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The Basics of Silver as a Store of Value and Wealth

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In an age where digital transactions and cryptocurrencies are the norms, the concept of precious metals as a form of currency might seem outdated to many. However, there’s a compelling case to be made for considering silver not just as a relic of the past but as a relevant and wise choice for long-term wealth preservation and financial security.

The Forgotten History of Silver as Money

For centuries, silver and gold have been the cornerstone of global trade and currency. Our grandparents carried silver coins in their pockets, and the coins in circulation prior to 1965 were minted from 90% pure silver. Many in America built their wealth based on gold and silver reserves.

This historical significance isn’t just a matter of antiquity; it’s a testament to the intrinsic value these metals have played for thousands of years across various cultures and civilizations, but which is often overlooked in modern times.

Ancient civilizations, including the Greeks, Romans, and Chinese, used silver as a primary medium for trade. Silver coins were minted and used extensively for commercial transactions. Various countries, at different times, adopted a silver standard, a monetary system in which the value of paper currency was defined in terms of a certain amount of silver.

The Spanish silver dollar, sometimes referred to as “pieces of 8”, was widely used beyond Europe, especially in the Americas and Asia, with silver playing a key role in early global trade. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, silver, like gold, began to be seen more as a commodity and an investment. The shift to paper money and, later, digital transactions, led to a decline in the use of silver as everyday currency.

Today, silver continues to be an important asset in investment portfolios and is still used in various forms of commemorative and investment-grade coins. The historical significance of precious metals as a medium of exchange and store of value remains an important part of the global monetary systems.

Why Silver is Relevant Today

In the world of digital finance, silver stands out because it is a tangible asset. It’s an object that you can own and keep as a store of value, like a savings account. Unlike digital currencies or stocks, silver is something you can hold.

Silver has historically offered protection against inflation. When fiat currencies like the dollar lose value due to economic policies and market fluctuations, precious metals often retain their value. There have been many examples in history where their value has even appreciated. This is because these commodities often have an inverse relationship with other investments.

Compared to gold, silver is much more affordable, making it an accessible investment option for young investors who are starting to build their portfolios.

Diversifying your investment portfolio is a fundamental principle of sound financial planning. Including silver can provide balance and stability, especially during times of high inflation and economic uncertainty.

Beyond its value as an investment, silver’s industrial uses are expanding in the tech and medical industries, potentially driving up its demand and value. For the environmentally conscious, silver offers a sustainable investment. It’s recyclable and plays a crucial role in various green technologies, including solar panels.

How to Get Started with Silver Investing

Start by learning about the history of silver as currency and its current role in the economy involves delving into various educational resources and platforms.

A good place to begin is with books focused on the history of precious metals as money and currency. Most of these well regarded books are available in Kindle and other eReaders, paperback and hardcover:

Stay updated with the current role of silver in the economy by following financial news platforms and blogs that specialize in precious metals. Websites such as Kitco, The Silver Institute and FindBullionPrice.com offer news, analysis, and data on silver markets.

Various online learning platforms offer courses in economics and history, some of which specifically offer courses that cover the use of precious metals as currency.

The CME Group, the company which runs and operates various commodities markets and exchanges include COMEX, offers a free self-guided Introduction to Precious Metals online class that provides an overview of various precious metals, how they are consumed by industry and why they are important investments.

YouTube also offers numerous educational channels where experts and influencers discuss the history and economics of silver. Documentaries and TV programs that focus on economic history or the history of money often cover the role of silver.

Social Platforms such as Reddit, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other specialized online forums have communities devoted to precious metals, such as /r/Silverbugs and /r/Gold. These and other online communities can be valuable for discussions, resource sharing, and advice from experienced investors and enthusiasts.

Silver ETFs and Buying Vaulted Silver

Silver can be purchased in physical form (as bars or coins) or through silver Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). A silver ETF purchases and holds silver or silver-related assets in a trust. The value of an ETF share is thus linked to the price of silver, minus fund expenses and fees.

Investors can buy and sell shares of a silver ETF on a stock exchange, just like individual stocks. This provides a simple way to invest in the silver market without dealing with the challenges of physical silver storage and security while aiming to track the spot price of silver. This means that the ETF’s share price moves in tandem with silver prices in the global market.

