Silver bullion bars are a popular investment form for both first time investors just stepping into the world of silver and larger investors looking to increase their return. Each silver bullion bar is required to contain 99.9% pure silver, meaning each bar of silver you own is quite valuable. There are many producers of silver bullion bars.
Silver bars can be made by either pouring or extrusion. After forming the shape, the mint stamps them for authentication. This acts as a security for you when you’re looking into buying silver bullion bars. All you have to do is glance at the bar to tell whether or not it is made by a reputable company.
Most Popular Brands
The most popular silver bullion bars are created by Johnson Matthey, Engelhard, Perth Mint, Wall Street Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, Ohio Precious Metals, Academy Group, and Sunshine Mining bars. These manufacturers all produce 100 ounce bars, which is the bar of choice for personal investment.
Today, the most coveted bars to trade are made by Johnson Matthey and Engelhard. These bars are associated with near- perfection of the silver bullion bar making technique. In the 1980s, after silver inflation was reduced, both companies stopped producing silver bars. Circulation of these bars is rare, and the only time these become available is when other investors sell. If you do have the opportunity to get your hands on one, do it. These bars carry higher premiums because they are in high demand but are not being produced.
While Johnson Matthey bars were mass-produced in the 1980s, not too many were made so these are relatively rare. Just like Engelhard bars, if you do stumble across one, you can rest assured that you are getting literally the best of the best. You can expect to pay a lot of money for bars from these two dealers, as there is a high demand for a scarce commodity. But when you are ready to sell, your bar will be highly liquid.
The Sunshine silver bar is of such high quality that the United States government uses the blanks from 1 ounce bars to mint the popular Silver Eagle coin. These are currently being produced, but in lesser numbers.
The Academy Group uses a unique design stamped on the bar that allows bars to interlock when they stack. Because of this, Academy bars are very convenient to stack and place in large quantities in storage. The Academy Group uses computer technology to make the bar, and their technique makes the bar nearly impossible to tamper with or counterfeit. You can be certain that your investment is genuine. Of the manufacturers in production today, the Academy Group is one of the only ones to mark their bars with serial numbers.
Major brands have silver purities of 0.999 yet some sell at higher premiums than others. This is a concept that is easily relatable. When you’re shopping for everyday items and are confronted with a choice between a generic brand you’ve never heard of and a name brand, you prefer to go with a name brand that you know you can trust. Buyers are the exact same way. They trust that the quality of the silver you’re selling is as high as you say it is when it is made by a brand name they recognize. Lesser known brands will not fetch as high a premium, if any.