I have heard that thier are people out there that collect silver not as a PM but like a coin for its rarity. Is there any writings or information on what rounds or bars are more rare than others?
some have lower mintage numbers and some have billions minted. i think for the few people that collect them as a collectable there may be a premium but i wouldnt buy into it...
At one of the LCS, I had found one of the USVI Greek God rounds for $30ish dollars. They sell for $125 on ebay. I also found a 10 ounce round Johnson Matthey which sells for $795 on ebay. I bought it for only $300. Seems rare cuz I have only seen mine and one other.
I think it's because a) It's a well-known (and pretty ) design and b) They're well known for their integrity (some other companies may print ".999 Silver" but it may not be so).
I completely understand that. I have been saving a BU and proof set of ASEs since 1986 and have every one of them, but I have never paid a premium over what the mint charges. But I would much prefer two complete sets of real Walking Liberty halves over a 1995-W ASE. It's just my preference. Paying crazy prices for modern bullion just doesn't make much sense to me.
I don't consider 3 dollars over spot to be a crazy price, and it's not hard to find. But to answer the OP's post, an example of a round that people pay a higher premium for would the Prospector rounds made by Engelhard. Not really rare, but they're not made any more and there are people that love to collect them. Google 'silver art bars' if you want to see some crazy prices.
+1 The prospectors are the first thing that come to mind when I think about non-gov't issued silver that command premiums. Engelhard bars too, I've seen. And I've never understood the interest in art bars, but lots of folks like 'em.
I have the fractionals and those go for a high premium. I even have some with the original Engelhard tube. hehe
I love those prospector rounds. I think they can bring a little more premium more for the design than the fact that they are rare. I know that private mints don't keep or release mintage data, but just curious if their are older rounds that might be more rare than others that people pay more for. I recently bought a USVI ounce bar, its the first one that I have seen in twenty years. I think they date prior to 1981. USVI at that point minted the A-mark bars. I have noticed that one is on ebay with a list price of 109. Now I donlt think that it will sell because many people think silver is silver but you never know.
<br><br>I love those prospector rounds. I think they can bring a little more premium more for the design than the fact that they are rare. I know that private mints don't keep or release mintage data, but just curious if their are older rounds that might be more rare than others that people pay more for. I recently bought a USVI ounce bar, its the first one that I have seen in twenty years. I think they date prior to 1981. USVI at that point minted the A-mark bars. I have noticed that one is on ebay with a list price of 109. Now I donlt think that it will sell because many people think silver is silver but you never know.
I think modern day coin collecting is best in the form of bullion, it has a built in hedge with intrinsic value, lower mintage numbers than circulated modern coins and they look better.....I wouldn't buy an old or new coin unless it's made from a PM.
I see copper coins about the same as I see sports cards, I've spent 50k give or take a few thousand on sports cards and if I sold them as a lot I would be lucky to get 10k, and if I broke them down and sold them maybe 15-20k if I was lucky. Collecting things with intrinsic value is the only thing I'll collect.
IMHO, I would rather have the "real deal" Liberty Walking Half than the Silver Bullion LW Bullion the Mint sells today. Rarity also plays a major role in why a lot of people collect older or high-grade coins over pure bullion.
There are some guidebooks on silver art bars that are helpful. These guidebooks are titled "An Indexed Guidebook of Silver Art Bars". These guidebooks were published by Archie Kidd and there are several editions of this book that came out. I have some of these guidebooks and they are very useful references to me as a silver art bar collector. The 4th and 5th editions are the best ones to get and they have illustrations of the various bars as well as some information on the mint years, mintages, and certain sets. The 2009 Archie Kidd guidebook is the most recent one but it does not have any silver art bar illustrations in them. If you do and ebay search on these books, then you can find these on ebay and the prices will range from $50 to $200. Generally speaking, the 5th edition is going to cost more than the 4th edition because it has more illustrations in it than the 4th edition. EDIT: See post # 10 of this thread to get an idea of what an Archie Kidd silver art bar guidebook looks like. The illustration in post #10 is a picture of a 2009 Archie Kidd silver art bar guidebook. The 4th and 5th (and 6th) editions are the better ones to get because they have illustrations in them.