Additionally, digital platforms like OneGold.com and Vaulted.com provide investors with a mobile application that enable quick and easy buying of vaulted allocations of physical silver, gold and platinum. These vaulted allocations can be easily redeemed anytime for secure delivery of physical precious metals to your home.

OneGold.com specializes in digital precious metals, allowing customers to buy, sell, and hold digital gold and silver without the need for physical storage. The metals backing digital investments are stored with well-known vaulting services, ensuring the security of the physical metals backing your digital investments.

OneGold.com was founded as a partnership between two of the biggest names in the precious metals industry, APMEX and Sprott Metals. Founded in 2000, APMEX is a leading online retailer of precious metals. Founded by Eric Sprott, a renowned investor in the precious metals sector, Sprott Money is known for providing valuable insights into the precious metals market with articles, reports, and analysis that can help investors make informed decisions. They also offers investors a variety of services including options for precious metals IRAs and other investment accounts.

Vaulted.com is an online mobile web app that allows investors to buy and sell allocated silver and gold. Each client is provided with an advisor who offers a personalized approach to investing in precious metals. Vaulted stores its precious metals in the Royal Canadian Mint, which provides investors with a high level of security and assurance. With Vaulted, you can buy, sell, and even request physical delivery of their precious metals for a small transaction fee for buying and selling and a low annual maintenance fee for storage and insurance.

Buying Silver Online

Buying silver online offers numerous advantages, including convenience, variety, and competitive pricing. As a tangible asset, silver provides security and privacy, similar to real estate, but with greater liquidity.

Online dealers offer a wide range of silver products, from coins and bars to specialty and numismatic items, providing more options than what might be available in your local coin stores. Many online dealers offer products from a variety of international mints that aren’t available locally. With lower overhead costs compared to brick and mortar stores, online dealers can offer lower premiums over the spot price of silver. Several dealers also offer silver at spot price deals catered specifically to new investors that offer a low risk way to start.

Buying online allows you to easily compare prices and products across multiple dealers with many providing a variety of educational materials, market analysis, and investment guides. Most of the trusted and reputable online dealers are have customer reviews and ratings on third-party websites, helping you make an informed decision based on other buyers’ experiences.

Online transactions provide various payment options, including credit cards, bank transfers, and even a large assortment of cryptocurrencies through platforms like Bitpay. Combined with purchases being delivered discreetly and securely to your doorstep, this level of privacy, discretion and convenienceis not be possible with in-person transactions.

FindBullionPrices.com provides comprehensive price comparisons for various physical silver coins, silver bars and silver rounds from a wide range of online dealers and enables investors to quickly find the best available prices. By aggregating prices from dozens of reputable online bullion dealers, FindBullionPrices.com gives investors access to a broad market landscape from a single platform that saves time and effort that would otherwise be spent visiting multiple websites.

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PAMP Suisse 10 oz Cast Silver Bar

Our product listings covers a vast array of silver coins, bars, rounds, and even collectible and numismatic items. In addition, we provide access to a broad range of educational materials, analysis and detailed guides on investing in precious metals. These resources help buyers understand market dynamics, investment strategies, and other factors affecting precious metals prices.

The most popular silver investments include a variety of notable silver coins and bars. Top selling 1 oz coins like the American Eagle, the Canadian Maple Leaf and the Krugerrand are a mainstay for investors who prefer government backing or have a specific need such as a Silver IRA.

Private mint 10 oz silver bars offer a combination of low premiums, high liquidity, bulk discounts and unique varieties that are suitable for both long-term holding and short-term trading. Compared to smaller denominations like 1 oz coins or bars, 10 oz silver bars have lower premiums over the spot price of silver allow you to acquire more physical silver for the same money.

Silver has a high market demand and is recognized globally, facilitating easier buying and selling. Silver’s value is universally recognized, with prices updated daily based on global markets, enhancing its liquidity.

Unlike real estate or land, silver can be bought, sold or traded in smaller units, making transactions simpler and quicker. This liquidity, combined with its global recognition and ease of transaction, makes silver, along with other assets like gold and stocks, a preferred choice for beginning investors seeking liquid tangible assets.

