One of the classic marketing techniques is to take something that is not primarily intended as a collector’s object and to call it collectible. Unfortunately, this technique has made some of the literature about silver coins, gold coins, precious metal bullion and other tangible forms of metals rather specious. There are actually different types of coins and, if you’re looking to invest in metals, you need to understand these different types before you spend your first penny toward them.

Collectable Coins

Some silver coins are collectible. The proper terms for these coins are numismatic and semi-numismatic. A numismatic coin gets all of its value from its scarcity, its condition and its interest as an historical object. A semi-numismatic coin gets part of its value from its bullion content and part of its value from its numismatic importance. These types of coins have a lot of their worth tied up in numismatic value. Unfortunately, numismatic value is not something you can predict by looking at the markets and reading the news every day. These are coins that are more popular with collectors than they are with investors.

Bullion Coins

Many of the nation’s most powerful economies mint bullion coins. If you are a silver investor, these are the silver coins that you will be interested in. These silver coins are not intended to be traded based on their numismatic value though, over time, these coins can actually accumulate numismatic value. The most important thing about these silver coins, however, is their bullion content.

The reason that bullion coins are valuable among investors is because the purity of their bullion is assured. For example, if you buy an American Eagle coin, you can be certain that the content of the coin exactly matches the published specifications for their bullion content and mass. This makes these coins very convenient ways to trade metal on the spot and, for that reason, investors tend to buy them up in great numbers.

If you’re interested in purchasing coinage as a way of investing, make certain that you’re getting bullion coins. If you’re interested in collecting coins as a hobby, you will be interested in numismatic coins. For investors, however, the entire point of owning coins is simply to have bullion in a form that is convenient to carry and that is easy to establish to buyers as being genuine. Bullion coins, in fact, constitute one of the easiest forms of silver to liquidate.