Question about these legally tender Canadian coins

[monbux]

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Lot-of-5-2014-Canada-1-Troy-Oz-9999-Silver-Maple-Leaf-5-Coins-SKU30323/141202140230?pt=US_Bullion_Coins&hash=item20e04dac46
So the face value is $5, but it is 1 Troy Ounce... if I were to bring this to a bank, would I get $5 + price of silver for it, or just for the spot price of silver?  Or is it something entirely different?

[djjacket]

A bank is only going to give you the Fiat value of the coin.  Banks do not deal with the silver spot price. 

The only way you would ever cash them in for the fiat face value would be if silver crashed to below $5/oz.  ie - probably never.

[monbux]

A bank is only going to give you the Fiat value of the coin.  Banks do not deal with the silver spot price. 

The only way you would ever cash them in for the fiat face value would be if silver crashed to below $5/oz.  ie - probably never.

Wait - so I go to a bank, and they'll give me $5 for a coin?  Can I go to like a local silver dealer and sell it to them for the silver spot price instead?

Overall, is that ebay link a good deal in terms of investment?

[djjacket]

A bank is only going to give you the Fiat value of the coin.  Banks do not deal with the silver spot price. 

The only way you would ever cash them in for the fiat face value would be if silver crashed to below $5/oz.  ie - probably never.

Wait - so I go to a bank, and they'll give me $5 for a coin?  Can I go to like a local silver dealer and sell it to them for the silver spot price instead?

Overall, is that ebay link a good deal in terms of investment?

Silver dealer will likely pay you under spot for the coins since they are looking to buy to resell as a business.  You could probably sell to someone directly at spot. 

You best bet is to buy at the lowest premium over spot.

[jcoin200]

A bank is only going to give you the Fiat value of the coin.  Banks do not deal with the silver spot price. 

The only way you would ever cash them in for the fiat face value would be if silver crashed to below $5/oz.  ie - probably never.

Wait - so I go to a bank, and they'll give me $5 for a coin?  Can I go to like a local silver dealer and sell it to them for the silver spot price instead?

Overall, is that ebay link a good deal in terms of investment?

That is actually a decent price, only about $2 more than at JM Bullion.  If your trying to buy and sell them quickly, that probably wont happen, although theres lot of talk about global financial crisis sending PM's skyhigh.  I think it is a possiblilty.

But, if you are looking at silver, I'd say definitely stick with the government minted coins (Maples, Eagles, Philharmonics), they will always be easiest to sell if you need to, and will get you the best premium over spot.

[elianite]

This may be part myth, but my understanding is that a cool function of having a low monetary value to these coins is that they can never be confiscated by the government. For example;  if they were to outlaw the owning of gold & silver bullion, those coins couldn't be taken since they are 'cash'. Similarly, you can often not cross borders easily if carrying over a certain amount of 'monetary instruments'. Lets assume you have 100 1oz gold coins with $50 face value. In reality you have over 100K of value, but are 'officially just carrying $5000 in cash.

Yes, the bank (or anyone else) would accept a gold $50 coin at face value, but youd be insane to give it to them (unless, gold fell below $50/oz).

On that note, I have some some $20 coins that are 7.5g of 999 silver. Im willing to sell them for BTC equivalent plus shipping.

[monbux]

A bank is only going to give you the Fiat value of the coin.  Banks do not deal with the silver spot price. 

The only way you would ever cash them in for the fiat face value would be if silver crashed to below $5/oz.  ie - probably never.

Wait - so I go to a bank, and they'll give me $5 for a coin?  Can I go to like a local silver dealer and sell it to them for the silver spot price instead?

Overall, is that ebay link a good deal in terms of investment?

That is actually a decent price, only about $2 more than at JM Bullion.  If your trying to buy and sell them quickly, that probably wont happen, although theres lot of talk about global financial crisis sending PM's skyhigh.  I think it is a possiblilty.

But, if you are looking at silver, I'd say definitely stick with the government minted coins (Maples, Eagles, Philharmonics), they will always be easiest to sell if you need to, and will get you the best premium over spot.

I'm not planning to sell them right after - maybe create a small collection, but if I were to really want to sell them, I want to make sure that I can get back most of my invested amount.  So these coins, I could sell for over $100 USD right now, easily, correct?

