Most, if not all my silver comes from the west. I am getting bored of having only western brand bullion. I would really like some Asian brands. Thing is, they are way more expensive then the western brands and have higher premium. Is silver just naturally more expensive in Asia even if you are in Asia buying them? I would like to see more Asian rounds imported into the western market with a reasonable price. Prices for Asian bullion on the internet could pass for numismatic range. Maybe Asia just doesn't produce a lot of rounds because the don't have much private mints... Or maybe they do but they are only available to local and not intended to be sold to overseas buyers... What do you think? Thanks for your time.
Welcome to the forum, hikikomori: You did not mention where you are located - but if you are in the United States, you might begin your search at the APMEX website. They have an excellent selection of bullion coins from all over the world: http://www.apmex.com/category/29005/silver-coins-from-regions-of-the-world
Russia is considered a European country, not an Asian country. Trust an American (apmex) to not know anything about the world.
From what I understand & have observed, I believe it partly might have to do with the apparent relative lack of domestic demand for silver bullion within a good chunk of Asia. Coins, rounds & bars in Ag? Seems like Asians in their native homeland have much more interest in gold, and, to a lesser extent, platinum. Also, appears jewelry in those two precious metals have a more significant market there. On a positive note, one could argue that perhaps there's been some growing interest recently in silver coins, rounds, bars & medals -- which could be a good sign for the rest of the world.
Certainly Hong Kong (and by extension, China) is very much more interested in Gold, not Silver. Gold coins were available at very low premium at high street banks, although supply seems to have dried up in recent years.
@ hikikomori: You can ignore the petty quip about how Americans classify the geography of the foreign suppliers of bullion products. Your question was understood by the majority of the readers of this forum. You will find that some members are more helpful than others and if you will tell us your location, there are probably readers in your area, who will be able to help you find the coins you are looking for. I mentioned APMEX; because that is the dealer I am most familiar with. I would love to learn about other dealers who offer an equally large selection, but so far, no one here has offered a link to anything comparable to the APMEX website. As I said, APMEX is a good place to START your search and will give you some idea of what is available from different parts of the world. Good Luck Please let us know what you find !!
Well, the quick google search is wrong. Russia is considered a European country because it is culturally European, and most of its people live in Europe. It doesn't matter if most of its territory is in Asia. But ask an American to draw you the boundaries of continents, or even to tell you how many continents there are, and you will see blank faces
I moved from the US to the UK back in the '80's. On a visit back to my hometown, I told someone I had moved to England. They said (and I quote), "Wow, England... That's in France, right?" I paused, looked at my conversand and thought about which answer would require the least heavy lifting by me and said, 'Yes, more or less." That said, the English can be just as bad. When I had just moved here from New Jersey, I met someone who excitedly told me they had a friend called 'Mike' who lived in San Francisco. They asked if I might know him. Again, pausing, I said, 'Maybe...'
Thanks guys. I am from Australia, and bullion from America and Europe is pretty good price here and they got a lot of rounds. I can only find the Asian rounds on sites like ebay and stuff and the premium is too much like some sell for $100-200 for just one silver ounce... I wish that they had more dealings with local dealers you know...
