Should you invest in generic or brand name 10oz silver bars?

You have decided to invest in 10 oz silver bullion. Good for you! These silver bars are a great investment for several reasons:

They can be easily stored in a safe at home due to their beautiful flat and uniform size.

They are still very affordable, even with silver trading around $30 an ounce these days.

Best of all, they are very useful for emergency bartering purposes.

When you buy silver bullion, you will have the option of buying a brand like Engelhard or an unknown generic brand. Which one should you choose?

As I mentioned earlier, a branded silver bullion bar is one that is produced by well-known and established companies like Johnson-Matthey or Engelhard. These are the first-tier manufacturers followed by second-tier producers like Silvertowne, Sunshine Minting, and the Wall Street Mint.

On the other hand, a generic bar is one that is produced by a company that is not well known or is no longer in business.

Certainly, there are advantages to buying both. Let’s first take a look at the reasons someone might choose to invest in branded silver bullion.

Although you can expect to pay more for a bar from one of the top-tier producers, they will usually command a higher selling premium than lesser or unknown brands. In simple terms, when you approach your local coin dealer to sell an Engelhard silver bar, you can expect to be offered more money than if you had been selling a generic variety.

So if you are investing in these 10 oz silver bars for profit and wealth building purposes, I would suggest sticking with one of the well-known brands.

Now let’s take a look at why someone might choose to invest in a generic silver bullion bar.

The biggest advantage these bars have over their name brand counterparts is price. You can typically buy these bars starting at around $0.69 spot, at the current time, compared to up to $2.00 spot for a Johnson-Matthey silver bar.

If you are simply investing in silver to preserve the purchasing power of your money or for emergency bartering purposes, opt for a generic bar.

Just remember that no matter which 10 oz silver bar you choose, silver has been viewed as a store of value and a form of money for over 4,000 years. Compare that with the history of paper money!