I live in Canada and over here the maple leafs and eagles for for 4 dollars over spot, while a proof sterling silver 1oz of silver Canadian 1988 Olympic coins go for spot price, but the sterling does not say fine silver or that its sterling. what do you guys think is a better investment? and the sterling silver Olympic coins have a face value of $20, so maybe its safer to buy these? just encase prices go down? here are some other coin prices at my loco coin store +4 for Canadian maple leaf/American eagle +8 for 2011 Chinese panda +6 for Canadian wildlife +1 for bars/ rounds junk silver at spot price (not interested in junk silver) they have more but i cant remember, ill post an update of the different kinds they have in a few hours after i get back from the coin shop. what would you guys put your money into for investment? dont forget numismatic value some of these coins might get in the future. and I'm also wondering what the coins price are in the states, if you can remember some prices at your loco coin shop let me know. thanks
Don't know about the Canadian market for Canadian material, but down here in the southeastern US, sterling trades at a hefty discount. At a typical coin show, dealers buy .999 at close to melt, but pay something like 80% for sterling. As it's been explained to me, .999 is easiest to reprocess (just melt it), 90% coin silver is fairly easy (separate it from the copper), but sterling is difficult because that other 7.5% can include a wide variety of metals or semimetals. Separating an unknown composition is always harder and more expensive. Obviously, this does not address numismatic value. I'll leave that to others.
The prices of the coins you listed are pretty much exactly the same here in the U. S., with a couple of minor exceptions: the Maple Leaf is about $1.00 less than the Eagle and the Canadian Wildlife is about $5.00 over spot.
Because most Americans do not collect them, so they are discounted. There are many coins cheaper in the states than their home country, I buy them all of the time.
should I buy the 2011 pandas? do you think theyre worth investing? even tho the mintage is 3,000,000 instead of 1,000,000 like the 2010 and older? they seem to be selling on ebay for around $55
depends on the sterling market in canada. if they sell well there then it seems ok. for selling in a bigger market i would go with the .999 bars/rounds if you can get them at spot +1. that's just for bullion stacking. the others that may get a good premium are another market. get a good core of bullion first.
I think you have conflicting goals here. Some of your questions seem to indicate that you are a bullion investor, but others suggest numismatic (collector) investment. There is no problem doing both, but make sure you have the two sorted out so it won't drive you to make the wrong decision. If you are looking to hold silver as an monetary investment, as silver, then I recommend sticking to what is the easiest to sell in your area. Usually, coins issued by your national mint are the easiest followed by the coins from nearby countries. I assume for Canada this means the USA. Coins from the Mint are very liquid compared to other forms of silver because you won't have assay issues. IMO, I think it's better to keep numismatic buys completely separate from bullion buys. It requires more research and the risks are higher.
Best post I have seen on the subject. Its way too easy to confuse the two purposes of buying silver, and end up with high priced bullion which will minimize your profits. If for bullion, buy the lowest premium, easily recognizable PM you can get. If for collecting, then buy whatever pleases you, but recognize its for your HOBBY and do not try to justify it as an investment. Always remember dealers are trying to get you to buy what they sell, and they use the idea of "investment" to get you to justify paying a lot of money. Do not fall for it. Investment is an intellectual decision for future profit/protection. Hobby is for current enjoyment. Do not spend investment money for a hobby, bottom line. Chris
Seems to me that if you are just buying "bullion", then you should go with the rounds & bars since they are only $1.00 over spot.