Silver Investing - Buying Silver From A Private Party

An ad appeared in our local paper offering some silver coins for sale. The list included 20 Silver Dollars, 10 Silver Eagles, five Walking Liberty Half Dollars and six silver one-ounce rounds. Asking price was $1100.00. If you want to follow up on deals like this, here is how to do it.

Basically, you need to find out how many troy ounces of silver that amount represents and multiply ounces times the spot price of silver. The difference between that figure and the asking price is the premium over the spot price you will be paying. Let me go through the process using the silver from the ad described above. The silver content of most silver coins can be found at Silver Coins.

20 (circulated) Silver Dollars at .7650 silver content per coin = 15.3 troy ounces of silver. 10 Silver Eagles = 10 ounces of silver. Six silver rounds = six ounces of silver. Lastly, five Walking Liberty Half Dollars at .3575 silver content per coin = approx. 1.79 ounces of silver. Total ounces of silver for these 41 coins is 33.09.

Now multiply 33.09 times the current spot price of silver. For your protection, you MUST know the latest spot price of silver. One source is at Silver Investing Guide. Since the current price is about $29 per ounce, the result will be $959.61. The difference between $959.61 and the asking price of $1100.00 is $140.39. By dividing 140.39 by 33.09, the result is approx. 4.24 which is the percent premium over spot you would be paying. This is a low premium. If the coins are in decent condition and you are confident that silver will be going higher (much higher according to some experts), this may be a deal you would like to take advantage of.

Silver Investing - Silver Hits The Big $30

A few days ago (12/6), silver hit and closed over $30 per ounce. It's been over 30 years since that has occurred. Now it has fallen back a bit but nothing to worry about for now. Spot silver at this writing is at $28.90 - a gain of $1.95 in the last 30 days and $11.53 for the year.

I have a few articles on the new America the Beautiful silver coins being released by the U.S. Mint tomorrow 12/10. These are five-ounce silver bullion coins honoring Hot Springs National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Mount Hood National Forest.

There is a lot to say about these coins, how they are issued and rumors of the hefty premiums being considered. But the articles do a good job of explaining these topics. The first article is from Kitco News and can be found here. The second article is longer and comes from GATA (Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee). You can read it here.

Thanks for reading.

Silver Investing - Silver Is The Place To Be

52.74%. That's the gain silver has made in one year (at the time of this post). Spot silver is at $28.73, is up $3.89 in the last 30 days and $9.92 in the last year (52.74%).

The U.S. Mint reported production of 4,260,000 Silver Eagles in November, the highest of any month in 2010. With the 42,000 already produced in December, the year-to-date total stands at 32,932,500 Silver Eagles. This market is not slowing down one bit. I hope you have some physical silver in your possession.

A few recent silver articles caught my attention that you may find of interest. The first is by Jim Wyckoff of Kitco News titled "Silver Bulls Powerful; May be Much More Upside Price Potential". This short but interesting read can be found here.

The second appeared on the CNBC web site and is titled "Silver Prices Surging on Near-Record Demand". That article can be found here.

The last is by James Turk (Free Gold Money Report) and is titled "The precious metals power higher". In this article he states "When gold and silver eventually become overvalued at some future date, you won’t “sell” your metals; you will “spend” them." You can find this article here.

Thanks for reading.

Silver Investing - November Silver Eagles - 3,875,000 And Counting

November is proving to be a big production month for Silver American Eagles. At 3,875,000 it is the largest amount of any month so far in 2010 and the month isn't over yet. The year-to-date running total for Silver Eagles is a whopping 32,505,500. It's going to be a big year.

Because of their popularity, premiums are running in the area of 10-11% (and higher). If you are looking for silver that has a lower premium, you might want to look at silver rounds. These are one-ounce silver bullion coins offered by major refiners and private companies. I'm not a big fan of some of these but by staying with the large and reputable providers, you can safely get more silver for your hard-earned money and be able to cash out when you want.

The silver round you see pictured is the popular Silver Prospector made available by Engelhard, a major refiner highly regarded in the industry. Any silver product you can buy (at a reasonable price) with the Engelhard hallmark is an excellent buy. Be sure to shop around for the best price.

Thanks for reading.

Silver Investing - Silver Down But Far From Out

Like gold, silver has been having some down days recently. Spot silver stands at $25.40, a 30 day change of plus $1.06 with a one year change of $6.98. Not exactly a time to panic since it still has nice gains.