Like any investment, the spot price of silver constantly fluctuates. Keeping an eye on the market can help you make informed decisions. The “spot price” of commodities like silver and gold refers to the real-time market price at which they can be bought or sold for immediate delivery. The spot price of silver is influenced by various factors, including supply and demand dynamics, geopolitical events, market speculation, and currency fluctuations. For precious metals like silver, gold, and platinum, the spot price is typically quoted per troy ounce.

For beginning investors, especially Millennials and Gen Z, rethinking silver as a currency and store of value offers a bridge between the past and the future. It’s a way to preserve wealth in a tangible form that has stood the test of time, while also aligning with modern values of sustainability and diversification. In an ever-changing financial landscape, the enduring value of silver can provide both stability and peace of mind.

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Demand for Silver Eagles Spikes, Along with Premiums

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It’s become pretty indisputable that the economy is in the worst state that many Americans can remember since the 2008 financial crisis and the deep recession that followed.

As a result, investors are clamoring for gold and silver bullion like never before. Demand for government issued coins, like the American Silver Eagle and the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf have skyrocketed in recent weeks since the start of the banking crisis.

However, the US Mint continues to be slow and unable to meet demands, which has caused significant increases in recent weeks to a recent high of around 60% over spot price. Some dealers, such as APMEX and JM Bullion are currently showing premiums for silver eagles at over 88% above spot price.

The US Mint outsources the manufacturing of planchets, which are coin blanks that are pressed by the mint to produce the coins. Working only with a handful of select manufacturers that meet the requirements.

Disruptions to both global and domestic supply chains effecting precious metals continue to impact investors and industry.

The raw materials used to mint Silver Eagles must be sourced from domestic silver mines, as prescribed by law.

The Mint has been unable to meet demand since 2021 when more than 28 million coins were sold. While investor demand remained strong in 2022, the Mint was only able to produce around 16 million coins.

So far in 2023, the Mint has reported sales over more than 6 million coins. However, numerous reports state the mint shifted production in late 2022 to start producing coins for the current year, which is the main reason the Mint was able to report 3,949,000 coins sold in January.

Sales reports show only 900,000 coins being sold in each month of February and March which is far below the Mint’s production capacity.

In 2015, the Mint sold 47,000,000 Silver Eagle bullion coins, the highest on record.

Year 1 oz ASE bullion coins
201914,863,500 coins
202030,089,500 coins
202128,275,000 coins
202215,963,500 coins
2023
(4 months)		6,199,000 coins
Recent Years Sales and Mintage Totals of 1 oz Silver American Eagle coins

It’s pretty indisputable that the economy is in the worst condition many Americans have seen since the 2008 financial crisis and the deep recession that followed.

This time around, the economy has been wrecked by a record combination of prevailing events.

It began before COVID was even a thing in September 17, 2019.

Repurchase agreements, often referred to as “repos” are short term loans between banks and financial institutions. That morning, interest rates on overnight repurchase agreements more than doubled. By the end of the trading day the rates had increased by 500%.

The Fed responded to the crisis by injecting $75 billion PER DAY in new liquidity into the repo market for a week to prevent a collapse.

Once the rates began to stabilize, the Fed continued their daily injections of fresh liquidity into the repo market until October 10.

During that three week time period, some estimates put the total amount of liquidity injected by the Fed at over $500 billion.

A few months later, the Biden administration put the entire country into lockdown, effectively shutting down every sector of the economy, aside from companies like Amazon, Walmart and other select corporations deemed “critical”.

Rising inflation began to take hold as the Fed continued to print more money to fund the pandemic with stimulus checks and other government handouts.

To combat the inflation crisis, the Fed responded with multiple steep increases in key interest rates that come faster than has happened decades.

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Silver Eagle Sales Down Year over Year in January

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2023 American Eagle 1 oz Silver Coin Obverse

The US Mint produces bullion coins annually based on investor demand. The mint has started to recover from the supply chain and production issues that impacted sales last year.

However, year-over-year sales of silver eagles are down so far in 2023.

For January, the mint posted sales of Silver Eagles, with 3,949,000 coins sold. This is substantially lower than the same period the previous year, when the mint posted sales of 5,001,000.

