Is foreign silver easy to sell? Recently there has been no U.S junk silver to buy so I've been buying Canadian because that's the second most known form of junk silver (80% or 50%). My coinshop also sells Austrian, China, Toyko, etc.. I'm buying strictly for silver, but im not sure the foreign stuff would be easy to sell. Should I buy it?
I can only relate my personal experience, but I sold some Canadian dimes under spot on Feebay one time, because I already filled up a tube. So I found out the hard way that foreign junk silver sells for a discount in the U.S. (tho some areas up north close to the border may have a premium with Canadian coins). Currently, the premiums for 90 percent U.S. silver do not strike me as too high, and appear to be dropping over time. I think foreign numismatic silver coins are good as investments, because they sell for nice premiums on websites like eBay. Junk silver from China and Japan, assuming it is authentic, will carry very sweet premiums on eBay. I am thus a big fan of Chinese and Japanese junk silver. Still, for the sake of diversity it doesn't hurt to own junk silver from Canada. If silver ever goes substantially higher, it's possible the bias against foreign junk silver will disappear, and people will scramble for any kind of real silver they can get their hands on.
No problem. One thing to keep in mind, tho it may seem obvious, is that junk silver sells for a premium in whatever country the silver comes from. So, for example, German junk silver sells for a premium in Germany, and Spanish junk silver sells for a premium in Spain. One advantage to U.S. junk silver is that it is universally recognized and desired. If you are being offered Canadian junk silver in the U.S., make sure the premium is very low if you are going to buy. I say that because it is not fair for silver to have to rise 20 percent or more for you to recover your cost. So bullion rounds or bars may be preferable to foreign junk silver. I do like foreign coins, but I generally buy them in good condition so that they have at least some numismatic value, and will especially lean toward rarer dates or mints.
what about silver generic rounds.? Are they a good buy? That's all my dealer has. Would it be harder to sell because you wouldn't know where it was made and how to test? (Considering the fact dealers don't have test kits)
Silver rounds are good if they are recognizable, such as Apmex, Engelhard, Sunshine, Buffalo and other big names. There are also smaller mints that are recognized. It sounds like your local coin shop is limited. If your goal is to store wealth in the form of silver, then silver rounds are a good way to do it. I'll add that, while I used to wonder about the best type of silver, I realized that in the ultimate doom-and-gloom scenario, any form of silver is good, because silver is a relatively small market. Assuming the masses jump on it, premiums for all forms will rise. It's true generic rounds can be counterfeited, but so can junk silver.
But then again, junk silver isn't worth being counterfeited, and its also harder than a silver round because almost everyone knows what junk silver is like, but nobody knows what a silver round is. What if it was fake but it was said to be part of the design?
That's why you go for silver rounds that are well-recognized, like the names I mentioned. Simple tests will determine their authenticity. As for 90 percent silver: the dollars are very commonly counterfeited. In a scenario in which the price of silver rises substantially, I seriously doubt people would have problems with silver rounds.
Wow, thanks alot! Ill be picking some up. Can i have a list of recognized silver round names? What premium do they expect?
