The Potential of Silver Bullion Coins Comes from Multiple Places

Coins are an easy way to accumulate silver.  Silver bullion coins are easily found, and storage problems have long ago been worked out for coin collectors.  And, they can appreciate in value, not just because of the precious metal they contain, but because mints are producing them with designs desired by numismatists, or coin collectors.  So, even if the price of silver goes down, the possibility exist that the value of the coin could go up.

Why not have multiple ways for your bullion to increase in value?

What Size Is Right for You?

Should You Buy Large Coins, Or Small Coins

Bullion coins come in several sizes.  Some mints produce a half ounce coin, as the smaller bullion coin.  The idea is to make the coin more appealing, but the price is usually much too high for a bullion coin.  There is a cost in minting, so when that is applied to a lower value coin it becomes a larger percentage of the cost to make that coin.  So, the advantage is the cost, but the disadvantage is the percentage of the value marked up is high.  The good news is that extra charge can often be passed on, and it is expected.

The most common size of a bullion coin is the one ounce.  In fact, the one ounce is the only size some mints make.  These are well recognized.  The disadvantage is that the mintage numbers for one ounce bullion coins is often high.

Larger sizes of bullion coins can be as small as two ounces, and as large of ten kilograms.  Normally, the ten ounce and larger coins have little appeal to numismatists.  The two and five ounce coins offer an opportunity to reduce the premium initially paid for bullion, and are usually minted in much lower quantities than one ounce coins, making them desirable.

The American Silver Eagle

The Most Popular Silver Bullion in the United States

In 1986, the United States Mint began minting the American Silver Eagle.  This is minted in only the one ounce size.  It uses the image from the Walking Liberty Half Dollar, one of the most popular images from older United states coinage.

There is a bullion version of the America the Beautiful quarters, which is minted as a five ounce coin.

Use One Image, Or Change It

Many Mints, Two Approaches

Some bullion coins are minted using the same image year after year. Others use a different image. Obviously, changing the image annually can be attractive to coin collectors. But, the American Silver Eagle, the Canadian Maple Leaf, the Mexican Libertad, the Austrian Philharmonic, and the Fuji Taku repeat the image over and over.

The Perth Mint of Australia changes the images on its silver bullion annually. The Perth Mint is the mint responsible for Australian bullion, along with some of the commemorative coins. The Royal Australian Mint produces circulation coins and some commemorative coins.

The Perth Mint has been making three series of bullion coins, and now has added a fourth. The silver bullion coins from the Perth Mint include the Kookaburra Series, the Koala Series, and the Lunar Series. To that the Saltwater Crocodile has now been added.

The Perth Mint also produces a wide range of sizes of their silver bullion coins. They produce the half ounce, the one ounce, the two ounce, the five ounce, the ten ounce, the one kilogram, and the ten kilogram sizes of their bullion, but not every size is made for every issue. And, sizes minted in one year, like the two ounce kookaburra, may be discontinued in another year, as it was.

The Chinese Panda coin also changes annually.

And, over time, the British Britannia, a highly desirable coin has changed.







Canadian Maple Leaf

The Four Nines

One of the innovations to come from the Royal Canadian Mint was to mint silver, and gold, bullion coins to a purity of 0.9999, while the rest of the major mints were still producing 0.999 pure coins.  Is this important?  Well, this is an incredibly beautiful coin.  Would it be with a slightly less purity?  I doubt we will know because the Royal Canadian Mint will probably not revert to less pure coins. 

My Choices

I recommend the Britannia, the Australian kookaburra, the American Eagle, and the Maple Leaf as my personal favorites.  And, if you are looking for the larger size coins, consider the American the Beautiful five ounce quarters.

This year we have a new version of the Britannia, the lunar horse.  Should it be called a Britannia since Britannia is not shown?  Well, it s being called a Britannia by the Royal Mint.  Another twist is there is a horse privy mark placed on the edge of some 2014 Britannia coins that do show Britannia.  A privy mark is an honor mark, usually small in nature, that is added to certain coins.  It is very unusual for the privy mark to appear on the edge.

The privy Britannia started with the Year of the Snake.

New Silver Bullion Coins

New Bullion Coins

The Republic of Burundi lion coins are among the new silver coin to make an appearance.  Many smaller nations are currently having bullion coins minted, and thus can sell the coins for a profit.  Burundi is a very poor nation, and certainly can benefit from any income, so having coins minted and sold for a premium, no matter how small, can certainly benefit the small nation.  The 2015 fine silver one ounce coin depicts the African lion, and makes a nice addition to the available bullion coins on the market.

