How to Buy Silver Coins? (2024 Guide)

This article has been reviewed and updated for 2024.

Silver coins are an excellent asset to hold as part of a diversified and balanced portfolio. There are a number of reasons why they are attractive to investors, but even once you have decided to hold silver bullion coins it can be hard to decide how and where to buy silver coins.

Read on for the complete guide on why to invest in silver coins and how to buy them.

Should I buy silver coins?

Holding physical silver as part of your portfolio is a wise investment choice. The metal has not only been used as a store of value for thousands of years but it is also known as an indispensable metal. It is so widely used in the industry that market experts expect to see supply shortages in the coming years.

Here are some of the other factors that make silver coins a good asset to have in your portfolio:

A store of value - Silver has been used as a currency and store of value for thousands of years. Silver is a borderless currency. It is recognised and accepted as a form of payment no matter where you are in the world. Coins are particularly attractive if you wish to travel with your holdings and they are easily divisible if you think you might want to use them as a form of payment.
No counterparty risk - When you have silver coins in your portfolio there are no counterparties between you and them that may or may not affect their value and your access to them. This is unlike holding an ETF where you are relying on third-parties to make the right decisions in order to preserve the value of your investment
Silver coins cannot be deleted or hacked - Cybercrime is a very real threat in the modern age. Anyone whose assets are only visible digitally (and we are including cash in a bank account) is at risk of seeing their assets hacked and transferred elsewhere. When you own physical silver then you have a tangible asset that cannot be hacked, deleted or moved to some else’s account.
Highly liquid - The market for physical silver is highly liquid. This is especially the case when you buy silver bullion coins. Silver bullion coins are investment-grade assets produced by mints to a high standard that is recognised by bullion dealers around the world.

What are the best silver coins to buy?

At GoldCore we believe the best kind of silver coins for investors to hold are silver bullion coins. These are considered to be investment-grade silver and are made by government mints. If you see the term ‘sovereign’ in regard to the coin then it means that the government of origin will guarantee the coin’s authenticity, quality and purity.

There are a number of silver bullion coins available to buy. Here at GoldCore we are proud to offer our clients a range of popular silver coins from some of the world’s most respected mints, such as the US Mint, The British Royal Mint, and Canadian Royal Mint. We sell them in tubes and ‘Silver monster boxes’ which generally contain 500 coins.

American Silver Eagle: 1oz 99.99% silver with $1 face value
Canadian Silver Maple: 1oz 99.99% silver with $5 face value
British Silver Britannia: 1oz 99.99% silver with £1 face value
Austrian Silver Philharmonic: 1oz 99.99% silver with €1.50 face value
Australian Silver Kangaroo: 1oz 99.99% silver with AU$1 face value

You may have read about ‘silver rounds’ however there are a number of ways in which they are very different to sovereign minted coins, and not in a particularly beneficial way:

Silver rounds are not stuck by government mints, but by private mints
They are not classed as legal tender
They do not have a face value
Their quality, purity and weight is not guaranteed by a government
As they are not legal tender they are not party to any tax officials

90% & 40% Silver Bags are also considered by some as investment silver. These are also known as ‘junk’ bags which is a desperately unfair term given they most certainly do not contain junk. When silver coins were still in circulation in the US the coins contained between 40% and 90% silver, depending on when they were minted. In 1965, silver coins were no longer minted, thanks to the US Coinage Act of 1965 altering the composition of coins so that they were mainly made from copper and a copper nickel alloy.

As a result of the change in the make-up of coins being minted, the old ‘silver’ coins became collectors items, sought after for their silver content. This ‘junk’ silver still retains its legal tender status but due to the silver price, the face value may often be far lower than the silver content.

Ultimately we at GoldCore believe that if you wish to invest in silver coins then you should buy the only coins that are investment-grade silver, and that is silver bullion coins. They are the only ones whose quality is guaranteed, they are bought and sold in a highly liquid market and are recognised around the world as a safe haven.

How to buy silver bullion coins?

Once you have decided to invest in silver bullion coins then you need to know how to shop for them. By this we mean, what are the key factors to look out for when you start to look around for the best place to help you with your investment.