I found value in a few recent articles related to silver. The first is by Jordan Roy-Byrne titled Downside Targets for Gold and Silver. The second gives lots of reasons for investing in silver. It is by Lorimer Wilson and worthy of your time Why You Should Have Silver in Your Portfolio - As Well As Gold

Silver Eagles so far in November stand at 2,715,000 one-ounce coins with a year-to-date total of 31,345,500 Silver Eagles. November and December tend to be high volume months for these coins so we can expect to see big numbers.

Thanks for visiting.

Silver Investing - Sparkling Silver

Silver has been having great gains in recent days. Spot silver currently stands at $26.76 gaining 15.39% ($3.57) in the last 30 days and 53.88% ($9.37) for the year. On October 28th, Jim Turk predicted silver would be at $30 per ounce in less than 18 days. It just might reach that. You can read his comments here

Here are the Silver American Eagle totals for October, 2010 from the U. S. Mint: 3,150,000 one-ounce silver coins produced for the month which brings the total for the year to 28,630,500 silver eagles. 255,000 have already been produced as of 11/5/2010.

Thanks for reading.

Silver Investing - Silver at $24 Per Ounce

Silver had some great gains today and spot silver stands at $24.30 as of this writing. In the last 30 days, silver has gone up $3.83 or 18.70% (compared to 30 day gold up 10.64%). Precious metals are moving too far too fast and are due for a correction. Buy on the dips if you can.

You really don't need a lot of money to get started if you haven't already. I read one person's plan for investing in silver. Although this person is on a fixed income, he makes it a point to buy one or two silver dollars at his local coin shop every few weeks. Small but steady.

Totals for Silver American Eagles so far in October are as follows: 1,350,000 with year-to-date totals at 26,830,500. Compare that to Gold American Eagles which so far in 2010 have consumed 1,006,500 ounces of gold.

Happy investing.

Silver Investing - Higher Premiums For Silver Eagles

Premiums for Silver American Eagles are higher due to a recent announcement by the U.S. Mint that they are raising their wholesale pricing above spot to all authorized dealers from $1.50 to $2.00. This news has already had an effect on dealer pricing as prices for Silver Eagles have jumped over $0.50/oz industry wide. How this will affect the premiums for generic silver rounds has yet to be determined. If investors favor silver rounds to Silver Eagles, you can expect the premiums to rise for them also.

Current numbers for American Silver Eagles from the U.S.Mint are as follows: September total stands at 1,880,000. They have already posted 325,000 Silver Eagles for October (one day) which brings the year-to-date total at 25,805,500. This is turning out to be a record year for these popular silver bullion coins. The total for all of 2009 was 28,766,500 and we still have three months to go.

Happy investing.

Silver Investing - Silver at 30 Year Highs

The price of silver is enjoying some nice gains and is very close to 30 year highs last seen in October of 1980. As I write this post, spot silver is at $21.44 per troy ounce. James Turk, an expert on precious metals and founder of GoldMoney, said in a recent interview that silver could reach $30 per ounce within the next few weeks. I would not be totally shocked if it did as silver prices can be very explosive - in either direction.

According to the latest U. S. Mint reports, the total Silver American Eagles produced in September (as the month winds down) stands at 1,220,000 with a year-to-date total at 24,820,500. I don't understand that low number so late in the month but maybe there will be an adjustment in early October as occurred with August's total in early September.

Happy investing.

Silver Investing - $20 Silver

In case you haven't noticed, silver has been bobbing above and below the magic $20 mark. As I write this post, silver is at a solid $20.56 per troy ounce. Can it dip below $20 again? Yup, but the trend is up and, according to many "experts", it is due to go much higher. I hope you are in.

With September half over, the U.S. Mint posted just 390,000 Silver American Eagles produced so far this month. I don't know what to make of this low number. Also in (early) September, they adjusted the August silver eagles produced from 1,906,000 to 2,451,000. Maybe their web master was on vacation so the correct numbers couldn't be posted in time. Year-to-date the silver eagle total stands at 23,990,500.

Happy investing.

Silver Investing - August Silver Eagle Total

The total number of Silver American Eagles produced in August, as posted on the U.S. Mint web site, comes in at 1,906,000. That is the lowest monthly total so far in 2010. February's total was the next lowest at 2,050,000. The Year-To-Date total of Silver Eagles stands at 23,055,500.

Regarding silver investments, more advisors are saying that silver is the precious metal with the most potential for significant profits. I have come across a few articles you may find of interest that are bullish on silver. The first is from Allen Sykora at Kitco News and you can read it here.

