The most common form of buying bullion must be the silver coin. Lower in cost than gold coins and easy to hold and keep secure, they are a fun and convenient way to diversify your investment portfolio.
But how much is a silver coin worth? Great question – here are four ways that the value of a silver coin is often determined.
The Value of a Silver Coin Can Be Found in Its Weight
Silver coins come in all shapes and sizes, but with most silver coins being 99.9% fine silver, all you need to do to get an approximate value is to find out the current price of silver.
Like most other commodities, the price of silver is traded throughout the world. The “spot price” of silver right now can be found on Royal Bull’s Precious Metals Prices chart here. Select the ‘Silver’ tab to see the current price of a troy ounce of silver in Canadian dollars.
Keep in mind that the current spot price doesn’t take into account the retailer’s costs, so rarely would you ever find a gold bar for sale at a spot price. Many are slightly more expensive to recoup these business costs.
Although in most cases a gold bar’s worth is in its weight, there are additional factors to take into account, some of which may lead to your gold bar being worth much more.
How Old is Your Silver Coin?
Although many silver coins for sale today are recently minted, some are quite old and therefore could hold values that go beyond the weight of the silver.
Also keep in mind that many standard government-issued coins minted before the 1960s were 90% silver and could hold significant value…far beyond the face value of the coin.
Determining the silver coin’s age will often also simultaneously determine its rarity. If you have or want to buy a rare coin, it will likely command a higher price.
Determine the Silver Coin’s Condition
Although complete silver coin grading is available at a cost as it is quite complex, many people can use standard techniques to estimate a silver coin’s condition.
Is the coin in assay packaging since it was produced? If so, there’s a very good chance its condition is very good. For silver coins of significant value (far higher than the spot price) buyers and sellers have them inspected and sealed in packaging by a professional coin grading service.
You can also do a visual inspection to see if the coin is worn, has scratch marks or is damaged in any way. Fewer imperfections often result in higher value.
Is the Silver Coin’s Design Remarkable?
Silver coins are often produced in the thousands, so mints can spend quite a bit of time, energy and money developing wonderful designs that stand out. Here are some examples:
- A Black Panther silver coin celebrating the Marvel superhero
- A killer whale silver coin that redefines the circumference of a coin
- Trademarked silver coins commemorating The Simpsons
- Intricately designed coins that stack on top of each other
- Silver coins with artistic designs and colour.
So, What is the Value of a Silver Coin?
You will need to take into account everything you read above, and even more.
But don’t stress out too much. Remember that buying and selling silver coins can be a fun and easy way to diversify your investments. Visit Royal Bull’s silver coin shopping page to view today’s availability of silver coins of varying weights, conditions, designs and ages and pick the investment for you.
Reach out to Royal Bull to learn more about silver coin investments and how you can get the most silver for your dollar.
