The US Mint first released the American Silver Eagles back in November, 1986. Original inventories sold out as a result of unpredicted high demand. Along with American Golden Eagle Coins, American Silver Eagles were presented as an extremely viable alternative investment to the existing gold and silver bullion coins being produced via other countries. It is important to note that American Silver Eagles are the official silver bullion coin from the United States and each coin is guaranteed to have one troy ounce of 99.99% pure silver. The coins have a face value of $1 although their intrinsic worth is way more.

Investing in silver can pose some attractive questions especially since gold is ideal in volatile financial conditions for hedging against inflation. But think about diversification. Not just is it important for your portfolio to be exposed to gold but other precious metals too. Silver is a superb alternative and for the beginning investor often a more economical investment.

In ancient times silver was commonly used as money, both as a backing to paper money in addition to minted coins. Silver has continually had a lower monetary value than gold and was normally used in smaller transactions. Silver's adaptability also shone through as being a practical metal for industry so historically silver has had an unique dual role.

Today so as to increase your profit and a measure of diversification consider both paper investments of silver along with actual physical ownership. For a solid, long-term buy and sell stratagem owning physical silver works well. If you'd like more risk and potentially more reward then consider paper mining stocks.

By far the simplest way to invest in silver is through American Silver Eagles. As formerly mentioned the coins are produced by the US Mint and easily available through dealers and coin shops. One of the major benefits of buying silver bullion is that the price you pay covers the silver content. American Silver Eagles can be bought for the current spot price of silver plus a premium of 5 to 12 percent to cover marketing and production costs. As always check around as dealers might have higher premiums.

A major benefit of American Silver Eagles is that the marketplace for buying and selling them is extremely liquid so your transactions will likely be easy and convenient. Remember always to check what premium your dealer is making as often these can run as high as $2 over the metal content.

Nearly 135 million American Silver Eagles have been sold since 1986 by far and away making them the world's best-selling silver coins. Investing in these beautiful coins is an amazing way to diversify your portfolio and defend you wealth over the long term.