CALL 1-800-746-0902 FOR A FREE EVALUATION
Silver is a great precious metal to invest in. It’s a quick way to add diversity to your portfolio and add an asset that has low correlation to stock and bond markets. The metal strikes a balance between two different roles:
Precious metal prices offer a valuable counterbalance to other investments, as they’re driven by market fundamentals different from stocks and bonds.
Silver can be purchased in a wide range of forms. Bullion investors tend to focus on physical bullion, which is made into bars or coins. These products have a manufacturer and a country of origin, which brings up a very important question: how do you sell foreign silver in Canada?
The first thing you need to know about precious metals is that it doesn’t really matter where it comes from. There are some differences between different products that will affect the final price you can get, the number of buyers who will express interest, and how long it will take you to sell, but at the end of the day, real silver is the same, no matter where it comes from.
The best place to sell precious metals is usually a jewellery and bullion buyer. These are experts in the field who buy and sell bullion like gold and silver. When they buy mainstream bullion products, including the most popular bars and coins, they can usually resell them directly to another investor.
At Muzeum, when we buy jewellery and junk silver (more on that later), we tend to recycle it. These products are still valuable, but they have lower silver content and aren’t traded on the investment market, so they are usually scrapped and refined into bullion that’s either investment-grade or ready to be recycled by jewellers or for industrial purposes.
When you sell silver to Muzeum, we offer prices based on two factors:
There are other factors that go into our pricing as well, such as refining costs and overhead, but these are the most important ones to consider.
As a general rule, items that are considered bullion will fetch a higher price than other types of silver. Generally, silver bullion is any item that is 99.9% silver or higher. Many major coins follow this composition pattern, including the American Silver Eagle. Some are even higher, such as the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf at 99.99%, allowing it to command a premium price.
Below, we’ll discuss what prices can look like for non-bullion products as well as how much the country of origin matters.
Silver can take many shapes and forms, regardless of where it’s from. The most common products we handle are coins, bars, jewellery, flatware, and other heirlooms like tea sets or serving trays.
Coins: There is an enormous variety of silver coins. There are both bullion coins and junk silver coins. We’ll discuss the differences between selling them further on.
Bars:Bars are similar in composition to coins, but there is an important difference. Coins are legal currency. They have a face value and can only be made by a national mint. Usually, the face value is worth less than the silver content itself, but it does exist.
Flatware: Many of the world’s best silver flatware brands are based in the U.K. and have been for centuries. If you’ve inherited an older, hallmarked set of silver flatware, you may be able to sell for even more than the value of the metal itself. Bring your set to us to have it evaluated by an expert in antiques and heirlooms.
Jewellery:Silver is one of the most common metals used in the jewellery industry. Earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets, and more can all add up, especially if it’s made of sterling silver.
Heirlooms:Silver was widely used in the manufacturing of a number of household items in the past, including mirror frames, candle holders, holloware (like pitchers, bowls, jugs, and other hollow items), tea and coffee sets, serving trays, photo frames, musical instruments, brushes and combs, vases, and more. These items can be quite hefty and contain a lot of valuable precious metals.
It couldn’t be easier to sell bullion bars and coins, no matter where they’re from. Bring your bullion here to Muzeum or any precious metal buyer, and you should be able to quickly sell your silver. You can check out the prices we offer online listed by weight and precious metal content. As a general rule, international silver coins are just as easy to sell as coins made by the Royal Canadian Mint unless you’re expecting a higher price for its rarity or collectability.
Non-bullion silver coins are commonly referred to as “junk silver.” Before 1965 in the U.S. and before 1968 in Canada, silver content could be found in pocket change. Real silver was used in dollars, half-dollars, quarters, and even dimes (nickel was used for the eponymous 5-cent coin, and bronze was used for pennies). Over time, the precious metal content of circulation coins declined. For example, Canadian half dollars were initially 92.5% silver. After World War I, they were reduced to 80% and were reduced to 50% for a brief period in 1968, before rising silver prices caused the mint to discontinue the use of silver entirely.
Junk silver includes considerably more alloy metals like copper and nickel, and it is almost always recycled unless it has some historical value. Adjust your expectations when it comes to price, but they are still valuable!
At Muzeum, we handle bullion metals, jewellery, and heirlooms like flatware or holloware. When we buy jewellery, the prices we pay are based on weight by gram and karats. Anytime you’re discussing precious metals, karats measure parts per 24, so 12K silver is the same as 50%.
For the most part, jewellery gets recycled and refined into bullion. However, we also have clients who bring us designer brands or vintage and antique jewellery. One reason to bring items like these to Muzeum is that we have the network to find the right buyer for items that might be worth more than their silver content alone. When it comes to brands like Tiffany & Co., Bvlgari, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and so many more, you may get more on the resale market than selling just for its metal value. Talk to us about the market for designer and antique jewellery to maximize profits.
When we discuss the country of origin of silver, we generally mean the manufacturer, not where it was mined. Silver mined out of the ground is found across the world, but the vast majority comes from these 10 countries, ranked from top to lowest producer:
The metals mined in these countries are sold to mints and private refiners all around the world. Most notable mints have their own silver bullion coins and bars, including the Royal Canadian Mint, the U.S. Mint, the Perth Mint (Australia), the South African Mint, the Royal Mint (U.K.), the Austrian Mint, the Chinese Mint, the Mexican Mint, and more. These manufacturers are responsible for some of the most highly-traded coins from around the world.
There are also several private refiners who make high-quality bars that are frequently traded, including Asahi, PAMP Suisse, Provident Metals, and others.
When you come to sell your silver with Muzeum, we know the value of precious metals, and we always buy when the precious metal content is significant enough to make it worth reselling or recycling. We can test any silver you bring us with our XRF technology. It allows us to get a completely accurate composition of the metal without damaging it.
That said, the mint or manufacturer of your silver product can impact the liquidity of your investment. Coins from well-known mints will be easier to sell and may even get a better price than commemorative coins, novelty coins or coins and bars made by lesser-known manufacturers. However, if it’s real silver, it will always be worth something to us.
Now that you know everything there is to know about selling foreign silver, you may be wondering if it’s worth investing in. Many investors turn to silver as a way to hedge against inflation and stock markets, and it can play an important role in your investment portfolio.
Canadian investors have the advantage of living in a country with some of the best and most widely traded silver coins in the world. The Royal Canadian Mint is known for its high-quality, 99.99% Silver Canadian Maple Leaf coins. With one of the world’s best silver products available in abundance right here in Canada, is it worth investing in foreign silver?
It all depends on the prices. There are many reputable coins and bars made around the world. If you can find foreign silver offered at a lower price than a Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, it can be very worthwhile. Some investors may also look at larger formats, such as kilogram bars made by refiners like Asahi or 100-gram bars by PAMP Suisse, to save more per ounce. These are reliable strategies for saving on silver.
Comments will be approved before showing up.