Best Silver Coins for New Investors

Silver coins have long been one of humanity’s most popular investment vehicles. Precious metals are safe haven assets, which means that they tend to retain value during times of economic insecurity or downturn. 

But even among investors who have little interest in diversifying their portfolios with precious metals, the appeal of a quality silver coin is hard to deny. 

The problem? There are hundreds of different silver coins on the market. New investors may feel overwhelmed by just how many silver coins are available for purchase. Finding the right coins can be a fun and enjoyable process – as long as investors are willing to do a little bit of research. 

Luckily, we’ve got your back. Today, we’re bringing readers a ranked list of the best silver coins for new investors. To make this guide, we’ve channeled decades of our team’s combined experience to help new collectors gain their footing in the complicated world of precious metals. 

Buying Silver for the First Time

If you’re a new investor, it might seem overwhelming to see how many different ways there are to invest in silver. Even once you’ve settled on silver bullion coins, the variety of coins on the global market may make it hard for brand new stackers to pick the right item for their collection.

Before we get into our list of the best silver coins for new investors to buy, let’s take a look at how silver coins stack up to the other silver products we sell – silver bars and rounds. 

Silver Coins Vs. Rounds

To the new investor, silver coins and rounds look nearly identical. Their shape is similar – both coins and rounds are circular and feature a shining silver surface. Spotting the difference between a coin and round at first glance might seem impossible, especially if you’re new to precious metal investing. 

The great news is that it’s actually pretty simple to find the difference between silver coins and rounds. And if we’re going to help you find some of the best silver coins for new investors, you’ll have to know how these two products are distinct. 

Silver rounds can be produced by any mint. Private mints produce the lion’s share of silver rounds. If you look closely, you’ll probably notice that silver rounds generally contain more inconsistencies and markings than silver coins. Silver coins are, by comparison, very consistent and almost always free of any minting errors. This is because silver coins, unlike rounds, can only be produced by government mints. 

If a circular silver product is produced publicly by a sovereign mint like the U.S. or British Royal Mint, then it’s a coin. If it is minted privately without the backing of a government, then it’s a round! Pretty simple, right? 

Silver Bars or Coins: Which is Better? 

We won’t insult your intelligence here. You undoubtedly understand the difference between silver bars or coins. But this guide isn’t about bars – we’re talking today about the best silver coins for new investors. So why didn’t we choose to make this guide all about silver bars? Let’s take a look at one of the most important questions we get from new investors: are silver coins better than bars? 

Silver bars certainly have their own place in almost every investment portfolio. Bars come with lower premiums, and they might be easier to stack when on a budget than silver coins or rounds. 

We tend to recommend silver coins to new investors for a couple of reasons. First, silver coins are extremely beautiful. Compared to bars, silver coins make up a bulk of the silver sold by popular mints like the United States Mint. Additionally, silver coins offer an important advantage over silver bars: silver coins have numismatic value. 

Numismatics refers to the value a coin offers over the market price of its underlying precious metal content. Coins with numismatic value give investors another way to profit. Even if the spot price of silver stagnates, coins that are valuable to collectors may continue to make you profit in the long run.  

Why Buy Silver Coins?

The numismatic value of a silver coin is certainly one reason we recommend silver coins to new investors. The best silver coins for new investors combine a high silver fineness with extreme numismatic value. When you add these coins to your portfolio, you’re not just betting on the price of silver. 

Instead, the best silver coins for new investors might appreciate in value over time, even if silver declines or enters a bear market. 

Silver Premiums Explained

When investors first start searching for the best silver coins for new investors, premiums are one big thing that trips them up. They aren’t alone, either. If we polled 100 silver stackers and asked their least favorite thing about stacking silver, a significant majority would say they hate paying premiums. 

A silver premium refers to the price you pay for a silver product over its melt value. Melt value, or the amount of money that the silver alone in your coin, bar, or round is worth, is only part of what you’ll find on a silver coin’s price tag. 

Are silver premiums worth it? That’s for you to decide. A low premium alternative to the best silver coins for new investors is the silver bar. Silver bars offer the same purity of silver as many popular coins – but without the high premiums. 

How to Find the Best Silver coins 

Don’t worry – we’ll get to the best silver coins for new investors soon. But before we do that, we wanted to give you a few tips for finding the best coins. After all, this guide is only the beginning of your research efforts as you search for your next silver coin to invest in. 

Comparing silver coin prices, estimating resale value, and tracking auction and sale results are 3 ways you can find the best silver coins in 2024

Comparing Silver Coin Prices

Even when we’re comparing silver coins against one another, there are clear winners. If you’re stacking silver on a budget, it might be helpful to compare prices on the most popular silver coins. Generally, we find that the best silver coins for new investors are those that offer low premiums and high investor demand. 

If you’re able to get your hands on some of these coins, they allow you to stack silver without wasting your money on unnecessary precious metal premiums. To compare silver prices, make sure you know the current spot price of silver. 

