Investing In Silver Bars: What You Need To Know

Investors often consider silver bars as their go-to option when purchasing silver bullion. While every investor may have their own reasons for this preference, there are several common factors that make silver bars a popular choice, such as:

There is a wide selection of styles available for silver bars including cast bars, hand-poured bars, and minted ingots. Additionally, silver bars are priced more affordably compared to silver bullion coins due to their lower premiums over the spot price of silver. Furthermore, there are countless options available in terms of weight, ranging from as light as 1 gram or 1 troy ounce to as heavy as 1 kilogram or 400 troy ounces.

Why Investors Buy Silver Bars?

While silver may not be as popular as gold, it is still a valuable physical asset for diversifying one’s portfolio. It provides similar benefits as gold, but at a more affordable price point. People purchase silver because, like gold, it is considered a safe-haven asset during periods of political and economic turmoil. However, the reasons for investing in silver extend beyond this.

When investing in silver bullion, especially in bar form, you can acquire a higher amount of the precious metal per unit weight compared to buying silver coins. Silver bars typically carry a lower premium than silver coins and closely follow the spot price of silver, which makes them an advantageous option for those looking to invest in large quantities of silver. Furthermore, silver bullion bars are easier to store in a vault than coins due to their shape and markings.

Store of Value

Silver serves as a reliable store of wealth, with a proven track record of positive gains over the long run. Its physical form also allows for easy transport, while small quantities can be conveniently stored in a home safe.

Protection from inflation.

Silver serves as a hedge against inflation due to its inherent value compared to paper currency. As a result, it has a track record of performing better than currency during periods of low-interest rates. According to U.S. News & World Report, the ideal time to invest in silver is when there is a combination of low interest rates, a weakening dollar, robust economic growth, and increasing inflation.

According to U.S. News & World Report, when average inflation rises by 1% annually, silver has historically gained 17.4% on average, while gold has gained 6.3% on average. This outperforms the S&P 500, which has historically gained 2.4% on average per 1% increase in the Consumer Price Index. Thus, both silver and gold are better inflation hedges than stocks.

Strong performance of silver

According to Yahoo! Finance, the price gains of silver may outpace gold in some years, while in other years, gold may gain over silver. Nevertheless, the underlying factors that drive the price of silver are expected to push it higher over time due to the greater demand than supply. Thus, as long as one buys from reputable dealers, investing in silver is considered a relatively low-risk market move.

Silver has been used as currency

The history of silver as a currency dates back centuries, with its use as a currency starting as early as 700 B.C., as noted by The Silver Institute. In fact, under the federal Coinage Act of 1792, which established the U.S. Mint, the dollar was pegged to silver, not gold. In the early years of the United States, silver coins were the preferred form of currency. Although silver’s use as currency declined for several decades, silver coins have made a comeback in the 20th century, and government-issued silver coins remain a popular currency option to this day.

Silver is an in-demand asset

Silver’s tangible nature provides a sense of security that paper assets like stocks and bonds cannot match. Its physical form is highly valued not only for its aesthetic beauty but also for its versatility as an industrial metal. The Silver Institute forecasts a substantial increase in global demand for silver, estimated at 11% in 2021.

The price of silver is more attainable

Some individuals may desire the security of owning precious metals but find gold to be out of their budget. Fortunately, silver presents itself as a precious metal with a much lower price point. The U.S. Mint highlights that silver has traditionally been the most accessible precious metal. For instance, in August 2020, while the price of gold surpassed $2,000/oz., silver remained near $30/oz, providing a favorable entry point for new buyers.

Variety of Silver Bars and Bullion

As mentioned earlier, there are various styles of silver bars available for investment purposes. Minted ingots, in particular, are a popular option among investors due to several reasons. These ingots are created from a long cast silver bar that is passed through a stamping press, which precisely cuts and stamps each bar with a design or important markings. Investors put premium on minted inglots because of the high level of precision required in the production and the guarantee from assayers that confirms the purity, weight, and silver content of a bar.

