Top 5 Privately minted silver coins

This coin was minted from the United States Strategic Stockpile of Silver in San Francisco that existed at the time.  On one side this coin has a representation of a Bald Eagle in front of an American Flag and on the other the mark of the US Assay Office which describes its origin.On the obverse side these coins, which borrow from the design of an older United States nickel, have a profile of the proud head of a stoic native American under the inscription “LIBERTY,” .  On the reverse side a profile of a great plains buffalo, both symbols of the true pioneers’ dependence upon and care of the land.On the obverse side this coin has a representation of an eagle flying with its wings extended and its talons open in front of the shining sun with the inscription “Silver Eagle” surrounding it and on the reverse side the inscription “One Troy Ounce” and “Sunshine Minting” to indicate its origin.  The Sunshine Mint has recently changed the reverse side design to incorporate a specialized "Mint Mark"into the design as a way for collectors to verify the coin's authenticity.View the list »
On the obverse side this coin has an impression of a pick in a rounded square which is surrounded by the words “Pan American Silver Corp,” one of the world’s leading silver companies which supplies the silver used in these coins.  On the reverse is a detailed depiction of a miner with a large drill chipping away at the ceiling in a mineshaft, surrounded by the words “One Troy Ounce .999 Silver” and “Northwest Territorial Mint,” the fine mint which makes these coins.

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The price of silver took an extraordinary drop in the commodity markets which plunged the spot price, or the price per ounce of silver to be delivered immediately, to $29.85. Silver often trades in concert with gold, largely due to the perception that silver and gold are more than industrial metals, to many people, they are natural currency substitutes.

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However, while gold is still held by Central Banks as a part of their reserves and is fundamentally situated in the currency space, silver, for the most part, has been completely demonetized and in practice has a usage profile more akin to an industrial metal.

For this reason, the physical supply of silver available of investment, which for the general public often takes the form of coinage, has become increasingly scarce. Drops in the silver price, like the one experienced yesterday, often lead to increased demand for one ounce silver coins.

While there is a great deal of knowledge about the one ounce silver coins minted by the United States and Royal Canadian Mints, the Silver American Eagle and the Silver Canadian Maple Leaf, silver investors often seek out privately minted silver coins which contain an equivalent amount of silver and often carry a smaller premium over the spot price than the coins issued by national mints.

The following are five of the most popular privately minted coins.

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  • On the obverse side this coin has an impression of a pick in a rounded square which is surrounded by the words “Pan American Silver Corp,” one of the world’s leading silver companies which supplies the silver used in these coins.  On the reverse is a detailed depiction of a miner with a large drill chipping away at the ceiling in a mineshaft, surrounded by the words “One Troy Ounce .999 Silver” and “Northwest Territorial Mint,” the fine mint which makes these coins.
  • On the obverse side this coin has a representation of an eagle flying with its wings extended and its talons open in front of the shining sun with the inscription “Silver Eagle” surrounding it and on the reverse side the inscription “One Troy Ounce” and “Sunshine Minting” to indicate its origin.  The Sunshine Mint has recently changed the reverse side design to incorporate a specialized "Mint Mark"into the design as a way for collectors to verify the coin's authenticity.
  • On the obverse side these coins, which borrow from the design of an older United States nickel, have a profile of the proud head of a stoic native American under the inscription “LIBERTY,” .  On the reverse side a profile of a great plains buffalo, both symbols of the true pioneers’ dependence upon and care of the land.
  • This coin was minted from the United States Strategic Stockpile of Silver in San Francisco that existed at the time.  On one side this coin has a representation of a Bald Eagle in front of an American Flag and on the other the mark of the US Assay Office which describes its origin.
  • On the obverse side this coin has the classic Engelhard representation of a Prospector kneeling down to pan for gold surrounded by a dotted edge and the inscriptions “U.S.A.”, “The American Prospector,” and the year that the coin was struck.  On the reverse side the classic Engelhard “E”  inside a globe like circle is surrounded by the inscriptions “Engelhard” above to indicate its mintage and “One Troy Ounce 999+ Fine Silver” below to indicate its weight and silver content, all surrounded by the same dotted edging found on the coins obverse side.  Engelhard has also minted these popular coins with an American Eagle design on the obverse side.
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, Portland Personal Finance Examiner

David Mint has a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Colorado State University and an MBA from the Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. He has over 15 years of experience in Accounting, Finance, Treasury, and Information Systems Consulting positions both in the United States and Spain. ...

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