For the first week of February, the mint posted sales of just 450,000.

In recent weeks dealer we’ve seen premiums on current year silver eagles have been dropping.

However, some silver investors have found suitable lower premium replacements with silver coins from other mints.

Most dealers have 2023 Silver Eagles in stock and ready to ship in single quantity, tubes of 20 coins and 500 troy ounce monster boxes.

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US Mint Struggles while Perth & the Royal Mint Shine

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Both the Perth Mint and the Royal Mint have announced huge increases in year over year sales of precious metals.

According to the Royal Mint, gold sales increased 25% above 2021, silver demand was up by 29%.

Earlier this month, the Perth Mint reported that gold sales were up 10% for the year, noting that there was a drop in demand during December.

The Perth Mint is owned by the government of Western Australia and it is reported to be the largest refiner of newly mined gold in the world.

Meanwhile, the US Mint has been struggling to keep up with demand from domestic silver investors.

Sales of Silver Eagles slumped in 2022 as demand continues to soar. This led investors to buy silver coins from Australia and England.

Why is the US Mint struggling to keep up with the demand from investors?

The US Mint outsources the production of blank silver planchets to private mints.

The Mint cancelled the commemorative 2022 Morgan & Peace silver $1 coin series due to issues with acquisition of raw materials.

The planchet manufacturers need to adhere to all legal definitions. The main one being that coins be minted from domestically mined sources.

The pandemic exposed a lot of problems with America’s supply chain. Many in the mining industry continue to worsen with inflation and looming recession.

Many of the top silver and gold mining operations in the United States all reported encountering various production delays throughout the last year.

Many of the top miners have reported delays and higher fuel costs associated with the transport of slurry concentrates from remote mine locations to refiners for further upstream processing and smelting.

The US Mint began outsourcing the production of planchets that are used to produce coins.

While the current list of suppliers is not readily available, Sunshine Minting and LeachGarner are two of the private mints that have had previous contracts with the Mint.

Most of the world’s largest and most capable precious metals processing companies are located outside the US, making it more difficult for the Mint supply chain.

Some of the ore extracted from domestic mines is handled by multinational corporations.

Many of the world’s leading refineries such as PAMP Suisse, Metalor, and Valcambi are based in Switzerland.

The Perth Mint and Royal Canadian Mint operate the largest and most advanced refineries in the world.

Why is the US Mint continuing to outsource mining and smelting operations to foreign companies?

The five largest mines in the US:

Greens Creek Mine, Alaska

The Greens Creek Mine is owned by Hecla Mining Company. The mine is located on Admiralty Island in the Alexander Archipelagos Islands, roughly 40 miles south of Juneau.

In 2021, Greens Creek produced 9.2 million ounces of silver and 48,088 ounces of gold.

Projected production outlook for 2022 is expected to be slightly higher, between 9.3 and 9.6 million ounces of silver and from 44,000 to 48,000 ounces of gold.

However, issues with the quality of the base metals, primarily zinc and lead, Hecla had postponed shipments of silver concentrates to upstream refineries.

Red Dog Mine, Alaska

Located 105 miles north of the Arctic Circle near Kotzebue, Alaska. It is one of the largest zinc mines in the world and is operated by Teck Resources (TECK).

The Red Dog Mine is believed to be the largest deposit of zinc in the world. Roughly 4% of all of the zinc is produced from this mine.

Ore concentrates of the mine are trucked over 50 miles where they are stored in port.

Due to the extreme location, the silver slurry can only be transported by ship from the arctic during the months from June through October.

The mine has been operating since 1989. With current production levels, the mine is expected to continue operating only until 2031.

The Red Dog Mine is one of the largest domestic sources of critical minerals.

Zinc has a variety of industrial uses. It is also an essential part of the green economy, component manufacturing for electric vehicle, windmills and solar panels.

Silver, germanium and lead and other minerals are byproducts of the primary operations.

Over 7.7 million ounces of silver was dug out of Red Dog mine in 2017.

Continental Mine, Montana

The Continental Mine is located near Butte, Montana. Also where the World Museum of Mining is located.

