Investing In Silver Coins and Bars

There are many confounding reasons why you should be adding silver to your portfolio these days. The major reason of course, is the state of the global economy. The currency markets right now are fluctuating wildly, and are having an adverse effect on the economy. 

One day the US dollar is down and the Euro is rising. The next day, fears over debt in Europe send the Euro down and the dollar higher. It is indeed a roller coaster. One asset that has done well in the face of this storm is precious metals, specifically silver. It is still the most affordable of all precious metals. It is very easy to get started. All you need to do begin adding silver bullion coins, then when you have a sufficient amount, begin adding bars in increasing size.

Will Silver Move Higher?

Some people out there think that precious metals are now in a bubble, as people are using precious metals as a substitute for more traditional investments like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and even real estate. 

Many of those investments are tied directly to the fate of the US dollar, which is currently plummeting in value and shows little signs of regaining it anytime in the near future. But is the precious metals market done? While gold has reached all time highs, silver has not, and that is worth noting and paying attention to. If you consider that many folks are investing in silver you have to ask yourself why? If you haven't been living under a rock the past few years you will know that your money is practically worth less than it was the day before.

Silver may actually be undervalued right now. The economy is still unstable, and looks like it will be that way for awhile. There is also growing demand for silver to be used in industrial applications. Lastly, the outcomes of the silver price manipulation investigations are just coming to light, which will definitely influence the silver market.

Should I Buy Silver or Gold?

My wife and I both want to start investing in precious metals. We have been watching our own investments – a mix of stocks and mutual funds – perform relatively poorly over the last three years, and now we have decided a change is needed. 

The returns on our equities have been so flat that it almost feels as if we’ve wasted the past three years. Now that we have decided to diversify, we need to decide which precious metal to buy. There is gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. We could understand all the complexities to beginning to invest in silver, but since we started its been a rewarding experience. The issue is whether to invest in silver bars or in silver coins. Beginners I think should consider investing in silver coins, smaller investment up front although 1 ounce bars can also be worthwhile. Silver investors continue to flood the market as the Government continues to do nothing about economic growth.

Of the four, we selected silver, mostly due to its relative affordability compared to the other three precious metals mentioned above. For the price of one 1-ounce gold coin, we could have approximately fifty-five 1-ounce silver coins. I know they say nothing is as good as gold, but in this case, I would rather have the flexibility that silver offers.