There are many ways to store silver bullion bars and coins, but some are much better than others. You wouldn’t want your bullion to tarnish dramatically or potentially lose some of it’s value in the case of silver coins. We will cover out top 5 tips on storing silver bullion in order to protect your investment.
Tip 1 – Find a low humidity environment
Silver bullion should be stored in areas with minimum air exposure and low humidity. Silver coins and bars can oxidize in damp environments, affecting the surface area of the metal. If this happens to bullion bars it is not usually a major problem, as bullion delears like Guardian Gold will purchase the bars back at the same buyback rate regardless of surface tarnishing.
Silver coins however, often have a collectable value above the spot price. So it is best to avoid high humidity environments. Air conditioned, underground vaulting facilites such as Guardian Vaults can help keep your silver from tarnishing.
Tip 2 – Avoid excess handling
Silver bars and coins will tarnish the more you hold them in your bare hands. It is better to avoid touching the bars or coins to keep them in original condition. Your hands will accumilate oils and dirt over time which can lead to quicker tarnishing or damaging of silver coins.
One tip for handling silver coins is to always handle them from the rim of the coin and not the face. If silver coins have limited mintages they usually come in protective plastic cases, so it is always best to keep them in these plastic cases to ensure they have maximum re-sell value.
Tip 3 – Choose A Secure Facility
Obviously you want to keep your silver bullion in the most secure location possible to avoid theft and loss of the investment. It may not be the best idea to bury your silver bullion in a state forrest and hope for the best. There are many storage options out there which are quite cost-effective.
Guardian Vaults have a range of security features and 24/7 monitoring of all cameras and alrams by two independant security firms. Prices start from $272 per year, so are easily accessable for most investors. Bank safe depsoit box storage is becomming less popular over time, as banks have started to exit safe deposit box facilites and transfer ownership to private management.
Tip 4 – Keep the original packaging
It makes it a lot easier to store your bullion correctly by keeping the original packaging that the coins or bars come with. In the case of silver coins, they often come in plastic tubes or individual cases. It is always best practice to keep the coins in their original packages to ensure they’re protected. Keeping the original monster boxes of silver coins sealed can also ensure you get the best re-sell value when the time comes to sell them.
In the case of silver bars; if you do recieve them in plastic boxes or cardboard boxes, it is not nessesarily as important to keep that original packaging. Many clients of ours will unpack the silver bar boxes in order to maximise the storage space in our bullion safes.
Tip 5 – Explore your insurance options
Whatever you choose as your preferred storage method, you should always explore your insurance options to protect from unwelcome events. If storing at home it may be difficult to insure bullion as part of your standard home and contents insurance, so it is always best to check the finer details. Adding insurable interest to your holding when stored in private vaults is an easy option. The cost for additional insurable interest within a high security facility like Guardian Vaults will usually be between 0.20% to 0.30% of the value of your bullion per year as an admin fee.
To see our range of safe depsoit boxes and pricing, click the image below.
Live Silver Bullion Prices via Guardian Gold Australia
