pure investment Eagles or Bars?

so which is best?

silver eagles or silver bars?

doing some quick math

Generic Silver .999 Fine 1oz bars $14.98/oz or $14.68/oz for 200 or more

American Silver Eagle 1oz coins $16.07/oz for 20 or more

if $50/oz silver comes to be would I get a premium of 109.46% price per being $54.73 Eagle or should I just stick to buying bars?

keep in mind this is purely about making money not collecting
I have already started an eagle set and getting more of them would be nice but the whole point of this post is I really want to protect my $$$ and even make some $$$ from the fact that obama seems to want inflation...

 

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I think ASEs will always sell for a premium to bars. And there are "1 ounce" bars out their that are a gram or two shy of a full ounce if you actually weigh them. It will always be easier to resell ASEs in a coin shop. There is also a fairly good chance that when the Mint discontinues the ASE series, the series will almost immediately start to have a growing numismatic premium. I know this isn't what you are looking for, but it's part of the investment equasion, like it or not. There is nothing wrong with investing in bars, and on the face of it they appear to be the better buy, but it isn't clear-cut which will turn out to be better as an investment. The difference shouldn't be material.

 

this is my only concern with bars, with my situation being pandas. that said, do you think that the numismatic premium for the ASEs upon the end of the series would be mainly for graded pieces? that is, do you think the premium for uncirculated ASEs will remain roughly the same percentage wise? i know this would all be speculation...

 

A better investment is...

MCD
WMT
XOM
NLY
PCH
PCL


JMO...


RickieB

 

my money gets pushed there as well, but this a lot more fun

 

what I'm asking for is this

let's say I get a 1oz bar for $14.98/oz and a American Silver Eagle for $16.07 each

am I still going to get the same percentage in profit for them both for what I invested in them?

here's an example of what I mean 14.98 is 100% and 16.07 is 107.27%

where silver hit $50/oz will I get $50 for the bar and $53.63 for the Eagle which is 107.27% of the $50/oz silver price

hope I cleared up what I'm asking

 

You will get replies to this that go both ways. A few things I would like to point out to you doesn't make me right, just why I prefer the ASE raw bullion coin over bullion:

1. There is not all that much difference in price to me, and the American Silver Eagle is certainly more attractive to look at. To me it is a big beautiful silver coin.

2. You can walk into any coin shop or coin dealer's table at a show and the question of weight and purity will not be an issue.

3. I think the downside potential is less than bullion if silver would take a big drop, while the coins will increase in value if silver would take a big jump.

4. Possible, but not likely in my opinion, the value as a coin could increase in value over time. With the bullion this is never going to happen since it is not a coin. Personally I think the mint will continue to make these as they appear now for many years to come. I could be wrong here, but if they go to 26 years with it I think it will be around a long time.

 

I think ASEs will gradually be thought of the same way morgan or peace dollars are today except that a higher percentage will be uncirculated. High quality examples will always sell for more than low quality -- slabbed or not. When the Mint stops making them, the supply becomes fixed but the annual demand will probably continue at levels close to the present level. The only way for the coin market to resolve this situation is for prices to rise, so that is what I believe will happen. Time will tell if this analysis is correct.

 

I was in the same dilemma you were, and I decided to make my silver bullion half and half.

For example, I currently have 40.5 oz of silver, all from the past 3 months.

Out of this, I have:
2 - 10 oz silver bars
9 - 1 oz silver bars

4 - Proof ASE's
1 - Unc ASE
5 - Silver Maples
1 - Mexican Libertad
1 - .5 oz Canadian Silver Lunar Wolf

but that's just me, I'm pretty happy with what I have and the premiums I can get (like my maples are all worth more now than what I bought them for)

 

From a purly profit stand point on a significant amount of silver bars may be better as you get more for your $.

My experience is that the premium above spot on ASE's tends to be the same over time so percentage wise bars are better.

Just my opinion and this may not hold true in the future.

 

That's a nice bullion collection. Now all you have to do is find a few silver rounds to be really diversified. :thumb:

 

Thanks! Any rounds you'd suggest? (I only know of the pan american rounds)

 

The round kind, "you know like a circle"...(jk) I'd suggest if you are buying generic rounds to buy those with well known assayers or mines, esp. if they offer guarantees to always rebuy them from you if you buy branded product like kitco signature products

 

obviously they're round, I'm not an idiot. I'm not a huge fan of rounds, except for maples and ASE or other world coins

 

hence (JK) = joke... and the quoted part was from a silly scene in the movie, "I now pronounce you chuck and larry".

 

Some posters above assumed that the Mint will eventually stop making ASE's. Any word of that from the Mint? I know they were having problems getting planchets ready for striking, but it seems like they are committed to this series for the foreseeable future. If they do discontinue the series, they'll probably have a replacement design ready that's similar to the quarters or the dollars series.

 

Not to worry Fusia. They ain't replacin' this series anytime too soon. Too popular, and they make oodles o' dough with it. Why kill a cash cow?

 

Doesn't matter how long the ASE design runs for really, and it probably will go on for some time yet, but it WILL one day end, hence the implied probability of speculation on the oft overlooked numismatic value in unc. ASEs. The design has been in place for 23 years already, once it hits that magic 25 year mark, someone or some group is going to pop up with a replacement idea, for whatever reason, despite how accepted and profitable the current design/program fairs.

 

Geez, I hope not.....

 

Look on ebay and you'll find dozens of designs. I prefer 1 oz rounds stamped .999 fine, but in reality there is no way to really know this. Some have political themes, and others are imitations of more well known coins. Just buy what you like and have fun with it since that's what got you this far.