Premium charged - The premium charged is the additional cost placed on the silver coin. It makes up the third part of the price after the spot price of silver and the weight and quality of silver in the coin. The premium takes into account the costs that went into minting, transporting, marketing etc the silver coin prior to it being sold to you.
Additional costs - Be aware of any additional costs that could be added onto your silver purchase. Whilst you may have to cover delivery costs if you decide to take delivery of your silver bullion coin, there is rarely any need for any other costs. Remember that any additional costs will eat into your returns.
Range of products - When you decide to invest in silver bullion coins you want to make sure that you are able to choose the coins that are right for your investment strategy. Some places that sell silver coins do not have a very wide range, or might not sell investment-grade coins at all.
Storage options - you might have chosen to buy silver coins because they are easy to store. But many buyers prefer to store in secure, state-of-the-art storage in a range of jurisdictions.
Resell options - Ideally, you will hold the silver in your portfolio and you will consider it like you do insurance, something that you do not want to be without. However, you might want to realise some gains or reduce your exposure to silver coins (perhaps move into silver bars). If this happens then you want to have a straightforward, secure, highly-liquid, and low-cost way to do so. The best way to do this is through the silver bullion dealer that you originally made your purchase with.
Reputation - Whilst the aforementioned factors are very important, they are easily assessed, contrasted, and compared across outlets. Reputation is trickier to assess but possibly the most important. To invest in silver coins is to add a very important asset to your portfolio that will future-proof it over the coming years of inflation, uncertainty, and geopolitical risks. It’s really very important that you entrust your purchase with a company that has a reputation for doing right by its customers through its service and quality of product offering.

Where to buy silver bullion coins?

Here in the UK we are lucky to have one of the most stringent and reputable markets for the sale of silver bullion coins. But sadly this does not mean that one place of business will offer the same quality of service and product, as the next. Below we outline the five most common places you might come across when deciding the best place to buy silver coins.

Royal Mint - Whilst the British Royal Mint is one of the most respected mints in the world, it is not necessarily the best place for you to choose which silver coin to buy. This is because they only sell the coins that they mint themselves. Despite this they do not buy-back any coins, even if they were the original source. This means that you will have to go elsewhere should you wish to liquidate part of your holdings, and possibly incur additional fees.
Post Office - The Post Office is just another place where you can buy silver coins minted by the Royal Mint. The coins sold through the Post Office are generally those minted and packaged as gift items. This means that the shelf-price is often not reflective of the value of the content of silver within the coin, but instead much higher.
Physical shop - one of the attractions in owning silver bullion coins is that they are tangible. So, it is understandable that some people choose to go to a physical shop in order to look and feel silver coins, prior to purchase. But sadly there are no more benefits past this point. The premiums are generally higher compared to reputable silver bullion dealers and there will not be the same sophisticated storage and buy-back options that you will want in order to protect the integrity of your investment.
Online marketplace - Online marketplaces are one of the first things that pop up when you google ‘where to buy silver coins uk’, sadly this does not mean that they are reputable or secure. To invest in silver coins is to want to reduce the amount of counterparty risk that your portfolio is exposed to. However, when you buy from a faceless seller, on the likes of ebay then you are just increasing the third-party exposure to your portfolio.
Reputable silver bullion coin dealer - Reputable silver bullion coin dealers, such as GoldCore, should make you feel assured that you are dealing with professionals who are the best hands to help you to manage your silver bullion investments. They will have a range of silver bars and coins to suit your investment strategy. They will also have secure storage in a number of safe jurisdictions to a level that will protect your assets and their integrity. They will also be able to support you if and when you choose to liquidate some of your silver holdings thanks to their safe, accessible and highly liquid market.

Buy silver bullion UK

If you are looking to buy silver bullion coins in the UK then GoldCore is proud to be one of the market leaders, in a prime position to help you.

We recognise that starting the journey into precious metals investment can be one that requires navigation and so we are here to help you. It’s very straightforward to open an account with us. Simply click the “open account” button at the top right of our site. There, you will receive instructions on how to set up your very own trading account. If you require assistance, you can reach our office on +44 (0) 203 086 9200 from the UK. Alternatively, you can reach us here.

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