If you already know how important it is to have silver as a prepper then you are probably thinking of what are the best forms of physical silver. It is extremely important to buy physical silver instead of investing in silver stocks which you actually never see. In case of an economic collapse, your investment in silver stocks will have 0 value but physical silver will have always a value no matter if you use it today or in 100 years.
When it comes to building a survival plan and considering silver coins as part of your preparations, the best choice is often easily recognizable high-purity coins. Specifically, pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver coins are highly regarded. This category includes dimes, quarters, and half dollars that contain 90% silver content. These coins have gained popularity among preppers due to their intrinsic value and the fact that their small denominations make them ideal for potential bartering situations.
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As a prepper, you should buy silver in different forms, bullion, coins, jewelry, and junk silver. The vast majority of your silver should be in coins, these are fairly cheap and during an SHTF situation, you can use them extremely easy to buy with it. A lot of preppers only invest in bullion, the problem with these is that during an SHTF situation, most people will not have a lot of cash at hand or silver coins to give you change if the price of the product is less than the price of the bullion.
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Coins are fairly easy to hide and carry, although running around with a bag of silver coins during an SHTF situation is not the smartest thing as it makes a lot of noise. Some preppers fall into the trap of buying numismatic coins, these have a higher value due to their rarity and not because they are made out of silver. During an SHTF situation, nobody is going to care how rare a coin is as everything will be rare from food to fuel and so on.
On the other hand, there are preppers who only buy junk silver, this is actually a good idea. Junk silver is fairly cheap but a lot of people think that junk silver is something bad because it has the word junk in it. The term junk silver mostly refers to coins and jewelry in some cases, it means that the coin or jewelry doesn’t have any inherent value other than the actual price of silver, which as a prepper or an investor is your main goal to invest in. If you want to know why preppers invest in silver then check out my recent article Why preppers invest in silver? ( Top 7 Reasons ).
Best Silver For Preppers
When it comes to choosing the best silver for preppers, a few factors should be considered. Firstly, preppers often opt for physical silver in the form of bullion coins or bars, as it provides direct ownership and can be easily stored or transported. Popular choices include well-known government-issued coins like American Silver Eagles, Canadian Silver Maple Leafs, or Australian Silver Kangaroos, as they are widely recognized and have high purity levels. It’s important to consider the silver content and purity, with 99.9% or higher being ideal. Another factor is the premium over the spot price, as preppers generally aim for the lowest possible premium to maximize their investment value.
Additionally, preppers may look for silver that is easily divisible, allowing for flexibility in selling or trading smaller increments if needed. Ultimately, the best silver for preppers depends on individual goals, budget, and personal preferences, but acquiring recognized, high-purity, and easily divisible forms of physical silver is typically a prudent choice.
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Silver Coins
These coins are probably the quickest and fastest way for a prepper to start buying physical silver. They are easy to store and easy to get your hands on, easy to carry around, and very easy to sell or trade with. The main reason why silver coins are extremely good for preppers and investors alike is that they are extremely easily sold. If you have a couple of silver bars or ingots then it will be hard to sell them during an SHTF situation.
Before buying any coin you should check out the current price of silver, and see how much the coin weighs. From there on you should calculate what would the price of the coin be if you would only buy it for the actual silver. Most silver coins are made for collectors, and they often pay a higher price for these coins than the actual value of the silver. Generally speaking, the rarer a coin is the higher its value will be, but this value is extremely volatile, during an SHTF situation nobody is going to care how rare the coin is as they want the coin for the silver and not for its value as a collectible. If you want to know how much silver you should have then check out my recent article How much silver should a prepper have ( 222 OZ ).
Below is a list of the best silver bullion coins which you should get.
- American Silver Eagle
- Canadian Silver Maple Leaf
- Austrian Silver Philharmonics
- American Silver Buffalo
- Sunshine Mint Silver Round
Silver Bars and Ingots
This is the most concentrated form of investing in physical silver and when you are ready to switch from coins and you want to get a bigger bang for your buck you are going to want to buy silver bars and ingots. These silver ingots come in several sizes from 1 oz, 10 oz, 1 Kg, 100 oz, and 400 oz which for the average prepper is probably a way too big of an investment. But if you have the means to buy a 400 oz bar of silver then God bless you.
