In times of economic instability, the most common strategy people use to preserve their wealth is to invest in silver bars. Purchasing silver is a great way to diversify an investor’s portfolio, and to invest successfully in silver, the investor needs to be well-informed.

Mentioned below are things you should know if you plan to invest in silver bars.

Things to consider

Silver, in its various forms, is widely available in the market today, but factors such as size and purity need to be considered.

Anyone who is keen on building and preserving wealth for a long-term knows that investing in silver is a great tactic. If you are a prudent investor, then you will give a lot of emphasis to the size and type of silver they end up buying. This has to be followed by extensive research on the best dealers in the current market scenario before you end up with a reputable seller.

Forms of silver

Silver bars are available in various forms, and the most commonly traded bars are the bullion. This is an investment grade bar, and its main value lies in the content of silver it contains. Silver bullion is available in a triangle, round, and bar forms all of which are of the same worth regarding weight of bars. They also contain the exact amount of silver, but the preference of some investors lies in shape due to handling and storage reasons. Some investors prefer buying bars and ingots of the same size and brand, as they are easy to stack, thereby reducing the storage space.

Bullion bars

These are available in either triangular or rectangular form and are composed of 0.995 and higher purity of silver. These are mostly produced in weights of 1, 5, 10, 100 ounces and 1 kg and sell just above the current spot price of silver. The resale price of bullion bars is either slightly lower or at the spot price of silver.

Art bars

This is another form of the silver bar, which is called art bars because of the fancy images it contains, which can also comprise of historical depictions. Not only does an art bar have the value of pure silver contained in it, but it is also a collector’s item for art lovers making its value more than the spot price of silver. These bars are unique and beautiful and are meant for purchase by those people who have a collector’s mentality. So, if you want a good resale price on such a bar, then you will have to find a like-minded buyer, who also appreciates collector’s items otherwise spending a premium amount only decreases the consumer’s value.

Familiarity with sizes and silver bars

Most silver bars are sold in troy ounces in increments of 1, 5, 10, 100, and 1000 ounces, and 1 kg. When it comes to purchasing of silver bars, there is no right weight, as it is a personal choice. However, if you want to invest a good portion of the capital to buy silver bars, then you should invest in larger bars, as it will help spare off the higher premium that comes along with fabrication cost of small bars. On the flipside, if you are buying silver bars for a short-term and plan to liquidate soon, then smaller bars are better.

Value of brands

While there is usually no compromise upon the purity of silver on most silver bars, the bars of some brands do cost more than the bars of others. This has several reasons such as the reputation of the brand and scarcity of its products. As most of these reputed brands offer their products on well-known e-commerce sites, this makes it easy for the consumer to research, evaluate, and finally purchase the product.

When an investor has full knowledge of the various forms of silver available in the market, they know that there aren’t too many wrong choices. If you are clear about the purpose of the purchase, then you can easily make decisions that offer maximum return on the investment.

Also, try to avoid buying brand new silver bars all the time. The bright lustrous shine of brand new bars is because they come directly from the mint. However, the most lucrative deals come with second-hand silver bars, which are priced simply by their silver content and not due to the ‘brand new’ tag. If you purchase from a reputable dealer, then the problem of authenticity of second-hand silver bars is not compromised, and it can be purchased at the cost close to the spot price.