SILVER AT SPOT

[brendan1414]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330613171097#ht_500wt_1413

 

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[jim4silver]

Sterling silver is a bad investment unless you can get it way below spot. But since it is on ebay, I am sure somebody, somewhere will buy it, even at that price.


Jim

 

[usandthem]

Interesting, Jim. Why is it not as good as silver coin? It's more pure right?

 

[jim4silver]

Interesting, Jim. Why is it not as good as silver coin? It's more pure right?

Technically you are right with respect to purity. If all the silver that was ever sold to coin dealers, etc, was sent to refiners to be melted, then in theory a person should make more money selling sterling than junk silver because the refiners discount based on purity assuming no numismatic silver coins were involved.

However, due to current market conditions (and for a long time past), junk silver (90%) is bought and sold at rates closer to or sometimes over spot because of high investor demand. When junk silver is sold to dealers it is bagged up and sold to other investors. Because of high investor demand junk silver is sold more like .999 bars and rounds and is not sent to a refiner, like sterling silver is most of the time.

Generally the only junk silver sent to a refiner is highly worn and damaged stuff that is too crappy for junk bags. Even 40% junk is sold in bags to investors, but is not as popular as 90% generally speaking.

I would imagine that even when individuals sell their junk to refiners instead of coin dealers, said refiners would probably make more of a profit reselling that junk silver (assuming it is in marketable condition) on the open market to investors rather than melting it down. Not saying they do that, but if making the most profit was the goal, then bagging the junk silver and reselling would be the way to go in my opinion much of the time.

Jim

 

[usandthem]

Thanks for the insight Jim.