- 100 oz Johnson Matthey Bar
- 10 oz Scottsdale “Stacker”
My personal favorite is the 10 oz Scottsdale bar mainly because of its size, as a prepper, you may want to consider buying more types of silver than just a big 100 or 400 oz bar. The reason behind this is that in an SHTF situation how are you going to trade with one single 400 oz bar, especially if you want to buy something inexpensive. Do you think people will have 399 oz silver to give you back after your purchase or you are going to try and chop off the bar into smaller chunks? If you want to know how to store your silver safely then check out my recent article How to store silver safely ( In 10 Steps ).
Junk Silver
A lot of people who do not know what junk silver actually is, think that the value of this silver is lower than the value of silver found in coins, ingots, and bars. Junk silver is just an unofficial term for items that are made out of silver but their price is based only on the value of the silver and not on how rare or how well crafted the actual item is. The term junk silver is a little bit misleading because there are a lot of old quarters, dimes, and nickels issued before 1964 which are actually quite valuable due to their 90% silver content. There are different sizes that you can buy or face values:
- $100 face value
- $500 face value
- $1000 face value
Keep in mind that the $1000 face value must be reported to the IRS, the other 2 smaller face-valued ones do not have to be reported to the IRS. You can easily buy junk silver from flea markets or from garage sales, and with some luck, you will be able to buy them extremely cheaply. A lot of people who just want to make a quick buck do not actually make any research on what they are selling, and some flea markets and garage sales could be gold mines. If you want to know how to bury money then check out my recent article How to bury money ( In 7 Easy Steps ).
Jewelry
This is an interesting way of buying silver and not a lot of Americans buy this way but it has major benefits compared to the other forms of silver. In some parts of the world jewelry is a form of saving that has been used for centuries. It is extremely easy to transport meaning you can fly out of a country draped in $50k worth of silver jewelry and you don’t have to declare it.
The problem with jewelry is that you will have a difficult time selling it during an SHTF situation. If the jewelry is a luxury designer item then it will keep its price for a longer time, however, most jewelry will only be worth its own weight in silver. A lot of jewelers use other precious metals in their jewelry so melting them will be a nightmare.
Numismatic Coins
Do not ever buy numismatic coins, there are a lot of shady companies in this industry that try to get new investors to pay huge amounts of money for so-called rare numismatic coins that are not even remotely worth as much as their asking price. These are also hard to sell and even if you manage to sell them you won’t make a profit. New numismatic coins are popping up every year, most of them are made of silver as they can be sold extremely fast.
Most of these coins are made for collectors who will buy them and hope that the value of these coins will go up in the future. As I have previously mentioned in an SHTF situation the value of these coins will be the value of the silver that they contain and they won’t have a higher value just because they are rare. These coins are often traded between collectors, which is an industry in itself, and outside this industry, the worth of the coins is just the worth of the silver. Silver is an excellent gift for preppers, for more gift ideas for preppers check out my recent article Gifts for preppers ( Top 26 Best Gifts ).
Key Takeaways
- The best silver for preppers are silver coins, silver bars and ingots, junk silver, jewelry, and numismatic coins. Just keep in mind that numismatic coins tend to have a higher value because they are collectible, and not because the silver in the coins is worth more. As a prepper your best option is to buy junk silver, no matter if in the form of coins or even jewelry as these have their worth based on the silver content and not because of their rarity.
- Preppers often prefer physical silver in the form of coins or bars that are easily recognizable and widely accepted. Popular choices include well-known government-issued coins like American Silver Eagles or Canadian Silver Maple Leafs, as well as silver bars from reputable mints.
- Junk silver refers to circulated coins minted before 1965 that contain 90% silver content. These coins, such as U.S. dimes, quarters, and half-dollars, are sought after by preppers due to their silver content and ease of recognition.
- Preppers may also consider investing in larger silver bullion bars or rounds, typically ranging from 1 ounce to 10 ounces or more. These provide a higher silver content at a lower premium compared to collectible coins, offering more value for investment purposes.