Coin Specifics

The coin is 0.999 fine silver.  Some mints have gone to 0.9999 fine silver, and while that last digit does not represent that much silver, some people tend to favor the 0.9999 fineness in their silver coins.

Unlike many coins, there is no head of state on the obverse.  Instead, one side of the coin shows the head of a male lion, and the other side shows a mountainous jungle setting with a male lion and female lioness walking through the jungle.  Since the lion head appears on other Burundi coins it is apparent that it is the obverse, and incidental to the appearance of the two lions on the reverse.

The denomination of the coin is five thousand francs, a large number with little value.  At the time of writing this the five thousand francs converts to between three and four dollars, far less than the value of an ounce of silver.

The coin appears on Ebay, and is low in cost compared to some bullion coins, but the low cost also reflects on the demand for the coin.  But, silver is silver, so if you seek bullion this coin might be a nice alternative to other more established coins.  It appears to currently be available at a fair price for a silver bullion coin.

Better Coins Are Available

The proof finish coins of the lion are also available.  The proof coins come with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity, and a very limited mintage given at one thousand coins.  Because of the low mintage the higher cost per coin is attractive.  And, certainly a graded coin, whether it is proof or not, does carry some extra value, with the graded proof coins being the most desirable.   So, numistimists may well favor the proof coin, but the premium may be more than a bullion buyer cares to invest.

Article provided by Black Spaniel Gallery Coins.

Silver American Eagle Coins

In 1986, the United States Mint started producing the American Eagle coins, minted in both gold and silver. These were to be the bullion coins of the United States Mint. The obverse of the silver coin, the subject here, is the same design that the mint once used on the Walking Liberty half dollar coins. The reverse is an open winged eagle with a shield.

From 1986 through 1992, the proof issues carried the S mint mark of the San Francisco Mint, while the business strike coins carried no mint mark, indicating the Philadelphia Mint.

From 1993 through 2000, the P mint mark was used on proof coins produced at the Philadelphia Mint.

In 2001, the proof coins began to carry the W mint mark for the West Point Mint. The special "burnished" finish coins also carry the W mint mark.

In 2008, the proof coins stopped carrying a mint mark.

The silver American Eagle is a true coin, since it has a denomination of $1. However, it was issued as bullion, with a purity of 0.9993 fine silver. Each coin contains 0.9993 Troy ounce of silver, although most people simply say one Troy ounce.

American Eagles in the original mint box are generally more valuable than those not in the box. The boxed coins were placed in the boxes in acrylic capsules at the mint, affording them protection from both physical and environmental damage. Those not boxed are shipped in large boxes, taken out and sold. There is exposure to the environment, and a possibility of being improperly handled.

Many eBayers, and some dealers, sell the empty boxes. Obtaining a capsule is easy, and a less desirable coin can be inserted. Buying a boxed coin requires a trust level. Why would the original coin be removed in the first place? Grading serviced place graded coins in slabs, and this leaves the boxes empty. It then becomes a matter of squeezing every penny out of the coin. Unfortunately, a box sold is a box bought, and you can be certain this is for use.

As with every coin issue, the year with the low mintage becomes the year to get. In the case of the silver American Eagle coins that year is 1996. The years 1995 and 2006 also are harder to find than most coins, but cannot compare with the 1996 coins, except for the 1995 special 20th anniversary coins.

1995 coins had a special issue that celebrated the tenth anniversary of the silver American Eagle. These were only issued as proof coins, and command a price in the stratosphere. My reference book showed a price in excess of $3,000!

Black Spaniel Gallery Coins

American Silver Eagles: A Guide to the U.S. Bullion Coin Program, 2nd Edition

2014 Silver Koala Released

The Perth Mint has just announced the release of the 2014 Silver Koala coin.  This silver bullion coin uses a different image each year, making it more collectible than if an image would simply be repeated.  The bullion coins are available at the Perth Mint, but not sold directly to customers in the United States.  They are available through distributors.

The 2014 Koala comes in 99.9 percent silver, and are minted in five sizes.  They come in the 1/2, 1, 2 and 10 ounce sizes, and the 1 kg size.  Other Perth Mint bullion does come in other sizes.  If the coin is low in price on eBay, check to see if it is the one half ounce size.

