First you really need to sit and determine what's your end goal with the silver. Are you using it as wealth preservation? Are you buying simply because you like the shiny metal and want to have a whole bunch of it? Are you planning on the collapse of the dollar and think at some point we'll be paying in PM's for things? Do you think the zombie apocalypse, and that PM's will be used to barter/pay for good and goods? Each of these goals I believe has different impacts on what type and quantity of silver you buy. BTW I'm not stating any opinions on whether any of these scenarios are "loony", you have your own beliefs and I don't care to judge. If you are simply looking at wealth preservation, thinking that silver will at least keep up with inflation over the long term, then my opinion would be buy the largest amounts of silver you can as cheap as you can. In that case, a kilo+ will get you the most silver and the biggest amount of cash back when you sell it in one lump. You're not concerned with liquidating smaller amounts in the other apocalyptic scenarios, so you don't need to buy smaller. Just be warned that the larger you go, the harder it will be to find a market willing to dump that much cash on a single purchase. You'd be limited to large dealers (think apmex, provident, etc) not most normal folks once you pass the kilo barrier. If you are looking at collapse of the dollar, then my opinion would be stick to between 1oz and 10oz, known-brand silver. ASE's, Maple leafs, silvertowne, Johnson Matthey are all very well recognized around the world and will be the easiest to sell to the largest market, while retaining the best prices/premiums, no matter where you go. If you're looking at the zombie apocalypse, then fractional would be the best, and in this case the standard is pretty much 90% junk silver (at least here in the US), since it's world recognized, the silver content is well known, and for the most part less counterfeited than others (notice I said less, since there is surely some, especially with Morgans). The smaller the silver, the better ability to pay for things. That's why we have fractional dollars, if something doesn't cost as much as a full unit (full dollar, full oz, etc), you have a way to pay exact, or make change. Personally, I buy everything I can kilo and under, 70/30 numismatic/bullion silver since I like the coin collection part of it. This way I'm diversified and have a nice amount of everything should any scenario come up.
I try to buy high premium items that are in high demand and short supply when I can find them relatively cheaply.
Howdy, Collect or hoard what you love but always try to minimize the premium or vigorish. I like CC Morgans but I'm not going to buy one from HSN or QVC. This is also true for 1 ounce silver rounds. Generally, you want to buy regularly over time and not try to time the markets. With stocks, this is called Dollar Cost Averaging and has it a tendency to smooth out the cost curve and approach an optimal long term average cost. [That said, one reason why you always want to have some available cash is to take advantage of opportunities - whether they be pm's or stocks or whatever.] Lastly, diversify everything - what you buy and where you buy it from. peace, rono
