Silberbarren ⁽¹⁸⁾

Silver was worth more than gold in ancient Greece

For thousands of years, the precious metal silver has played a central role as a means of payment and in the manufacture of jewelry. As only a few usable silver deposits were known in the past, silver had a higher value than gold in ancient Greece. Thanks to more advanced mining techniques, the availability of silver increased enormously. As a result, silver was overshadowed by gold for a long time. In the wake of the current turbulence on the financial market, the international popularity of bankable silver bars as a crisis-proof investment has risen again.

Tradability of silver bars

Before buying silver bars, check their tradability. You can find bankable bar manufacturers in the LBMA's "good delivery" list. The listed producers are regularly subjected to independent controls. Thanks to the strict criteria applied, recognition by the LBMA is a guarantee of the stated fineness and weight.

Precious metal dealers usually only buy non-bankable bars - including gold bars - at their pure melt value. Both the melting costs and a trading margin are deducted from the material value. These sometimes very high discounts cancel out any slight price advantages when buying unlicensed bars.

Modern silver bars

Modern silver bars are made from mined or recycled silver with varying degrees of fineness. As standard, bars consist of 99.9% pure silver. Bars in small sizes are minted, as is also common with coins. Large bars are produced using casting molds, which - depending on the manufacturing process - create the typical solidification lines.

Modern bars are available in different shapes and weights. While very small silver bars weigh just 1 gram, there are also 15-kilo specimens. The production methods of the various manufacturers also differ.

Some silver bars are not considered bankable. If you want to use bars as an investment, you should refer to the London Bullion Market Association's (LBMA) "Good Delivery" list. Examples of manufacturers of bankable bars are Münze Österreich or Argor Heraeus. If you are buying silver to have a crisis-proof means of payment, then we advise you to use modern silver coins. Very small silver bars are subject to above-average issue surcharges, which is why it makes little sense to buy them.

In the case of large and medium-sized silver bars, the premiums are only moderate. In addition, they are easy to store due to their high value density. Private investors usually prefer bars of 250 grams, 500 grams or one kilogram.

Special silver bars

There is only a very limited but growing market for silver bars, which are either only available in very limited quantities or were cast by historical bar manufacturers. These special bars serve both as an investment and as a collector's item and change hands in specialist shops or at auctions on the internet, sometimes for impressive sums.