10 Best Silver Coins to Buy 2020

Are you new to coin investing or simply looking for some new ways to invest in your future?

Precious metals such as gold and silver are a great way to make a long-term investment and offer some security for the future, but understanding which are the best silver coins to buy requires a little bit of experience in the field.

Since we have the experience and we wanted to offer something that was free of technical jargon and strange terms, we created this useful guide to help you understand what to look for as you compare and contrast coins.

Top 10 Silver Coins to Buy Chart

PictureNameWeight/FinenessPriceRating (1-5)
Picture
Name
Weight/Fineness
Price
Rating (1-5)
1. 2016 1 Ounce American Silver Eagle Low Flat Rate Shipping .999 Fine Silver Dollar Uncirculated US Mint1 Ounce .999$$4.8
2. 2017 CA Canadian Silver Maple $5 Brilliant Uncirculated Royal Canadian Mint 1 Ounce .9999$$4.8
3. 2016 AT Austria Silver Philharmonic (1 oz) 1.5 Euro Brilliant Uncirculated Austrian Mint 1 Ounce .999$$4.8
4. 2017 CA Canada Silver Maple Leaf (10 oz) $50 Brilliant Uncirculated Royal Canadian Mint 10 ounces$$$$4.7
5. 1887 US Morgan Silver Dollar NGC George T. Morgan Label $1 Brilliant Uncirculated NGC 0.7734 Ounces$$$4.7
6. 2015 P Blue Ridge Parkway ATB Silver (5 oz) Quarter OGP US Mint 5 Ounces .999$$$$4.6
7. 1 oz Silver Round Coin - APMEX / RMC (.9999 Fine, Co-Branded) 1 Ounce .9999$4.6
8. 1982 Mexican Silver Libertad (Onza) 1oz. - About Uncirculated 1 Ounce$$$4.2
9. 1932 - 1964 90% Silver Washington Quarters 40-Coin Roll BU Quarter Brilliant Uncirculated Weight N/A .900$$$$4.2
10. Mixed Pre-1965 US Silver Coins - $1.00 Face Value Weight N/A .900$$4.1

Things You Need to Know When Buying Silver Coins

To make sure that you understand the basics when it comes to finding the best silver coins to buy, here is some useful info to make you feel confident about your purchase.

  • Fineness. How much silver is actually in a coin? That is what the fineness rating will tell you.
    • .900 = 90% silver
    • .999 = 99.9% silver
    • .9999 = 99.99% silver

These are just a few examples so you understand how they are rated, and you will see plenty of other percentages and fineness ratings out there once you start searching.

The higher the percentage of silver that is in the coin, the more valuable it is.

  • Purity & Weight. While most of the silver coins out there have their weight and purity printed on them, not all of them do.

In many cases, this means that the coin isn’t authentic, but in some rare cases, authentic silver coins will be manufactured without this info.

When in doubt, just do an individual search on a coin to see what kind of info you can find.

  • Junk Coins. Junk coins aren’t completely “junk,” they’re just not as valuable since they have a lower percentage of silver in them.

Two good examples in our table include the 1932-1964 Silver Washington Quarters (40-Coin roll) and the Mixed Pre-1965 US Silver Coins (quarters, dimes, half dollars).

The markup isn’t much (usually between $0.20 and $0.40 per coin (it depends on the coin, though), but if you collect them over time, you might end up with a friendly chunk of change in your pocket for a rainy day.

A Few Coin Purchasing Tips

A few things you should remember when purchasing coins are…

  • How much is the shipping cost? You’ll need to calculate that into the purchase price to make sure it is the right investment.
  • If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is! Make sure you are purchasing the coins from a reliable seller and invest a little extra detective work into them before you make a decision.
  • Where will you store the coins? Yes, this may seem like a dumb question, but if you’re new to investing and just starting your coin hoard, you’ll need to make sure that you have a safe and secure place to store them.

Top 3 Best Silver Coins to Buy Reviews

1. 2016 1 Ounce American Silver Eagle

The American Silver Eagle is hands down one of the best silver coins to buy as an investment for your financial future.

This US Mint uncirculated silver dollar is made of .999 Fine Silver and it is the official silver bullion coin issued by the US Mint. It is also the only silver coin that is guaranteed by the US Government (for purity, content and weight), which gives you plenty of reassurance that you are spending your money on a dependable coin.

Many experts will agree that this is one of the top silver coins – both for beginners and seasoned coin shoppers: we recommend starting with these if you’ve just started to invest in silver coins.

2. 2017 CA Canadian Silver Maple

Our next choice comes from Canada: their CA Maple Leafe coin, as you can see in our table, has a higher percentage of silver (.9999 fine silver), therefore gaining a slight advantage to the American Silver Eagle.

You will see both the weight and the fineness printed on the back of the coin, along with Canada’s iconic maple leaf symbol that is also present on their flag.

This coin was graded by the Royal Canadian Mint with a brilliant uncirculated rating; this means that the coins sat idle for a while have been handled very little even when they did begin circulating. The fact that they haven’t gone out into public pockets and cash tills means that they have maintained their original markings and precious metal contents that they had after leaving the mint.

If you want to up the ante a bit and add a bit more value to your silver coin investment nest, this would be a good coin to choose.

3. 2016 AT Austria Silver Philharmonic

The Austria Silver Philharmonic is a favorite among European coin investors.

This coin is 100% authentic and has a fineness rating of .999.

You’ll see the weight (printed in German) on the back and you will also notice that the coin is €1.50 rather than $1 since it was manufactured by the Austrian Mint.

At present, we know that the Euro has a slight advantage over the dollar, but times are constantly changing and big government changes are being made.

While we can’t say that this would be a more valuable investment than the other two options at the moment, it is still a valuable investment period. It is also a brilliant uncirculated coin like the CA Maple Leaf coin, which means it will arrive to you clean.

Other coin experts agree that this is one of the top picks and we would highly recommend it for your silver coin collection, too.