Understanding Your Silver Options
Investors seeking physical silver have several options: 90% silver bags (junk silver), modern bullion coins like American Silver Eagles, silver bars, and silver rounds. Each offers distinct characteristics worth understanding.
90% silver bags and bullion coins are the most common choices for individual investors. Understanding their differences helps you choose the right product or combination for your investment goals.
90% Silver Bags: Constitutional Silver
90% silver bags contain pre-1965 U.S. dimes, quarters, and half dollars minted with 90% silver content. A $1000 face value bag contains approximately 715 troy ounces of pure silver. The history of U.S. circulating coinage provides background on these historic coins.
Key advantages include lower premiums (often 2-5% vs 4-6% for bullion), excellent divisibility (individual coins for small transactions), instant recognition, and no counterfeiting concerns with authentic U.S. coins.
Limitations include lower purity (90% vs 99.9%), no IRA eligibility, and coins showing circulation wear. These trade-offs may or may not matter depending on your goals.
Modern Bullion Coins: American Silver Eagle & Others
Modern bullion coins like the American Silver Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf, and British Britannia are minted from .999 or .9999 fine silver. Each contains exactly 1 troy ounce of silver. For detailed specifications, see the U.S. Mint American Silver Eagle specifications.
Advantages include higher purity, IRA eligibility, pristine condition, and strong global recognition. Premiums are typically 4-6% over spot for standard coins.
The higher premium means less silver content per dollar spent compared to 90% bags, but IRA eligibility and purity standards may be important for some investors.
Head-to-Head Comparison
For maximum silver content per dollar: 90% silver bags typically win due to lower premiums.
For IRA eligibility: Modern bullion coins are required; 90% silver does not qualify.
For divisibility: 90% silver offers more options with individual dimes, quarters, and halves.
For purity: Modern bullion (.999+) exceeds 90% silver (0.900).
Making Your Choice
For most investors, the choice depends on specific goals. If IRA eligibility matters, bullion coins are required. If maximizing silver content per dollar is the priority, 90% bags often offer better value.
Many investors hold both: bullion for IRAs and long-term holdings, 90% silver for divisibility and barter potential. This combination leverages the strengths of each product type.
Your storage capacity, transaction size preferences, and view on premiums should guide your allocation between product types. For additional context, see 90% silver coin bag product information.