You may ask yourself, should I buy silver coins vs rounds? The difference between bars, coins, and rounds can be easily confusing, especially for a beginner. In this article, I will discuss the simple yet important differences between coins and rounds.
Gold and Silver Coins
Coin collecting is a favorite among investors, and for a good reason. So many great gold and silver coin designs are available from multiple well-known mints.
Gold and silver coins have a legal tender and will always hold their face value. Some coins have a unique design each year, making them great for collecting. They usually cost more than the spot price due to this.
Typical coin sizes are one oz., ½ oz., ¼ oz., and 1/10 oz. (with some exceptions). The dimensions can vary from one design to another, so you only stack coins of the same design.
Each coin has an obverse (front of coin) and reverse (back of coin). All coins display the weight, purity, face value, and year somewhere on them.
Benefits of Coins
Collectible
Easily recognizable
Legal tender (although the value of the metal isn’t likely to go below this, the coin will always hold the face value)
Can be easier to use in trade and barter
Can buy silver under spot price when you opt for junk silver
Drawbacks of Coins
You pay more for the “collect-ability” factor
New uncirculated coins sell higher than spot price compared to rounds
Can be hard to stack and store unless purchasing the same design
We Recommend
- US Mint Coins
- Royal Canadian Mint Coins
- Royal Mint Coins
Rounds
Rounds are a great way to buy gold and silver online. Rounds are essentially round discs of metal with a nice design stamped into them. They are similar to buying gold or silver bars. Rounds are more widely available than coins and carry a very low premium over spot price, making them a great way to start investing.
Rounds can be produced by either government or private mints since they are not considered legal tender. They usually have the mint logo or name stamped on them, although not always. Unlike coins, rounds don’t have the year on them as they don’t differ from year-to-year.
Typical sizes of gold or silver rounds are 5 oz., 1 oz., ½ oz., ¼ oz. and 1/10 oz. Most mints keep similar dimensions for all their rounds so you can stack rounds of different designs as long as they are from the same mint.
Benefits of Rounds
Can stack rounds from the same mint (making them easier to store or transport)
Get more for your money (they carry the lowest premium over spot price compared to coins)
Drawbacks of Rounds
A coins vs rounds, its important to remember rounds have no collectible value (don’t change from year to year and are widely available)
Not ideal for trade or barter (not always as easily recognized)
No face value
We Recommend
- Highland Mint Silver Rounds
- Golden State Mint Silver Rounds
Conclusion
Coins vs rounds have their advantages and disadvantages so that is why it’s important to have a wide variety of physical forms of precious metals depending on your needs and reasons for investing!
