Everyone seems to be interested in investing in gold, but silver prices are on the rise as well. While silver may not be as expensive as gold, it’s still a valuable investment. Of course, there are a few things you need to understand about this precious metal before spending your hard-earned cash. Here are just five things you should know about investing in silver.
Understand the Weight of Silver
Weights can be rather confusing when it comes to precious metals, but you need to understand them. Not understanding how silver is weighed can lead to a poor investment. When purchasing silver, you may see it listed by troy pound, which is 12 troy ounces. Before you make your purchase, do the math to see whether or not the troy pound price breaks down to a good troy ounce price.
Shop for Assay Certified Silver
An assay certification is used to protect customers from purchasing fake precious metals. When precious metals are certified, they are inspected to make sure they meet or exceed the silver content claimed by the maker. Assay certified silver will be marked with a hallmark, puzzle, or position.
Avoid Hand Poured Silver
Some people meltdown silver jewelry, old coins, etc and hand pour new coins or bars of silver. There’s only one problem. These bars aren’t certified, which means that they might not be pure silver. Some people have been known to add an abundance of less expensive metals to the mix to make a quick buck.
Purchase Top Quality Silver
There is no such thing as pure silver. The closest alloy mixture you will find is .999 fine silver, which is labeled pure silver. The only problem is that it’s rarely used for anything other than bullion bars because of its poor strength. You may see coins that are plated in .999 silver, but for the most part, people invest in coin silver, which is 90% silver and 10% copper.
Consider Coin Types
If you want a quick and inexpensive way to invest in silver, consider “junk” coins. These are coins that have no value other than the scrap value of the silver. They can be purchased rather inexpensively and take up little space in your home safe. If you want something more substantial, you will want to look for rare coins, which increases the value beyond the point of scrap silver.
Investing in silver isn’t a complicated process. In fact, it’s quite easy to do and can be enjoyable once you get the hang of it. Start by getting a feel for what a troy ounce of silver sells for and look for pieces that are assay certified. Last, but not least, invest in .999 fine silver bars or coin silver, which is 90% silver and 10% copper.
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