This information is being made available by:

Black Spaniel Gallery Coins

where we have many beautiful coins.  However, this is not a coin we will be carrying.

Watch for updates as coins are released in the U. S., Canada, the U. K., Australia, and New Zealand.  we add many of the new releases to this blog.  It is a very nice sample, but not intended to be complete.

Crescent City Coin Club Show

Black Spaniel Gallery is pleased to announce the Crescent City Coin Club upcoming show which will be held November 23 and 24.  This show will be held at the Doublletree Hotel in Kenner, Louisiana.
Admission is free, and you could win a door prize, given away hourly.

The show advertises U> S> and FOREIGN COINS and PAPER MONEY, GOLD, SILVER BULLION, MEDALS, etc.  Usually the etc. included ancient coins!

Come out and meet some very friendly folks, and look for that missing coin to complete your collection.

Older New Zealand coins might be in crowns, shillings, florins, and sixpence, while modern coinage uses the dollar or decimal system.  New Zealand also has produced silver bullion, with the kiwi being world famous, and the fern being less known.

  

The Canadian Wildlife Series

The Royal Canadian Mint has issued, starting in 2011, a six coin series with the Wildlife theme.  The 2011 used the Wolf image that had been successful a few years earlier with a smaller, half ounce coin.  These coins, issued as bullion, have one Troy ounce of fine silver, at the purity of 0.9999.  These coins quickly obtained numismatic value, and are sought after as a beautiful set.  Shart sets, like this six coin set, are easily completed, and these coins are still affordable.

Some issues are colorized, and some are gilded with gold.  Those enhanced coins are harder to find, and were initially aimed at collectors.

2011 - Wolf and Grizzly

2012 - Moose and Cougar

2013  - Pronghorn Antelope and Wood Bison


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Chinese Pandas

One popular bullion coins are the gold and the silver Chinese pandas. While china has lax counterfeit laws, they do not allow counterfeiting Chinese currency. Look for the yuan symbol, which resembles the pi symbol. This gives some confidence.

The Britannia

One of the most sought after silver coins is the British Britannia.  This is a quality coin from a long standing quality mint, the Royal Mint.

Year of the Snake Coins

The Perth Mint is now in its second series of bullion lunar coins.  The coins are being produced in various sizes, and are all high grade.  while they are technically bullion coins, they are highly desirable by numismatists/

While most coins are bullion, some are proof, making them too valuable to be regarded as bullion.

Look for gold and silver snake coins in 2013, some of which are colorized.

There are many coins, including a "Success" version ANDA coin show special, a high relief gold coin, and a Prosperity, Longevity, and Success gold three-coin set, and a four rectangular silver, colorized coin set that should be displayed side by side.

To see these quality coins please go to our website and click on the Perth Mint banner.  The shipping is very reasonable, and they can accept cards.  The purchase is easy.

Black Spaniel Gallery 

Or, for bullion and sold out coins look to eBay.

Australian Bullion Coins for 2013

In 2013 the Perth Mint is producing bullion in all three precious metals.

Gold:  The Snake and the Kangaroo in multiple sizes

Silver:  The Kookaburra, Snake, and Koala in multiple sizes

Platinum:  The Platypus in one size

The Kookaburra

In 1990 the Perth Mint launched a silver bullion series featuring the Kookaburra, an Australian bird.  This series continues today.  The Kookaburra appears on various sizes of silver coins, and changes annually to keep interest up.  It is a highly sought after series.

Visit us at Black Spaniel Gallery Coin Information

America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins

Silver coins in 5 Troy ounce size using the images of the America the Beautiful quarters are being produced and released by the United States Mint. These are very collectible. http://www.squidoo.com/america-the-beautiful-five-ounce-silver-uncirculated-coins

2012 Coin Books

Coin books are essential for any coin collector, and staying current is important. Knowing the value of a coin can prevent overpaying for that coin at a show. http://www.squidoo.com/2012-coin-books

2012 Silver Kookaburra Coins

Perth Mint released its 2012 Kookaburra silver coins. This coin comes in a verity of sizes from 1 ounce to 1 kilogram. For More Info and available:http://www.squidoo.com/2012-silver-kookaburra-coins

Fiji Islands turtle coin, or taku

One of the most sought after silver bullion coins is the Fiji Islands turtle coin, or taku. It comes in a variety of sizes and finishes. http://www.squidoo.com/the-silver-bullion-turtle-coin