The second silver article, Silver is Set to Shine, is by Jeffrey Nichols and is posted on the Resource Investor web site. You will find it here.

Have you started with your silver investments yet?

Silver Investing - Gold in Fort Knox

There was an interesting article published recently questioning how much gold really remains in Fort Knox. It talks about the only audit that has ever been done of the gold inside Ft Knox. That happened shortly after Dwight Eisenhower became President in January of 1953. If you are interested in that sort of thing, you can read about it Here.

With just about one week to go until the end of August, here are the totals for U.S Mint production so far: 1,656,000 Silver Eagles, Year-To-Date 22,805,500 Silver Eagles. Regarding gold bullion: 37,500 one-ounce Gold Eagles, 500 half-ounce Eagles, 500 quarter-ounce Eagles and 1,500 tenth-ounce Eagles. Also 15,000 24K Gold Buffaloes.

I will be back next week with the final August totals.

Happy investing.

Silver Investing - Silver Inventories Lowest In 200 Years

I just finished reading an interview by Ted Butler, a noted expert on silver-related products and silver investing activities. In the interview (dated early August 2010), he states "World silver inventories are at their lowest point in 200 years while gold inventories are at their highest". This would make a strong case for investing in silver which he claims is very affordable now but may not be much longer.

Silver Eagles are having a nice run again for July. A total of 2,983,000 Silver Eagles were produced in July making the year-to-date total 21,149,500. That's alot of silver eagles. Hopefully, you have some in your possession or other silver investments such as 90 percent silver coins or even silver bars or rounds.

Happy investing.

Silver Investing - Mid-July Silver Eagle Numbers

Here are the numbers for Silver American Eagle sales with July half over: with the latest U.S. Mint report of 171,500 posted on 7/17/2010, the running total is 1,648,000 so far this month. Not quite the highest numbers we have seen this year but a healthy number none the less.

It seems that Silver Eagles aren't the only popular silver bullion coins much in demand. Silver Maple Leafs are reported to be somewhat scarce also with buyers having to wait for delivery. I hope you have some of each in your possession and are on the lookout for more at a (somewhat) reasonable premium.

Happy investing.

Silver Investing - Silver Eagles For June

The totals are in for Silver American Eagle production for the month of June. The U.S. Mint reports a total of 3,001,000 Silver Eagles for June. Down from the May totals by about 635,500 but still a decent number. Year-to-date Silver Eagles = 18,168,500. It is stated that the large number of silver ounces used by the Silver Eagle program through June is essentially all of the silver mined in the U.S. so far in 2010. How long can that keep up?

Gold is doing quite well also. 24-K Gold Buffaloes are at 33,500 for June and 160,500 YTD. American Gold Eagles are at 151,500 ounces (in various sizes) for June and 673,000 ounces YTD.

Happy investing.

Silver Investing - Silver's 200 Day Moving Average

In one of the gold and silver newsletters I receive, it was pointed out that the 200 day moving average for silver now stands at approximately $17.50. It has been almost 30 years since it has been at that level. Whether you know what a 200 day moving average is or not, understand that this is very bullish for silver.

The newsletter also contained a link to an article by James Cook of Investment Rarities, Inc., a precious metals dealer located in Minneapolis. I have met Mr. Cook on a few occasions and to say he is bullish on silver is an understatement. Here is the link to his article which you may find to be an interesting short read.

Happy investing.

Silver Investing - Silver Eagles May 2010

The U.S. Mint reported that Silver American Eagles produced in May totaled 3,636,500 - a little short of the four million mark. Year-to-date, production of one-ounce Silver Eagles have totaled 15,167,500. The U.S. Mint is pumping out over 3 million silver eagles a month! The "poor man's gold" is being discovered by more and more Americans (which is a good thing).

Regarding U.S. gold bullion coins, 190,000 one-ounce Gold American Eagles were produced in May for a year-to-date total of 521,500. 24k-Gold Buffalo coins for May were reported at 70,500. The U.S. Mint has only been producing Gold Buffaloes for two months so far this year and sales year-to-date are already at 127,000. It will be interesting to see how many more months these coins will be available since they seem to run out of 24-karat blanks quickly.

Silver Investing - What Price Silver?

In 1980 silver topped out at about $50 per ounce. As of this writing, silver is hovering around $18.50 per ounce. The question is: if silver was at that lofty price in 1980, where would the price be today adjusted for inflation? The answer is >>>> $133.31 per ounce!