The main commodities of the Continental Mine are copper and molybdenum. Molybdenum and copper are also critical metals and minerals needed in the domestic manufacturing of electrical devices, motors for EVs and other electrical components.

Silver and gold are extracted from the copper-molybdenite ore. Recent mine output data is not  publicly available.

Marigold Mine, Nevada

The Marigold Mine is located in northern Nevada. The primary deposit is mineralized gold. The gold is extracted from sedimentary rocks including limestone, siltstone, breccias, meta-basalts and quartzite.

The mine is owned and operated by SSR Mining. The Marigold Mine began operation in 1989. The mine is expected to continue to sustain current production levels through 2032. Exploration and development of other nearby properties is expected to extend operations beyond.

Marigold is an open pit operations where blasted rocks is dumped onto heap leaching pages. A chemical process extracts precious metals and minerals from the ore and stored in carbon columns for later extraction through electrowinning.

Reports from SSR earlier in the year showed signs of delays in production with expectations of producing between 215,000 and 245,000 ounces of gold in 2022.

Rochester Mine, Nevada

The Rochester mine is an open pit, heap leach silver-gold operation in northwestern Nevada.

The silver-gold ore is extracted from sulfide deposits layered during Permian-Triassic period volcanic lava flows.

In 2021, the mining operations produced 3.2 million ounces of silver, while gold output was roughly 27,000 ounces.

Saudi Arabia experimenting with CBDC and alternative currencies to the PetroDollar

During the last year there has been a lot of media speculation regarding trade relations between Saudi Arabia and BRICS countries.

The Chinese central bank has been identified as buying roughly 300 tons of gold bullion in 2022. With Central Banks of other countries doing the same.

China has been wooing Saudi Arabia and making significant investments throughout the Middle East as part of the Belt & Road Initiative.

Saudi Arabia becoming part of BRICS and selling oil in a new basket currency would compete with both the Euro and the Dollar.

It seems pretty logical that China would intend for BRICS launch a CBDC digital currency that is backed by gold resources of the basket currency. Given that many central banks are experimenting with CBDC there will need to be interoperability between local currencies.

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Moscow World Standard Driven by Corruption in the LBMA

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Gold reserves are a key component of central banking and are pivotal to the backing of and supporting a country’s currency, both for its domestic economy and foreign trade.


For decades, Russia has been increasing their gold reserves and central bank holdings.

The reported amounts of gold held in reserves have varied depending on the source.

The amount of gold actually held inside Fort Knox has been question asked by Congress many times. The answer is always the same. That’s classified.


Recent economic sanctions against Russia includes a ban from participating in the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA),  a global clearinghouse and trading association for large bullion transactions.


As early response to the economic war waged by the NATO allies, Russia began a program to buy gold from citizens in exchange for Rubles, effectively returning to a partial gold-standard.

The gold for Rubles program also helped to stabilize the value of the Russian Ruble in the international currency and exchange markets like FOREX.

The latest strategic move by Russia in the fight against the economic sanctions, Russia’s Finance Minister has announced that they will introduce a new “Moscow World Standard” as a new alternative to the LBMA.

According to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, the Moscow World Standard is an attempt to stabilize and normalize the functioning of the precious metals industry.

Russia has positioned the new Moscow World Standard as an alternative to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) whose credibility in the eyes of the world leaders has been rocked in recent years due to a number of scandals involving price manipulation.

The most recent scandal involves the criminal conviction of Michael Nowak, a prominent LBMA Board member who was outsted from his role with the LBMA following his arrest in 2019.

Nowak was also a top executive at JP Morgan Chase.

In his leadership role as the Managing Director of the Precious Metals Trading Desk, a key position overseeing global trading operations which led to billions in profits to both JP Morgan Chase’s top and bottom lines.

Nowak was charged under the RICO Act. The government had enough hard evidence to support a case that Nowak was the kingpin in charge of a wide-spread criminal organization operating inside the JP Morgan Chase for almost a decade.

Numerous other executives from inside the JP Morgan Chase Precious Metals Group have also been convicted or have pled guilty for their roles and received reduced sentences in exchange for their testimony against the others.

Separate, but Related criminal investigations against other bullion trading banks and trading practices have led to guilty pleas and massive fines in recent years.

