Buy Silver in Singapore

Buy Silver in Singapore 2012

Lately, I have been having some bizarre interest in collecting silver coins. It just feels cool to actually own silver knowing that this used to be used as currency across history. But as a pretty newbie to silver, I won't call my purchases as investing in silver just yet. Nevertheless, I have been reading up quite a fair bit about silver coins to know how much a troy ounce actually weighs. And it is interesting to find out a whole new domain of knowledge literally about investing in silver bullion coins, using it as a hedge against inflation, etc.

Well, the first thing to realise is that it is not too difficult to buy silver in Singapore. I am not talking about investing in silver through ETFs but really owning physical silver bars and coins. There are actually quite a few companies that sells silver bullion. Here are the few things that I have learnt about silver coins thus far:

1. Buy silver coins or bars that are widely recognised

• This seems to be the advice that people are giving in various forums. Coins widely recognised include the American Silver Eagle and the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf. There are others like the Australian Silver Kookaburra from Perth Mint and also the Austrian Silver Vienna Philharmonic.

2. Silver Coins Trade Above Spot Price

• One can check the spot price for silver easily on kitco or some other website. However, silver coins often trade or are sold above the spot price of silver. Even on Ebay, they trade above the spot price.
• Silver price has been increasing slowly.

3. Places to Buy Silver in Singapore [Grabbed this off another forum]

• www.1silver1.com (Website is a bit slow so need to be patient)
• www.silverag.com.sg
• www.silverbullion.com.sg
• www.yashabullion.com
• www.goldprice.com.sg
• www.goldsilvercentral.com.sg
• www.royalsmithbullion.com

Many of these shops have a minimum order (e.g. 20 x 1 oz coins) or a minimum purchase of $2000. Some of them have minimum orders of 500 oz and based on today's price of silver, will literally cost you a 20 over grand (estimated $48++ for a 1 oz silver coin). So you really have to be serious about it before making a purchase. The first link actually allows customers to buy 1 oz silver bar as a minimum order. But it is a Scottsdale silver bar and I am not certain that it is as widely recognised as the other silver coins.

4. Buying off Ebay

If you prefer to buy loose pieces, you can always buy them off Ebay. However, prices are slightly higher when you do not buy in bulk. Many sellers also do not ship to Singapore.