Where did that price come from you ask? If you go to the Minneapolis Federal Reserve's web site at MinneapolisFed look in the upper right hand corner where it says "What is a dollar worth?". By plugging in the figures of 1980, $50 and 2010, the calculation will display as $133.31. If you invested in silver and the price reached just half the amount, wouldn't that be a nice surprise?

Happy investing.

Silver Investing Guide - Got American Silver Eagles?

According to the latest U.S. Mint figures, Silver Eagles are showing no let-up in popularity. Total Silver Eagles produced for March came in at 3,381,000. Add to that January's total of 3,592,500 and February's total of 2,050,000 and you have a first quarter 2010 total of 9,023,500 (total Gold Eagles for the first quarter are 271,000). Those are huge numbers.

The Silver Eagle program was started in November of 1986, so it's not that far away from the 25 year anniversary. The first quarter 2010 Silver Eagle total is the best single quarter in the history of the program so far. It will be interesting to see what the second quarter brings.

With that many Silver Eagles floating around, you would think the premium over the spot price of silver wouldn't be that high. But it is. In checking with a major precious metals dealer, the current quoted price per Silver Eagle is 17% over spot! So if you want to invest in American Silver Eagles, it pays to shop around among several dealers to get the best price.

Silver Investing Guide - Bartering & Silver Coins

I came across a couple of articles that discuss how useful silver coins are in certain situations. The first mentioned the OPEC gas crisis in the ‘70s when silver was heading toward $50 per ounce and gas prices were exploding. Some gas-station operators were offering a gallon of gas for a pre-1965 dime. They were smart enough to know a ninety-percent silver dime was worth more than the posted price-per-gallon. At $50 per ounce, the silver content of one of these dimes was worth $3.58.

The second article discusses the role of silver coins in bartering situations. Whether it comes to this or not, the author points out that the public will learn quickly the difference between good money and bad money if/when bad times strike. You can read the article here...

http://www.kitco.com/ind/Lewis/mar262010.html

Silver Investing Guide - Beware Of This Deal

In a recent catalog I received, there was an offer to purchase an 1800s Morgan Silver Dollar (in brilliant uncirculated condition) for only $79.99, marked down from $99.99. The description went on to say that many millions had been melted down in 1918 (true) and due to this event plus more meltings throughout the years, relatively few Morgan dollars remain (not true).

Just three years after the big 1918 meltdown of 270,232,722 Morgan dollars, 86,730,000 Morgans were minted with the 1921 date. It is estimated the approximately 17% of all Morgans minted are still in existance. That is still a lot of these silver dollars floating around. Being brilliant uncirculated is a plus but the coins could still end up with some bad bag marks. Another point worth mentioning is the coins have been certified by a grading company I have never heard of.

Uncirculated Morgan silver dollars contain .77344 troy ounces of silver. That would result in a silver price per troy ounce of $103.42. Today's spot price of silver is $15.69 per troy ounce. Without knowing the year and mint mark, I would say this is definitely one deal to stay away from. Common date Morgans in MS 60 grade (Mint State 60 is an uncirculated grade) can be purchased for less than $30.00.

If you are ever tempted by deals such as these, do your research first. This is an awful lot of money to pay for one Morgan dollar. If your objective is to get the most silver for your money, you must shop around and watch out for deals like this.

Silver American Eagles - Year End Totals

Silver American Eagles continue to be in high demand. The total number of Silver American Eagles struck in 2009 was 28,766,500. Compare that with 2008's total of 19,583,500 and 2007's total of 9,887,000 and you can see the only way this market is going is up, up, up.

This up trend has been confirmed so far in 2010 with January's total of 3,592,500 Silver Eagles being minted. If this keeps up, 2010 will be another record-setting year for this popular silver coin. Before you buy, make sure to shop around as the premiums charged for Silver American Eagles can vary by quite a bit among various dealers.

Silver Investing Guide - Welcome Message

Hello and welcome to the Silver Investing Guide blog. I hope you will come to consider this a valuable resource for practical and useful silver investing tips and information.

My interest in silver (and gold) bullion/coin investing led me to take a sales position with a large precious metals dealer in the midwest some years back. Luckily for me, this company was (and is) one of the "good guys" in the business and I learned a great deal. The company is still going strong but I have since retired.

Sharing what I know about silver investing is the purpose of this blog and I am glad you are here. If you are interested in learning more about silver investing insights and strategies, come back often as many more posts to this blog are planned.

Again, welcome and stay tuned for much more...

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