Ample evidence exists to support the Russian position that the LBMA and members of the organization have been involved in widespread fraud, price manipulation and exploitation at all levels. The reality is that this type of corruption can and does have long-term effects on the ebbs and flows of the economies in many smaller countries where precious metals are mined, but also some of the other elements such as Lithium, Cobalt and Magnesium which are considered essential and “critical elements” for current battery technology.

Many of the smaller BRICS countries already look to China and Russia for guidance, leadership and assistance on many financial policy decisions due to long-standing and established trading relationships and other international treaties that exclude many NATO countries. As many leaders from these countries have likely encountered difficulties when working within the confines of the system set forth by the LBMA Board of Directors.

Russia has been suggesting greater transparency to some degree for leaders of BRICS nations, many of whom have significant mining operations that are controlled through large private banks and companies affiliated with the LBMA.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/jp-morgan-gold-trading-boss-former-lbma-board-member-found-guilty-us-jury
https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/ronan-manly/lbma-board-member-jp-morgan-managing-director-charged-with-rigging-precious-metals/

https://www.sprottmoney.com/blog/The-Convicted-Criminals-of-JP-Morgan-Craig-Hemke-August-16-2022

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Various Dealers Offering Huge Buybacks for Enhanced Reverse Proof 2019 Silver Eagles

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The US Mint is releasing a new, limited edition Enhanced Reverse Proof 2019 American Silver Eagle coin at 12:00 noon on November 14, 2019. The offering price for this coin from the US Mint is just $65.95 plus shipping.

The mintage of this coin is limited to just 30,000 coins. It is the lowest American Silver Eagle mintage ever produced. Slightly lower than the 1995-W Proof coin that was only included as part of a special limited edition set. The 1995-W Silver Eagle Proof is one of the key dates for any American Silver Eagle collection.

Of the 30,125 1995-W Proof Silver Eagle coins produced, only 373 are known to exist with a PCGS grade of MS-70, the highest grade available. In a 2013 auction one of those coins sold for nearly $87,000.

There is a lot of hype surrounding the release of the new 2019-S American Silver Eagle Enhanced Reverse Proof coin. There is also a household limit of 1 coin allowed per buyer. Combined, it’s expected that demand for this coin will be much higher than the available supply and that prices after the release are going to skyrocket.

As such, dealers are offering high bounties for those who are able to get their hands on one of the coins and are willing to part with it.

  • Monument Metals is offering a $100 bounty for people who commit to selling the coin to them on the release day.
  • Pinehurst Coins is also offering $100 bounty, however in order to commit to the you’d need to hand over your US Mint login and password, plus your credit card verification code. All very risky.
  • Several buyers on the BullionStackers.com forum are willing to buy for as much as $295 per coin, which is about 4.5 times the asking price from the mint.

It should be obvious that these dealers and buyers know that demand for this coin will skyrocket after the release. Even is MS-69 condition, the 1995-W Proof coin has sold at recent auctions for close to $3,000. MS-69 is likely to be what many of these 2019 Enhanced Reverse Proof ASEs will end up being graded.

It’s hardly much of a risk the limited supply of this coin and the upside potential is tremendous.

Update:

On November 15, 2019, Pinehurst coins began selling the coins purchased through their buyback program through their eBay store for $599. As demand has continued, they have raised the price twice. Initially to $650, then to the current (as of 11/18/2019) $699 per coin. Other’s are selling the coin on eBay for similar amounts and more. Check out the eBay listing for the 2019-S Enhanced Reverse Proof American Silver Eagle.

 

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Where to find the cheapest silver eagles for sale online

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best place to buy American Silver Eagles online

How can I find which online bullion dealer has the cheapest Silver Eagles for sale?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions of beginning precious metals investors.

With so many different online bullion dealers to choose from it’s hard to find a simple answer. Finding the cheapest Silver Eagles for sale online requires a bit of research and comparison shopping, as prices can vary based on the dealer, market conditions, and any premiums associated with the coins.

The best way to find the best price is to check all of the well-known online bullion dealers as the silver price and premiums can change frequently. Websites like APMEX, SD Bullion, and Bullion Exchanges often have competitive pricing on Silver Eagles.