Alternatively, some investors and collectors may be drawn to the charm of cast or hand-poured silver bars. Many refineries still employ these traditional methods to create bars that may lack intricate designs but offer the same purity and value as other silver bars. It’s worth noting, however, that not all cast or hand-poured bars are plain. Some refineries like the Atlantis Mint and Monarch Precious Metals in the United States specialize in creating hand-poured, hand-stamped silver bars with unique designs, ensuring that no two bars in the same series are identical.

Whether you choose to purchase cast, hand-poured, or minted ingot silver bars, you can be confident that the refinery manufacturing uses .999 or .9999 pure silver content. While not all silver bars come with an assay card, many do. This card serves as proof of authenticity and certifies the weight, purity, and content of the individual product.

Which Silver Bar Size Should You Get?

There is a broad range of sizes available for silver bars, and choosing the right one largely depends on personal preference. The 1 Troy oz and 10 Troy oz weights are among the most popular sizes, primarily due to the variety of designs and styles offered, as well as their affordability. Furthermore, smaller silver bars are more convenient to store and sell when necessary. Nevertheless, investing in larger silver bars, such as 25 oz, 50 oz, 100 oz, or even 400 oz bars, can also have its advantages.

As a rule, the premium for silver decreases as the size of the bar increases. Purchasing a single 400 oz bar, for instance, may be more cost-effective for a large purchase than acquiring 400 individual 1 Troy oz bars due to the premium per ounce of each bar. It is important to keep in mind that smaller bars provide affordability and flexibility in the short term, while larger bars facilitate more significant investments per purchase. Ultimately, the choice of silver bar weight depends on individual preferences and investment goals.

Silver Bar Designs

There is an abundance of exciting and impressive designs available for silver bars. Our inventory features some of the most exquisite designs worldwide, as well as some lesser-known options that offer a perfect blend of pure silver and collectible design appeal. Below are some of the most sought-after silver bar designs available:

• The PAMP Suisse Fortuna design showcases the Roman goddess of Fortune on its obverse side and is a signature design of the Swiss refinery. PAMP has established itself as the foremost bullion brand worldwide, and the Fortuna design has become an emblem of PAMP’s achievements among investors everywhere.
• SilverTowne is a renowned private mint in America, offering an extensive selection of silver bars for purchase. The Prospector logo is the most popular design from SilverTowne, but they also offer other options like American Flag designs, the American bald eagle, and even retro versions of their famous Prospector logo with a landscape orientation instead of portrait.
• The Sunshine Mint located in Idaho is another notable private mint in the United States. They produce silver coins for foreign reserve banks, silver bullion bars for investors, and even silver blanks used by sovereign mints for coin production, such as the American Silver Eagle. The American eagle logo with a sunburst design behind it is the most popular design from Sunshine Mint.
• The Royal Canadian Mint is a sovereign mint that stands out for producing silver bullion bars in addition to coins. The primary face of the bars features the mint’s logo, which includes a sugar maple leaf design with inscriptions in French.
• The Royal Mint released a stunning silver bar in 2018 featuring the iconic image of Britannia. Unlike the modern designs of Britannia on bullion coins, this silver bar depicts a classic visual of the female personification of Britannia that dates back to the 18th century depictions of Britannia on British coinage.
• Johnson Matthey, one of the most prominent silver and gold refiners in the world, may have divested from its refining business, but its legacy lives on through its silver bars. These bars typically display the iconic Johnson Matthey logo of crossed hammers, along with the refinery’s name. The reverse side often features a repeating image of the crossed hammers.
• Geiger Edelmetalle, a German mint, offers a range of silver bars for sale, including minted ingots and new silver square bars. The bars typically feature an image of Schloss Guldengossa on the obverse and an LEV rhombus on the reverse, with acute attention to detail in production. The square bars come with enhanced security features.
• As a relatively new brand to many North American investors, Asahi Refining boasts a long-standing history as it was founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1952. In 2015, Asahi made a significant acquisition by purchasing the North American refining and assaying facilities of Johnson Matthey, which had been in the precious metals industry for over 150 years. Asahi offers silver bullion bars in various popular weights including 1 oz, 10 oz, 1 Kilogram, and 100 oz, each featuring the company logo and assayer marks.