Fun!

‎

Here's my take:

first

• Canadian Maple Leafs are the obvious choice - .9999 fine, globally recognized, easy to resell anywhere. Pre-1968 Canadian dimes, quarters, and half-dollars are also solid: they're 80% silver, and Canadians often overlook them as "just old coins." Junk silver bags can be great value if the premium over spot is reasonable.

• US junk silver (pre-1965 dimes, quarters, halves) is 90% silver - slightly better than Canadian 80%. Very common in Canadian coin shops since there's so much of it floating around. A $1 face value of US 90% silver coins = roughly 0.715 troy oz of silver. So multiply spot price by 0.715 to get melt value per dollar of face. Easy sanity check on the price they're asking.

• For bars, anything from a recognized refinery (RCM, Scotiabank, Asahi, PAMP) is fine. Generic no-name bars aren't bad but are harder to move later.

verification

The ping test is your friend - silver has a very distinctive long ring when tapped. There are free apps (like "Coin Tester") that do this acoustically. Magnets: silver is non-magnetic, so if it sticks, walk away. Weight + dimensions should match spec - coin shops usually have a scale right there, just ask.

Most reputable shops won't mess around with fakes - their reputation depends on it. If it's an established shop, the risk is low.

avoid

• Commemorative coins and rounds with heavy numismatic premiums - you're paying for the art, not the metal, and good luck getting that premium back

• Silver-plated items (silverware, medals, etc.) - almost no resale value as silver

• Slabbed/graded coins unless you actually know numismatics - the grading premium is a trap for beginners

• Anything exotic (palladium, obscure foreign coins) - harder to price and harder to sell

• High-premium novelty rounds (skulls, dragons, etc.) - cool looking, terrible investment

Reasonable premium to pay

In Canada right now, Maples at 5-8% over spot per ounce is fair. If they're asking 10+ over spot, that's aggressive. Junk silver should be closer to spot. Check with a reputable online retailer to get a more accurate reading. (silverprice.org/silver-… or kitco.com/charts/silver)

‎

Have fun - coin shops are genuinely great places to browse even when you don't buy anything.

‎

One last thing, and this one's actually important: talk to the owner. Not the teenager behind the counter - the owner. Build a bit of rapport, ask questions, show you know your stuff. If you're buying a meaningful amount, ask directly if there's a better price. Cash helps too. They'll often move.

‎

Here's why this works in your favour right now: coin shops are sitting on a liquidity problem. Refiners aren't exactly rolling out the red carpet for walk-in silver - offloading physical in volume is genuinely difficult at the moment, and some smaller shops are quietly feeling that squeeze. They need buyers. You are the buyer.

Use that.