However, FindBullionPrices.com helps investors compare prices of Silver Eagles and other investment-grade precious metal coins across multiple online dealers at the same time, saving a significant amount of time and money.

Dealer Premiums on Silver Eagles

Question: Why does each dealer have different prices for what appear to be the same silver eagles or other bullion items?

Answer: The short answer is: because they can. It is usually referred to as the dealer premium. The premium is the markup over the silver spot price that the dealer charges. The charge includes the dealer’s overhead costs, plus a small profit margin. In general, brick and mortar stores have higher overhead costs for a variety of reasons.

Also, many silver buyers don’t shop around much and tend to stick with their favorite dealers. If they do shop around, they will often buy from one or two dealers large dealers such as APMEX or JM Bullion.

The large popular dealers are trustworthy, but often have the highest premiums and can be the most expensive to buy from. These larger companies have more employees, greater expenses and higher operating costs. They also spend significant amounts of money on online advertising and other expenses.

For the large dealers, the cost of doing business is higher than most of the smaller dealers. The higher cost are directly passed along to the end buyer in the form of higher dealer premiums.

When shopping for Silver Eagles online, it’s important to compare prices from as many dealers as possible before making the purchase decision. FindBullionPrices.com provides the tools to help investors compare prices from an assortment of different dealers that offer the same products at different prices.

Finding the Cheapest Silver Eagles Online

FindBullionPrices.com tracks the prices for American Silver Eagle coins from dozens of online bullion dealers. In fact, we track the prices of over 1,000 different silver, gold and platinum bullion investment products as well.

American Silver Eagles can come in a variety of different conditions. There are:

We can help you find the cheapest American Silver Eagles no matter which variety you want to buy.

Silver Eagles Cost Less in Bulk Quantities

You can buy American Silver Eagle coins individually, or you can buy them in larger quantities. It’s pretty common to buy Silver Eagles in tubes of 20 coins, or in Monster Boxes of 500 coins. Buying in bulk often qualifies for quantity discounts, which helps to reduce the cost, allowing you to save money on high premiums.

You will always pay a lower price for Silver Eagles when you buy in larger quantities. Most online bullion dealer offer price breaks starting when you buy a full tube of 20 coins.

Authorized Distributors buy Silver Eagles from the US Mint in very large quantities. Those large quantities are packaged into Monster Boxes. Each Silver Eagle Monster Box contains 25 tubes or rolls of coins.

Buying a roll of 20 American Silver Eagle coins will almost always cost less than when you buy individual coins. Most precious metals investors follow the principal of dollar-cost averaging. Keeping the dealer premiums as low as possible is important.

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US Mint American Silver Eagle Coin Sales Increase 19.5% in June to 1.03 Million Ounces

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best place to buy American Silver Eagles online

It has been a fairly lackluster year of Silver Eagle sales for the US Mint. However, in June, sales began to bounce back to higher volumes.

Distributors and Authorized Purchasers purchased over 1 million troy ounces of silver eagles from the US Mint in June. These sales numbers are up nearly 20% from May which saw sales of only 866,000 troy ounces.

Overall, sales of Silver American Eagle coins have been substantially higher for the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2018. The US Mint has sold 10,022,000 troy ounces during the first six month of 2019. During the same period in 2018 only 6,822,500 troy ounces of Eagles were sold.

The increase in sales of 2019 American Silver Eagle coins this year may be due to investors moving money to safer investments as confidence in traditional investments weakens.



The US Mint sells Silver Eagles to wholesale distributors, referred to as Authorized Purchasers, with each Monster Box containing 500 troy ounces of silver.

Silver Eagle Monster Boxes are popular among investors that want to take advantage of the relatively low price of silver.  The price of gold continues to reach highs not seen in several years.

The Gold to Silver Ratio is near historic highs.

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What is the best place to buy American Silver Eagles online?

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best place to buy American Silver Eagles online

For those who are just starting to buy precious metals Silver Eagle coins that are issued by the US Mint are among the safest ways to buy silver. American Silver Eagle coins are a great investment for anyone looking to diversify their portfolio into precious metals. If you have an interest in investing in precious metals you are probably wondering where the best place is to buy American Silver Eagles online.

