Quick straw poll to see if people prefer 999 fine silver over less fine coins like sterling (925) or less like the 90% 1948 Mexican coins, or 80% Aust 50c pieces. So in a nutshell, ignoring the coin design, if there was coin/round for sale for $30 of 1 ounce 999 fine would you prefer that to say a 90% fine coin for $27 ? Or is it irrelevant ?
Have thought about this on and off and i know that they still have a 'silver content' but I still can't go past the 'pure' 999 even if price per silver content is the same or slightly less. Hope that doesn't make me a silver snob. :/
If you are comparing a plain 999 round with no numismatic value to a 1966 50 in bullion condition then the only advantage the round has is that it can be melted down whereas it is illegal to melt down the 1966 50. If you are comparing a possible numismatic (lunar, kook, koala etc) then I would prefer that. Overall though - a coin will always have a possible numismatic value compared to a lump of silver so that would always be my preference. malachii
yes I would go with 999 or finer any day , I dont know why even make a modern coin with less purity , maybe the brittanias but that is because they have always done it that way , I think..same goes for gold .. and as a side note I also like coins in either ounce(1/10,1/4 1/2 ect. or gram incriments, 5,10,100 ect.), an example is the Canada flower shaped 2012 silver dragon I love the design but why 26.7 gram 999 silver??? also with 999 it can be used to make alloys for jewelry or whatever instead of haveing to refine it first
I think its advantagious to have the purity and weight on the coin which is why i like forms of bullion, i also like the old mexico stuff and panama, peru etc that states purity and weight on the coin .. but yeah .. .999 for bullion Numismatics its not nearly as important as there are other factors driving my demand. The problem with int'l numismatics is that there is generally only a localised knowledge of purity so unless your dealing with an expert usually references are required to est'b purity and weight (lol scales are good also). 1for1
Durability. Pure coins won't stand up to every day use. Different for collector coins but pure coins for circulation would wear out to quickly. malachii
Becoming less of a 999 purist since I'm finding some spanking limited Ed's in 925 that are HOTHOTHOT! So guess I'm sitting on the fence on this one right now - bullion bars & coins 999 preferred - limited coins/pretty things/shiny porn? Don't mind - depends what it is... The Royal Mint UK 2006 Britannia silhouette 6-coin set I just acquired is absolutely gorgeous from an aesthetic pov, but then again the amazing 10oz 999 Pan-Pacific 1915 design octagonal slug is too... Lucky to be able to pick & choose I guess... x
Yep ,unless your moving it to dealers or on here most people don't like anything that's not pure Only exception is numis stuff
I prefer 999 but am happy with 40% 50% 80% 925 etc. I picked up some really beautiful and obscure Sterling and Britannia proof coins for under half spot price this week in a case 2.8oz for under $12 oz asw its was that sort of price 5-6 years ago. Either no one wanted it? or no one knew the set was mostly silver i guess?
If available at the same effective price, would always take the pure. I remember reading some newspaper article from 1980 (sorry no ref), that dealers at the time were paying a big premium for pure silver, because the refineries were so backlogged with sterling etc. to refine, they weren't taking any more. So my thinking is that if silver does go 'to da moon', pure will be much easier to shift when you want to shift it, at a much better price.
I also prefer the .999 when possible but I don't mind the $10 coins and the pre dec only if I can get them at spot or under. But I think you will have to be prepared to sell them under spot also when you need to sell. Don't mind the 50c either as they are very liquid to sell and sometimes you can get a great premium over spot.