When you subtract the spot price of silver from the total listed price of a silver coin, you have the actual premium cost you’re paying for your investment. For us, the lower the premium means the better the deal! 

Estimating Resale Value for Silver Coins 

This method for finding the best silver coins for new investors is quite a bit trickier. If you plan on investing in silver coins for the long term, you’ll want to develop at least some sense of which coins are likely to gain value over time. 

As you learn more about buying and selling silver coins, you’ll develop a sixth sense for which coins are becoming more valuable to collectors. For now, your best friends should be auctions and coin dealer websites. 

Tracking Auction and Sale Results

Both auction results and online dealer websites can help you learn about the best silver coins for new investors. In fact, even seasoned investors can benefit from tracking results on popular auction sites. When a coin becomes more valuable and rare to collectors, the premium required to purchase this coin will increase as well. 

Auction sites are one of our favorite ways to track silver coin values. Coin value guides can be helpful to newbies who are trying to get a better understanding of what coins are generally worth. But nothing beats verified auction results, because auctions tell you how much silver coins are actually selling for. 

Best Silver Coins for New Investors in 2023

Now that you have a bit of background and advice about how to find the cheapest silver coins, it’s time to take a look at the best silver coins for new investors in 2023. The rise of the internet has made it easier than ever for silver stackers to compare prices, order coins, and liquidate their portfolios when the time is right. 

We’ve selected four coins as our picks for the best silver coins for new investors: 90% junk silver coins, the American Silver Eagle, Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, and the British Silver Britannia Coin. These four coins balance beauty, desirability, and pure silver to make themselves excellent choices for new and seasoned silver investors alike. 

90% Junk Silver Coins 

Sometimes also called constitutional silver, 90% junk silver coins are a classic method of investing in silver. Compared to some other silver coins, junk silver can offer a high percentage of pure silver at a drastically reduced premium. 

For junk silver investors, quantity means savings. Buying a large number of low quality junk silver coins can help you improve your silver stacking game with beautiful silver pieces without breaking the bank on unnecessary premiums. 

Hero Bullion sells a wide range of junk silver products to help you stack. Some investors only buy junk silver for the 90% silver they contain. But others love the classic look of many silver bullion currency pieces from early American history. Regardless of which camp you fall into, we’re confident that junk silver is one of the best silver coins for new investors. 

American Silver Eagle Coin 

The American Silver Eagle Coin is controversial among some silver stackers. The coin is a certified American classic and has been used as a silver investment tool for decades. In fact, the American Silver Eagle is even IRA eligible, which gives collectors another way to build their future with bullion. 

But the high recognizability and collectability of the American Silver Eagle comes at a price. Expect to pay exceptionally high premiums over spot on many American Silver Eagle Coins. Hero Bullion works hard to offer some of the most competitive prices anywhere on these American icons. Still, silver stackers looking for a low priced silver option might consider another coin over the Silver Eagle. 

On the obverse of this coin, you’ll find a classic – Lady Liberty. She wears her gown and walks toward a rising sun while holding a bundle of olive branches in her left arm. On the reverse of this .999 fine silver coin, another American symbol, the American bald eagle, makes its appearance. It also carries an olive branch in its talons. 

Canadian Silver Maple Leaf Coin 

Our neighbors to the North also offer one of the best silver coins for new investors. The Canadian Maple is minted using a higher purity than the Silver Eagle, clocking in at .9999 fineness. On the obverse, you’ll always find Great Britain’s current monarch. Until 2023, this was Queen Elizabeth II. Following her death, it’s likely that future editions of the popular coin will feature King Charles III. 

On the reverse, this exceptionally beautiful Canadian silver coin gets its name. The back of the coin includes a detailed depiction of the Canadian maple leaf, which remains Canada’s most potent symbol and cultural icon.

British Silver Britannia Coin 

We’ll round off this short list of the best silver coins for new investors with one of the world’s most recognizable coins. Even if you’re not an experienced silver stacker, you probably know what the British Silver Britannia Coin looks like. This bullion piece is also minted with .9999 fine silver and features Britain’s current leader on the obverse. 

The reverse is where the Britannia really garners a reputation as one of the world’s most beautiful silver coins. Here, you’ll see Lady Britannia, who is one of Britain’s oldest symbols. Like the depiction of Liberty on the Silver Eagle, she wears a robe. She carries both a trident and the shield of Great Britain. 

Final Thoughts: Best Silver Coins for New Investors 

We realize that it can be hard for new silver stackers to figure out which coins are right for them. While the best silver coins for new investors might vary based on your own personal preferences, we’re confident that the coins on our list represent some of the most recognizable, valuable, and beautiful silver coins that the world has to offer. 

We’re always happy to answer any questions you may have as you continue researching silver coins. Contact our customer service team anytime for custom advice. 

You might also be interested in: 

• Best Silver for Stacking
• Cheapest Gold Coins to Buy
• Security Features on Britannia Coins