Can you buy silver eagles from the US Mint?

The US Mint does sell American Silver Eagle Proof and Special Edition coins to the public through their website. However, they do not sell American Silver Eagle bullion coins direct to the public.

The US Mint only sells Silver Eagle bullion coins to a short list of “Authorized Purchasers”, which act as wholesale distributors to online bullion dealers and local coin shops. The process to become an Authorized Purchaser for the US Mint is an arduous one involving a lot of specific requirements that very few companies can meet. Even Authorized Purchaser must pay a premium for Silver Eagles from the Mint.

Even if you’re a collector looking to buy American Silver Eagle Proof or Special Edition coins you can usually find those coins for sale from online bullion dealers for less than you’d pay buying directly from the US Mint.

Are American Silver Eagles legal tender?

Yes. American Silver Eagle coins are legal tender with a face value of $1 US Dollar. The face value of silver eagle coins is backed by the US Government, as is the purity and quality of the coins.

As a result, Silver Eagle coins are one of the most popular precious metals investments in part because of their worldwide recognition.

How and Where to Buy Silver Eagles online

You can buy American Silver Eagle coins from virtually every online bullion dealer or local coin shop. There are several advantages to buy American Silver Eagles online.

The prices of silver eagles vary from dealer to dealer. This is because the dealer needs to recoup their own overhead, operating costs and profit margins. The amount each dealer charges above the silver spot price is called the dealer premium.

For American Silver Eagles, the US Mint charges Authorized Purchasers a premium over the current silver spot price. The premium charged on the wholesale level is around $2.00 per coin. As a result, the break-even cost for distributors is the spot price of silver plus $2.00. Online bullion dealers will pay a premium over this cost because the distributor needs to make a profit.

FindBullionPrices.com tracks the best silver eagle prices across trusted and reputable online bullion dealers. You want to find the best price when you are want to buy American Silver Eagle coins.

What is the best price for American Silver Eagles online?

The best price you are going to find when you buy American Silver Eagle coins online will be the current spot price of silver, plus the premium and profit the wholesale distributors and dealers need.

It is not uncommon to see current year American Silver Eagle for sale online for $3.00 premium over spot price. However, dealers often have sales where you can buy Uncirculated Silver Eagle for as low of $2.25 over spot price. You can subscribe to our deal newsletters to receive sale notifications.

You can find Cheap Silver Eagles for sale for less than the prevailing rates of current year coins. To get the best price for Silver Eagles you need to look into buying Random Year Silver Eagles and Circulated, Tarnished or Cull Condition Silver Eagles.

Silver Eagle Monster Box

Investors looking to get the best price for American Silver Eagles online will want to buy a Monster Box.

A Silver Eagle Monster Box contains 500 coins and weighs 500 troy ounces. Inside each Monster Box, there are 25 tubes of coins. Each of the tubes contain 20 coins each.

You will pay the lowest price per coin when you buy a Silver Eagle Monster Box because you are buying in bulk.

 

 

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Where can I buy the cheapest American Silver Eagles?

FindBullionPrices.com

The cheapest American Silver Eagle coins for sale on the secondary market are usually “Cull” coins. The condition of Cull Silver Eagle coins will vary from dealer to dealer and from batch to batch. The conditions will usually show:

  • Signs of scratches
  • Some wear and tear
  • Signs of circulation and handling
  • May have been cleaned
  • May have been painted
  • Imperfections or other damage
  • May be tarnished from age or exposure to air

Since the American Silver Eagle coin is considered a bullion coin (as opposed to proof coins), a cull coin will still contain 1 troy ounce of silver. Even in cull condition American Silver Eagle coins are still the most recognized
government bullion coin in the world. The cheapest American Silver Eagle coins you can buy will be ones in cull condition.

Where to buy the Cheapest Silver Eagles Online

Dealers that offer cull condition and secondary market American Silver Eagle coins will have product listings on their website. The description or title of the listing will identify the coins as Random Year or Cull American Silver Eagle coins. FindBullionPrices.com
racks the prices of both Random Year American Silver Eagle coins and Cull American Silver Eagle coins from a variety of reputable national bullion dealers.