How to Buy Silver Coins

Whether you’re a serious or hobby numismatist, or an investor looking to build your wealth, silver coins can be a great investment. Currently, market analysts have become increasingly bullish on silver as an investment option and the future looks bright for the precious metal. Interestingly, silver investment with its significantly lower price parity when compared to gold, offers investors a great gateway to building a precious metals portfolio at a fraction of the price of gold.

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Can silver be supplied VAT free?

For many years, Physical Gold Limited supplied VAT free. Due to an EU Treaty, this was legal and possible, but sadly Brexit brought this to an end and VAT free silver is no longer a possibility.

Brexit ended VAT free silver, but thankfully we are still able to sell popular silver coins and bars at all-in competitive prices. This is enabled due to:

• Free delivery – we are now shipping silver directly from the UK, this means we can provide silver with free delivery (this was not previously possible).
• Reduced product range – additionally, we decided to reduce the number of silver products we offered. Although, this may be worse for choice, it means we can bulk-buy the products we choose and negotiate much better prices – this discount is passed on directly to you!

Silver great for balance and protection

Savvy investors always turn to precious metals in order to hedge their risks and silver is an excellent choice for this purpose. In fact, historically, silver has always been a popular choice for coinage across the world.

Examining the accuracy of ridges on the sides of a silver coin can establish its authenticity

Why is silver used to make coins?

Silver is a popular metal for coinage, owing to its fungibility. Fungibility is the property of any commodity, where similar amounts of the commodity can be traded for each other, irrespective of its shape, size or form. If the value of both the traded items remains constant, the commodity is said to be fungible. In this case, 500 grams of silver can be simply exchanged for another 500 grams of the metal, in the form of bars, coins or any other form. Since the value of silver is calculated by the spot price per troy ounce, the two tradable items are considered to be interchangeable.

Apart from this, the other reasons for the popularity of silver for coinage are that silver is compact, easy to store and move and its density ensures that small quantities of the metal have high value. It is very durable and does not corrode easily. In addition to these factors, the metal is easily transformed from bars to coins and vice versa, through melting.

Silver coins are a popular investment option since storage is easy owing to their size. Like all other coins of numismatic or bullion value, they come packaged in their slabs. Buyers should always check that the slabs are intact at the time of delivery. Not only does this indicate that the coins have not been tampered with, but they also need to remain in their packaging in order to retain their value. Coins removed from their slabs can fetch a lower resale price, and it’s important to know this before investing in silver. As a silver buyer, it’s important for you to know certain facts about investing in silver coins before making your purchase.

Sets are popular with numismatists. Here is a set of 1oz Libertad de Plata from Mexico

Checking authenticity

Upon receiving your silver coins from your dealer or the mint, you need to first establish the authenticity of the coins. Of course, if it’s arrived along with a certificate from a reputed dealer, and you’ve already verified the seller, simply retain the coins in their packaging. But let’s assume you’ve bought them at an auction. Then, you need to ensure that the coins are legit. There are many ways to do this. There is a device called the Fisch tester which ascertains the actual age of the coins by testing them. These tests are based on weight and dimensions. An alternate method is to check the conductivity factor. As silver is a great conductor of heat, placing an ice cube on a coin will likely see the coin melting fast as the heat is transmitted to the coin.

Buying silver coins from Physical Gold

The process of buying silver coins from Physical Gold couldn’t be easier. All you need to do is open an account online. Next, you need to browse through the site and add the silver coins (such as Britannias) of your choice to your basket. Once you’re done, you can simply check out using your credit or debit card. Your transaction is protected by our 3D secure authentication process.

Remember, coins and bars cannot be clubbed together, and you will need to purchase them separately, although you can speak to us about pricing for bulk purchases. Your coins will then reach your address via a courier service that is completely insured to protect your investment. If you need guidance at any point in time, all you need to do is call us on 020 7060 9992 or email us. A member of our helpful team will be in touch with you right away. Happy investing!

Image credits: Eric Golub and Christian Fausto Bernal