
for silver. However, general technology innovations have led to an increasing number of new applications
for silver in the technology, medical, and rapidly growing solar energy industry.
Silver coins are an important component of investment demand for silver.
There are three main ways to invest in silver today – silver bullion, certified
silver coins, and silver exchange traded funds (ETF).
Silver bullion includes silver bars and silver coins, but unlike certified
silver coins, bullion silver coins are ungraded by a nationally recognized coin
grading company. The two most well
known coin grading companies are PCGS and NCS.
Gainesville Coins carries a number of certified silver coins.
Buy Silver From Gainesville Coins