"What's the best way to buy silver?"

 

At lunch on Saturday, I asked the guy who would know... my longtime friend Michael Checkan of Asset Strategies International.

 

I've personally relied on Michael for his straight-up opinions since we first met in the 1990s. He's been a dealer of precious metals and foreign currencies for the last 44 years.

 

So who would know the best way to buy silver better than Michael?

 

One of Michael's favorite ideas today is "junk silver."

 

You buy junk silver for the low price and the convenience.

 

Junk silver isn't junk, really... It's simply U.S. silver coins minted before 1965 that have no collector's value today. They're just valued for their metal content.

 

It doesn't matter if it's dimes, nickels, or quarters in a bag of junk silver coins... All these coins minted before 1965 contain 90% silver by weight.

 

Right now, junk silver trades at a much lower premium over melt value than silver coins minted yesterday at the U.S. Mint.

 

Your typical one-ounce Silver Eagle coins produced yesterday at the U.S. Mint sell at a premium of about 10% to 12% over their melt value. (Typically, the more coins you buy, the lower the premium over melt value you pay.)

 

But when you buy bags of junk silver coins these days, you pay a premium of only around 4%.

 

You might think a 100-ounce bar of silver would sell for a lower premium over melt value than a bag of junk silver coins. But right now at least, that's not the case. Silver bars sell at a premium of between 4% and 5% over melt value.

 

Why are the old silver coins cheaper than the coins and bars minted yesterday? Refining silver and minting coins costs money... so the mints need to charge a premium over melt value. But those old silver coins already exist, no minting or refining required. Right now, supply and demand has kept the prices of junk silver coins cheap.

 

My friend Dr. David Eifrig (who writes the Retirement Millionaire newsletter) likes junk silver coins for their convenience in a worst-case scenario:

 

One thing you need to know about bags of silver coins: They're darn heavy.

 

You typically buy junk silver in "$1,000 face value" increments. That works out to over $21,000 for the bag... and it weighs something like 55 pounds. (As my friend the late Burt Blumert from Camino Coins used to tell me, "The hernia comes free with each bag.")

 

But if you like the idea of junk silver, Michael Checkan is kind enough to break the bags down into smaller increments... A $100 face value bag is one-tenth that size. It costs around $2,100 and weighs just 5.5 pounds.

 

Michael says bags of junk silver are the best way to get started in owning actual precious metals. They're cheaper than American Eagle silver coins, and they're more practical (and surprisingly cheaper) than silver bars.

 

For more on my longtime friend Michael and his business, visit www.AssetStrategies.com.

 

Good investing,

 

Steve