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.

Common Weights

Silver bullion bars are available in standard weights of 1, 5, 10, 100 and 1000 troy ounces. Bars are also available in other random sizes. These carry a low premium over spot price and the larger the size of the bar you buy, the less you pay per ounce of silver.

This is why silver bars are so popular- a great deal of valuable silver is condensed down into such a small weight. You are essentially sitting on a great amount of wealth that can be cost-effectively contained in a small storage space.

Liquidity and Divisibility

First time investors choosing to diversify their portfolio to include silver often opt for either 1 ounce bars or more often, 10 ounce silver bars. If you’re buying these bars in small quantity, you may even be able to store it in a safety deposit box at home. If not, you can rent out a small locker at the bank for secure and cheap storage.

Smaller bars are advantageous because they can be liquidated quickly in the event of a significant fall in the price of silver. Silver has applications in many products and can be used as legal tender in Utah, and so a buyer that would be reluctant to take on larger amounts of silver would be more than willing to buy your smaller weight silver bar.

100 ounce silver bars are a very popular sized bar for personal investments. These are universally accepted as trading units and so have high market liquidity. In other words, you can rest assured that when you deem it time to sell, you won’t struggle to find a willing buyer. These bars have a large enough silver content that investors will have an accurate idea of how silver performs.

They are also relatively lightweight, at around 6.87 pounds, and so are easily transported as well without having to deal with exorbitant shipping and handling costs. The uniform width and size of these bars makes it easy for stacking in large quantities in a storage facility.

Good Delivery Bars

The 1000 ounce silver bar is a standard industry unit used for trading by such major exchanges as the New York Mercantile Exchange and London Bullion Marketing Association. These are extremely heavy and are not readily transportable.

Large investors with hundreds of thousands of silver will opt for storing these bars offshore, and are ready to pay the high costs associated with shipping, handling, insurance, and storage. With these 1000 ounce bars, it is important to remember that though the bar has high market liquidity, the delays required to take your bars out of storage may hamper your trading ability by a few days.

Various other random weights of bars are also produced, ranging from 1 gram to 5 kilos. As these sizes are not standard, owning one of these bars is riskier as it takes longer for potential buyers to calculate and verify that the silver content is as pure as you say it is. Similarly, if you are buying a silver bar of random weight, do your research into the silver dealer, get proper documentation and make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.