Rogers Bros 1847 Silverplate Silverware

Looking to pick up some silver flatware in the next few months or years? Silver flatware if you can afford it is a great long term investment for your family. It may not make sense financially 100% but in terms of family heirlooms a set of silver flatware (forks, spoons, knives etc) ranks right up their with the living room clock, or moms ring.

On the whole, you either buy silver flatware for the silver content or you buy it to own a truly beautiful set of dinnerware. If you’re buying in terms of silver investment, you have certain margins you’ll be looking to hit while those looking for an investment in dinnerware will be looking at more than the value of the silver. Here are some tips to keep in mind when evaluating silver flatware:

1 – Silver Content If the pieces or the set you’re looking at isn’t marked “Sterling” or “925” or even “.925″ then you’re probably looking at a silver plated or silver inlaid flatware set. Sterling silver (aka 925 or .925) is 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals such as copper which makes the utensils more durable. See examples of sterling silver marks here.

2 – Which Pieces Will Be “Solid” When weighing and valuing silver flatware, the “butter” knives, forks, spoons and some specialty items will be Sterling and should be marked as such. However, items some knives, serving utensils, salt and pepper shakers and candle sticks will contain such things as sand, concrete, steel or other metals for balance and added weight. The rule of thumb is to weigh these separately and assume these items only contain 25% silver.

3 – Condition If you’re looking at silver flatware for the silver content, condition is a negligible concern. Silver weight is silver weight and pieces with bends, dents or even tarnish aren’t going to affect the value of the silver.

4 – High Value Flatware When looking for silver flatware as a collectable, you’re looking at more than the silver weight. Brands and hallmarks will play a very important part in your search for rare and expensive flatware. As an example, the French maker, Christofle, is a highly respected maker of sterling silver and even silver plated flatware which commands a premium price. This premium is sometimes hundreds, even thousands, of times the silver weight value.

Silver is silver and most flatware is exactly that. If you’re looking for a useful and functional way to make a silver investment, buying silver flatware isn’t a bad way to do it at all. However, if you’re looking to make a true investment in silver flatware, the collectable sets are the way to go.

Buying Silver

Let’s take a look at silver bullion:

On the whole, silver bullion, whether in 1oz., 100oz. or 1000oz. bars is pretty much directly tied to current silver prices. This means if the spot price for silver drops some 15% as it did over a 2 day period in April, 2013, the value of your silver drops as well. It doesn’t much matter if your bar has the basic hallmarks for purity and actual weight or if your bars were made by a mint or a private firm, silver bullion is only going to be worth what the silver market says it is. If you’re looking at silver from a very strict investment standpoint, this could well be the answer you’re looking for as the buy-in is relatively inexpensive and storage and transport is fairly straightforward.

However, when you take a look at silver coinage, especially coins that were not designed to be a “replacement” for silver bullion, the investment angle takes on a whole new perspective. When you take a look at coins such as the Morgan silver dollars and half dollars, Mercury dimes, Canadian silver coins and a variety of other silver coins from other countries, the investment angle shifts from a strict silver value to the age of the coin, the rarity of the coin and the condition of the coin.

As an example, the current melt value for a common Morgan silver dollar in poor to fair condition is running right at $17 (give or take a few cents). This is based on current silver prices and the fact that a Morgan dollar is actually 90% silver. However, as a coin, a quick scan of eBay shows you’re not going to get one in pretty much any condition for less than $25. To complicate that even further, when you start looking at the rarity of the coin, especially when you’re trying to track down those with a CC (Carson City) mint mark, the price jumps dramatically with some coins in “perfect” condition running over $800 each.

Overall Bullion Vs. Coins

Granted, the buy-in for coins will be higher than purchasing straight bullion bars. However, since coins are valued by far more factors that strictly spot silver market prices, your money is actually somewhat safer since coin prices do not fluctuate nearly as significantly as metal prices. This not only gives you a safer investment but, as most trends show, coin prices rarely drop. As a matter of fact, with the exception of price spikes during the mid-1980s, the price for a MS65 Morgan silver dollar has remained pretty much in the $100-150 range, especially over the last decade. If you’re looking for a great way to conserve capital while keeping a solid investment portfolio, silver coinage definitely has a much more solid platform than bullion.

Buying Silver

Looking to buy silver online safely? Again we want to start off by saying we are not being paid to promote, or get kickbacks from these companies. They just happen to be the ones we’ve had the most experience with in the past. So now that we have that established lets speak about a few of our favorite places online to buy both Gold and Silver. Silver is a great long term investment and one of the very few that have real intrinsic value, but where can you purchase this shiny metal safely online?

Apmex

If you have been making online purchases within the last 8 or so years you are aware of APMEX. These guys are one of the big cheeses. The have a wide selection, and their prices are fair. The prices are not the best in terms of premiums, but they are an established company. These guys are so large they moved into the old Federal Reserve building a few years back. We have both bought and sold to them, and transactions are usually completed and delivered within 3-5 business days. Online at http://www.apmex.com/ or call 1-800-375-9006

Gainesville Coins

Gainesville Coins online at http://www.gainesvillecoins.com/ has a large selection of items on their site, but many of them are out of stock. I hate finding an item only to see that it’s out of stock. If you don’t sell the thing then pull it from your site I say.

JM Bullion

Site found online at http://www.jmbullion.com/ has a large selection of fine silver coins and you guessed it…bullion as the name might suggest. Their phone number is 1-800-276-6508 These guys sell silver and gold to those wishing to take physical delivery of the items.

ProvidentMetals.com

Another good place to buy precious metals is providentmetals.com, their phone number is 1-877-429-8790

If you know or have used any other companies let us know, and tell us how your experience has went. Thanks for reading!

Silver Bars

We’ll let me tell you first off I’m not pushing silver, I have no ulterior motive, I’m not going to sell you anything. This isn’t one of those sky is falling websites that use fear to drive traffic. I’ve been collecting and investing in silver and other metals for about 25 years. Holding a silver coin or bar in my hand makes me feel good if nothing else. With all the other asset opportunities in the world why would someone want to buy silver? Here are a few reasons…

Reasons To Like Silver

• It Has Real Value – while the value might fluctuate, silver in itself holds value.
• Coins Are Fun – Most of older coins are made from 90% silver (pre 1965).
• Enjoy Storing Wealth – Having a small stash of bullion or silver coins is enjoyable. If you are feeling down and possibly worthless as many of us in these poor economic times do, a visit to your silver pile might just cheer up your day.
• Your Heirs Will Love You – Having a few coins or small 5 or 10 oz bars of silver divvied up in your will doesn’t cost much.

These are just a few reasons to include silver in your life. If you can think of any more please post in the comment section below. Just don’t spam us with any links we’ll just delete your post before it goes live.