[jcoin200]

A bank is only going to give you the Fiat value of the coin.  Banks do not deal with the silver spot price. 

The only way you would ever cash them in for the fiat face value would be if silver crashed to below $5/oz.  ie - probably never.

Wait - so I go to a bank, and they'll give me $5 for a coin?  Can I go to like a local silver dealer and sell it to them for the silver spot price instead?

Overall, is that ebay link a good deal in terms of investment?

That is actually a decent price, only about $2 more than at JM Bullion.  If your trying to buy and sell them quickly, that probably wont happen, although theres lot of talk about global financial crisis sending PM's skyhigh.  I think it is a possiblilty.

But, if you are looking at silver, I'd say definitely stick with the government minted coins (Maples, Eagles, Philharmonics), they will always be easiest to sell if you need to, and will get you the best premium over spot.

I'm not planning to sell them right after - maybe create a small collection, but if I were to really want to sell them, I want to make sure that I can get back most of my invested amount.  So these coins, I could sell for over $100 USD right now, easily, correct?

Definitely. At the very least you could get spot price, which right now is around $21, so about $105.  But you should be able to always get at least some premium over spot for maples.

[monbux]

A bank is only going to give you the Fiat value of the coin.  Banks do not deal with the silver spot price. 

The only way you would ever cash them in for the fiat face value would be if silver crashed to below $5/oz.  ie - probably never.

Wait - so I go to a bank, and they'll give me $5 for a coin?  Can I go to like a local silver dealer and sell it to them for the silver spot price instead?

Overall, is that ebay link a good deal in terms of investment?

That is actually a decent price, only about $2 more than at JM Bullion.  If your trying to buy and sell them quickly, that probably wont happen, although theres lot of talk about global financial crisis sending PM's skyhigh.  I think it is a possiblilty.

But, if you are looking at silver, I'd say definitely stick with the government minted coins (Maples, Eagles, Philharmonics), they will always be easiest to sell if you need to, and will get you the best premium over spot.

I'm not planning to sell them right after - maybe create a small collection, but if I were to really want to sell them, I want to make sure that I can get back most of my invested amount.  So these coins, I could sell for over $100 USD right now, easily, correct?

Definitely. At the very least you could get spot price, which right now is around $21, so about $105.  But you should be able to always get at least some premium over spot for maples.

Alright thanks   And another question - would you guys suggest I get Canadian maples or American Eagles?  I'm in Canada, so should I go with my country's legal tender instead?  Or are the American Eagles a better deal?

[elianite]

A bank is only going to give you the Fiat value of the coin.  Banks do not deal with the silver spot price. 

The only way you would ever cash them in for the fiat face value would be if silver crashed to below $5/oz.  ie - probably never.

Wait - so I go to a bank, and they'll give me $5 for a coin?  Can I go to like a local silver dealer and sell it to them for the silver spot price instead?

Overall, is that ebay link a good deal in terms of investment?

That is actually a decent price, only about $2 more than at JM Bullion.  If your trying to buy and sell them quickly, that probably wont happen, although theres lot of talk about global financial crisis sending PM's skyhigh.  I think it is a possiblilty.

But, if you are looking at silver, I'd say definitely stick with the government minted coins (Maples, Eagles, Philharmonics), they will always be easiest to sell if you need to, and will get you the best premium over spot.

I'm not planning to sell them right after - maybe create a small collection, but if I were to really want to sell them, I want to make sure that I can get back most of my invested amount.  So these coins, I could sell for over $100 USD right now, easily, correct?

Definitely. At the very least you could get spot price, which right now is around $21, so about $105.  But you should be able to always get at least some premium over spot for maples.

Alright thanks   And another question - would you guys suggest I get Canadian maples or American Eagles?  I'm in Canada, so should I go with my country's legal tender instead?  Or are the American Eagles a better deal?

Maybe get some of each. Maple leaves do look very nice and are well known.

[RedGummyBear]

when you see the term "Legal Tender" this means you can spend it at the face value of the coin.  While the coin might Say $5 the value of the silver is worth much more.

So you have a choice you can go to the bank and ask for $5 or you can sell it as silver value at about $20


Coins are Minted in precious metals with a "Legal Tender" price lower than the precious metal value so they can never be worth nothing. It's like a safety net. The mint gets the silver value up front and you as an investor will always be guaranteed that it will never drop below the $5 Legal Tendar amount.