Should I get Silver Maple Leaves

New to silver. Just bought a few tubes of ASE. Love them. I have a $100 to drop. Trying to decide if I get some variety for either the fun of it or just diversification.

The whole milk stains issue is worrying me about Mable Leafs.

Why does a greater silver content sell for less than ASE?

What world silver coin is stunning in your hand like the ASE?

 

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I like the Silver Maple Leaf coin, look at the Pandas too

 

Mexican Onza's are very nice.

 

The great thing about the maple leaf is that it's more pure (not that it really matters) than the American silver eagle and it usually costs less than it too.

The milk spots bother the heck out of me though. I take really good care of my coins beyond what I should do for investment purposes. I put them in air-tite (direct fit) cases and the Maples still seem to get their milk spots and it looks hideous.

 

You might take a look at the Austrian Philharmonic.

 

I actually like the Phils a tad better as well. However, Maples have a nice shine to them.

Try a few tubes.

 

Fiji taku is neat

 

I would say no to the Maple Leafs. I collect a lot of world silver coins and the quality of the Maple Leaf is too spotty for me (pun intended.) I'll take a nice-looking coin over a .9999 silver coin anyday. The extra "9" means so little.

ASEs are nice, but boring, as they are the same design every year.

Pandas are very nice and the design changes every year. This is s great coin.

Libertads are very nice, but the same design every year. I would put them in the same league as the Silver Eagle.

Philharmonics are the same design every year and many of them have nicks, scratches and other marks on them.

Fiji taku is a great coin and well-produced, but the design is the same every year.

Armenian Noah's Ark is nice, but the same design every year.

Somali Elephant is nice and the design changes every year.

Australian Koala is nice with a different design every year.

Australian Kookaburra is nice with a different design every year.

In short, I would skip the Maple Leaf without a doubt. If you want coins to add to your ASEs, look at the Libertad, Panda, Taku, Kookaburra, Koala, Elephant and Noah's Ark, in that order; I would skip the Philharmonic also.

 

Like most things in life, it depends. Treehugger gave you a nice writeup if you are looking to collect large silver coins. However, this is posted in the bullion section. If you are looking to obtain government issued silver, that US buyers will be familiar with, (when it comes time to sell), I think the maple leaves are a good buy.

So, for a strictly bullion purchase, I would say yes. If for collecting, buy what you like the looks of man. If you are trying to combine the two, be very careful. Way too many people start off saying to themselves "I am buying pm as an investment", then start overpaying for pretty coins. You have to know WHY you wish to buy silver, and stick with that philosophy. If you are buying for a silver investment, most of those coins TH listed are horrible choices, as the premiums are simply way too high. Also, if buying for silver investment, milk spots are irrelevant, since these things will get melted in the future anyway.

Just be careful and know WHY you are buying.

 

Also,
Chinese Panda, Australian Kookaburra, Koala, Lunar Series II come in their own mint issued capsules. If you're the type who wants all your coins in plastic capsules, you won't need to buy any for these coins.

I have tubes of 2013 SML and love the detail of the leaf veins. It's a pretty coin. Mine don't seem to be too bad with milk spotting, but, I've read people say they can appear over time. My disappointment is probably with the frequency of dings and scratches... especially on the face of the Queen.

I tend to prefer the pricier Perth Mint stuff (Koala, Kooks, Lunar) and Somalia Elephant for the collectible aspect (there are new designs each year). To try and minimize costs with these, I just stick to the current year coins and avoid chasing the much more expensive prior year issues.

 

That is a great point, medoraman -- to know why you are buying. My primary purpose for buying silver coins is always and I mean always because it appeals to me for some reason

I don't purchase coins for investment, as I feel much more comfortable investing in stocks and bonds. If investment is what you are looking for and you don't mind what a coin may look like after a few years, or even right now in some cases, by all means consider the Silver Maple Leaf.

My knock on the coin is this: yes, it could be a very nice coin, but the Canadian Mint has so much as said they don't really care about the quality of this product and it shows in the result. They are much better in the production of their higher-premium items, which makes good business sense, I guess.

If you are looking to combine the best-looking coin with the lowest premium, I think your best bet is the Silver Eagle.

 

Yes, I like the leaf design also, but just wished it could be produced better with greater consistency.

This is just my opinion, but if I had to own Silver Maple Leafs and if they had to have scratches or milk spots, I would much rather they be on the Queenie side than on the Leaf side. There is no beauty to be detracted from on the Queen side, but a great deal to be diminished by scratches and spots on the Leaf side.

 

i am shocked at the opinions toward maples! these are some of the highest quality coins there are, if not the highest! the whole milkspot thing is COMPLETELY overrated and not as prevalent as everyone says. i have TUBES of consecutive year maples and i think ONE has 2 tiny milkspots on it.

the extra "9" of purity doesnt REALLy add value, but it does shine a light on Canadas attention to quality. milkspots are a detergent baked into the coin. the bottom line is they should rinse the blanks a little better before they anneal them. but i love them. if you are buying bullion quantity, you will probably pay less for a tube of maples than ASEs (per unit, as one has 20 per roll and one has 25) which will let you buy more silver overall.

so yes, buy maples.

 

Given your scenario, I'd probably opt for half the coins to be pristine on the heads side and the other half on the tails side. Then, I could lay out half my coins on heads, the other half on tails and they would all appear totally pristine! I do that with the pic below of 2 coins: The reverse sides of each coin have ding marks, although you'd think both coins were pristine. :devil: I think you can even see part of the cartwheel effect over the "O" in "5 DOLLARS".


To the OP: I think they're pretty coins (look at the detail of that Maple Leaf!!) and worthy of owning some if you want some variety. If you're looking for show pieces, perhaps visit your LCS so you can look over coins before buying.

As far as other world coins, I really like the 2013 Fiji Taku, Somalia Elephant & Perth Mint stuff. The Rwanda Cheetah looks like an amazing coin and I still need to get some of those.

 

Tell you what guys, if anyone starts making a yearly rhino coin, I will be the first to sign up. Seriously, if anyone ever hears of a bullion rhino series, please let me know.

Not sure why I like rhinos so much, maybe its the nose.

 

Fifty eight dollars and it can be yours.....


http://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-RWANDA...W-RHINOCEROS-RARE-/141004804089#ht_142wt_1153

 

$40 premium kind of puts it out of the bullion range for me. Is this an ongoing series or a one-off?

 

Buy at least one Panda. 40mm, 1oz, .999 fine silver
Design changes each year.
Come from the China Mint in its own capsule.
Can be bought under $28 currently.

A word of caution... Pandas can become addictive.

 

Never once seen a milk spot on a ML

 

I got my girl into the Pamp silver bars, so she told me she wanted to start collecting every year of the lunar series from pamp. I already had bought her the 2012 Year of the Dragon, and then she wanted the Snake for 2013. I told here they were hard to get, and a bit expensive, but I bought it anyway to make her happy. Can not go wrong with Pamp.

You can get the Pamp Dragon from Moderncoinmart for about $38 and the Pamp Snake for $56 from Govmint.com that price includes shipping. A bit expensive but they are considered art bars and carry that premium should you decide to resell later online. Very popular bars!