How to Invest in Silver the Right Way | The Motley Fool

If you have silver bullion for sale, you have either silver bars, ingots, or silver coins and from various mints. The purity of the silver bullion range between 99.5% to 99.9% This is due to the refining process after the silver is mined from the ground.. Miners will mine the ore and extract the silver through chemical or heat processes in their mills which is known as dore. The mines then typically ship the Dore off to the refinery to go through the refining process to turn the silver into investment Grade.

The extracted silver will either be unparted or parted silver. Unparted silver is silver that is still in granule form before being melted into a bullion bar. The word “bullion” refers to a melting-house where they refine metal ore. Bullion is an Anglo-Saxton term and comes from French bouillon, meaning “boiling”. 

Traditionally refining silver Dore through adding heat and chemicals such as Aqua Regia has been the method to remove impurities from the metal. After the chemical treatment, the silver is re-melted down into granules. Refiners can see their reflections in the molten silver when they burn off all the impurities before pouring. Silver is not only used for investment but it is also a highly reflective material, and they use silver to manufacture mirrors.

Refineries sell silver in troy ounces and kilo bars. They will usually not deal with the public and sell to a reputable bullion dealer. A troy ounce is approximately 3 grams heavier than an imperial ounce. A troy ounce of silver is 31.10 grams and an imperial ounce is 28.35 grams. 

If you want to buy or sell silver bullion it is recommended that you deal with a reputable bullion dealer who will deal with the refinery.

To buy or sell silver bullion will be easier now that you know the weight, purity, and spot price of silver. To whom you will sell your silver will depend on how much time you have available to sell the silver bullion. You should apply the same marketing principles in selling your silver bullion as other products. 

It means that you need to do some research to establish comparative pricing with the various bullion dealers in your city. You should determine the minimum amount that you will accept before selling your silver. If the price is below the benchmark, you should not hesitate to walk away from the transaction. Also ask the dealer how they pay? You might want to be paid in cash when the bullion dealer only pays in cheques. Another issue is buying large quantities of gold and silver bullion. Make sure you have removed all your bank restrictions because often the bank limits how much you can purchase in one day.

Like everything else in life, selling silver bullion requires a little bit of planning and research to achieve your objectives. If you follow these basic principles, you will be able to offload your silver bullion at the best possible price.