Buy Silver
Silver Buying Made Simple and Fair
Silver Bars, Coins, and Rounds
All Welcome – No Appointment Needed
Call ahead to check availability when you want specific silver bars or coins.
Why Buy Silver
As a precious metal, silver holds intrinsic value and is often sought after as an investment, a means to store wealth, and as a potential safeguard against inflation or economic uncertainty. Its lower price, compared to gold, makes it more affordable and accessible to a wider range of investors. Silver is typically a better option for individuals looking to incrementally build their precious metal wealth over time. With its lower cost per ounce, you can add silver to your collection as your budget permits and seize opportunities from price fluctuations, a practice known as dollar-cost averaging. This slow, steady accumulation strategy is more challenging with gold due to its higher price point. A similar approach with gold would require purchasing one-gram gold bars, approximately equivalent to buying three ounces of silver. The premiums on smaller gold bars and coins are quite high relative to their actual gold value, making them a less efficient use of your money. Silver, due to its affordability and the opportunity to buy in smaller, more manageable increments, is an excellent choice for those looking to gradually and effectively build a collection of precious metals.
In addition to its role as a store of wealth, silver is renowned for its diverse uses. While some applications, like photography, have declined over time, silver is still widely used in industries such as: solar panels, water filtration, electronics, jewellery, silverware, and medicine, where it is valued for its antimicrobial properties. Current and future uses of silver contribute to driving its price as an investment. When demand outstrips supply, prices inevitably rise.
How Silver Prices are Determined
Market Prices
This is the biggest driver of how we price the silver bars, coins, and rounds that we sell. There is a global market that trades in precious metals, like silver, in both the spot and the futures markets. Physical silver as well as derivatives like options or ETFs are traded during market hours Monday to Friday. The spot price of silver changes by the second and our prices are based off this number. The price in the global market is very reactive to geopolitical events, economic news and indicators, supply and demand, interest rates, time, and many other factors.
Bar Charges
When a silver bar, coin, or round is made the mint or refiner will charge a fabrication fee per piece when they sell it. This charge is to offset the cost of physically making it and is in addition to the price of the silver the object contains. The amount of the bar charge varies by item and by maker. These charges are fairly stable however they do change over time. They also respond to changes in supply and demand and sometimes change drastically resulting in big price shifts. Shortages of new US Mint Silver Eagle coins in 2022 and 2023 resulted in giant increases in bar charges and a retail price much higher than similar coins. Typically, the bar charges on coins are bigger than the equivalent size of bars, due to their more complex artistic designs and features. Also, important to note that the smaller the silver bar or coin is, the greater impact the bar charge has on the total price i.e., it will cost you more to buy ten 1/2-ounce silver bars than it will cost to buy one 5-ounce silver bar.
Supply and Demand
Whenever there is a shift in the supply or demand of silver in general or for particular silver bars/coins this will be reflected in the price. At a macro level you will see this in the shift of the global inter-market price of silver. When demand outpaces supply for specific bars or coins you may see their price jump up relative to a similar coin or bar.
Some silver buyers will pay premiums to get silver bars or coins from specific mints or refiners due to their international reputation and recognizability.
The tax treatment of different silver items can also impact buyers’ preferences.
Like gold coins there are many examples of silver coins that are priced as collectibles rather than for their silver. Note: We are not a numismatics, or coin collecting, shop and do not grade the condition of coins or sell them as collector’s items.
Mark Up
Like any business our prices include margin to cover the costs of running the business, paying our staff, and to make a profit.
Market Volatility
A subset of the global silver market is volatility – when prices fluctuate rapidly and/or make big moves. Volatility increases uncertainty and can impact the prices charged. During periods of volatile markets, spreads are usually widened as protection.
Taxes
In Canada most silver bars, ingots, coins, and wafers are not subject to HST if they contain a minimum purity of 99.9% silver. All other silver items such as sterling silver (92.5%) are sold subject to HST.
Currency
We offer prices to our customers in both Canadian Dollars (CAD) and US Dollars (USD). The global market for silver, and most assets, is priced in USD. For those buying silver using CAD the exchange rate with USD will impact the price you pay. When CAD is strong and gains value against the USD, it will make silver cheaper relative to the Canadian Dollar. When CAD weakens against the USD, you will pay more in CAD for the same amount of silver.
Silver Bars
Silver bars are often preferred by buyers who plan on building their silver investments over time. The larger sizes of bars available, compared to coins, make it both easier to store/move/count as well as being cheaper (less bar charges to pay for the same ounces of silver). Ranging in size from one gram to 1000 ounces there are sizes of silver bars for most any investor’s budget and strategy. With silver’s lower value compared to gold there are many companies producing a wide variety of silver bars. Pricing on silver bars is typically less subject to the premiums of silver coins however some bars and makers do attract buyers willing to pay more for them.
Range of Sizes
Common sizes are: 1 gram and 1 kilogram bars. 1/2, 1, 2, 5, 10 20, 50, 100, and 1000 Troy Ounces.
Recognized Standard
Mints and refiners well known around the world including The Royal Canadian Mint, Johnson Matthey, Pamp Suisse, and Asahi produce silver bars with their mark and purity clearly identifiable.
Silver Coins
Silver coins have long been used, and were the primary form of currency in everyday life for hundreds of years. In Canada and the USA, dollars, half-dollars, quarters, dimes, and even nickels were made of silver alloys (up to 92.5% silver) until the mid/late 1960s. While some invest in silver by buying bags of old circulating silver, like US 90% coins, most buyers are attracted to the fine silver coins put out by mints like the US Mint’s Silver Eagle. Backed by the reputations of the mints these silver coins are usually 99.9% pure silver or finer. They are recognized around the world and are easy to buy, hold, and sell.
Legal Tender
Many silver coins have a face value to them and can be used in the country of issue as money. Note: The value of the silver greatly exceeds the face value of them. For some buyers the legal currency status of them is a plus.
Style, Design, and Features
Silver coins appeal to buyers for their designs, intricate engraving, and more recently for their features. More recently made coins like the Royal Canadian Mint’s Silver Maple Leaf contain security features like micro engraving and BULLION DNATM a proprietary technology to authenticate them.
