Investing In Silver?

Depend on your goals and plans.

If you are looking for a silver coin collection, most of the pre 1964 US coins would suffice. An exception being Roosevelt dimes, I've read the appreciation on them is minimal. Any certified coin is going to be more than a few dollars but will have extrinsic value based on condition and demand.

'Junk' US silver coins, (i.e. circulated) are an easy way to start small, they usually sell for a multiple of face value. In the past few months they've fluctuated from 9x-12x face value. A roll of 50 Roosevelt dimes goes from $45-? defending on the stated coin condition. A circulated 'junk' roll of dimes will contain 3.6 troy ounces of silver which is currently valued at $48.36.

Bullion like the Silver Eagle ($1 face value) is 1 ounce of pure silver and can be had for a premium of between $4-? over spot price. This also includes all of the world mints, like Canadian Maple Leafs ($5 face value).

Then there are silver ingots that also fluctuate based on spot prices and are either pure silver .999 pure or sterling which is .925 pure.

It's based on budget and your desires. I have all of the types: rolled up War Nickels, dimes, quarters, halves & dollars in circulated condition, slabbed Silver Eagles, uncirculated and proof Silver Eagles, Maple Leafs, ingots and BU & proof coins in Dansco folders.

Make a plan and get started!

You can buy them straight from the mint, from ebay (pre-owned), and maybe even here if someone is selling one.

-- Boris

One problem with silver is, if you acumulate a large value of it, you have a storage problem.

I have found the best way to buy silver is in rolls. Look at different dealers, 2008 and 2009 are good buys, better that singles.

ASE are all bullion coins. The proofs bring a healthy premium and are collected by many people but are really bullion coins also.

For your nephews could I suggest some Ike dollars or Kennedy halves. If they are young, they may never have seen these coins. The circulated clad versions aren't worth much, if any, over face and could get them started in numismatics rather cheaply. Toss in a few IHC and LWC for good measure.

I would say getting a Eagle for around $20-25 shouldn't be to hard to find. I don't think you are going to find one for less than that when you consider shipping. It isn't like people have been spending them, so finding one with wear isn't going to be very common.

-SWUSC

I've got a 1997 ASE that looks like it has been picked up off a gravel road. It has hair line scratches covering the whole piece. I bought it at a truck stop for 18 dollars along with a Silver Town made 1 tr. .999 bullion coin. I considered both buys a bullion buy at the time (it was before I became interested in collecting).

Such a shame too, the 1997 ASE's seem to be becoming popular.

I've bought and sold gold and silver eagles through Blanchard & Co. out of New Orleans and found the process went well. I'm about 5 hours from them too. They were trading them at spot prices with just a little commission. They didn't care about condition as they're not collectors. This was large quantities however, I'm not sure what they do for small quantities.