Silver Is Too Expensive… Here’s What To Buy Instead

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]Right now with silver being at around $80 an ounce, the prices are now moving back and forth it seems and a lot of people are concerned mainly about the affordability of stacking. And the biggest question that I see all the time is what actually makes sense to buy right now. So if silver is your choice, then there's definitely some good deals that exist out there and there's some smart ways to approach this. But certain factors exist that can make it a little bit difficult like the premiums, whatever your stacking goals are or your strategy, the dealer availability. All these things are impacting your buying experience. So today I want to break down the different types of silver that you can buy and what I think makes the most sense for us stackers right now. So let's go over what silver you should buy now that we're at the halfway point in 2026. So, let's go.

[00:01:07]Hi everybody and welcome back to yet another video. So, silver prices keep changing the stacking strategy for many people because one week it seems like it's about to crash and then the next week it's starting to take off again.

[00:01:21]And this back and forth can cause a little stress for some people, but it also can cause some confusion. And keeping track of what's best right now in terms of silver can change ever so quickly. And we already know that not every piece of silver is valued the same because some are going to carry higher premiums than others. But what the market is giving us right now is still how it was when silver was maybe 120 an ounce, but on a little bit of a smaller scale. And I'll explain what that mean or what I mean by that in just a bit.

[00:01:54]But even though I think we should be stacking gold right now given the ratios, I know many of you still want to stack silver. And so I think it's important that we help those who may not be sure what type of silver they should pick from because there are so many options out there. It can be difficult to figure out which one makes the most sense right now. And I'll be honest, like I said earlier, it's still sort of the same market, but just a little less intense. The premiums have increased since the prices have come down, but the buyback prices from the dealers have gotten maybe just a little bit better, but there's still some cases of ridiculousness out there. And there's a reason why. And I maybe I won't go into full detail in this video, but just understand that some dealers are still pinched on cash and what they're able to take to refineries. And that is still going to impact what we are able to buy or sell at in terms of prices. So I'll go through I'll go through some of the major options that we typically stack alongside the popular dealer prices and we can sort of piece together what silver is going to make the most sense right now. because ultimately at the end of the day, affordability is the biggest concern. So, you'll need to figure out which silver can stretch your dollar the most and still meet your stacking strategy needs. So, before we get started, just know that yeah, you'll be able to find better deals than what you might see here in just a moment. You know, your local coin shop or other websites that you prefer. you know, they're going to give you different prices and probably some different deals that are going to be better than what you're about to see. And while that might be true and all, I just understand that I just intend to show you on a very simplistic level where prices are at currently, where the premiums are for those types of silver. And in theory, it should scale in a way that no matter which place that you look at, all of it's going to hold true. So, it's kind of like shopping for anything that you want to get in real life. you'll you're going to find better prices somewhere.

[00:03:54]It's just a matter of where you go to pick from that. So, with that out of the way, let's get started with the very first type of silver that many of us love to go after. So, the government bullion coins for many of us, at least like myself being in the US, the American Silver Eagle is the coin of the realm as far as things go for us. And you know, if you live in Canada, you have the Maple Leaf. You also have the Bratannas, the Philarmonics, the Kangaroos, the Krugerands. They all come from their respective areas. And there are many different government bullions that exist that are very recognizable in the stacking community. And that's kind of the reason why it tends to be the number one thing that we like to stack due to the prestigious title and trust that they carry at times. And in all honesty, no matter where you live, you can really go after any one of the ones that I mentioned and you're going to do just fine. They're going to sell very easily and there's going to be trust behind it. But on the downside, you are going to have to pay a little bit of a higher premium on these compared to the other types of silver. And so much so, it's usually the highest premium that you're going to pay compared to others.

[00:05:02]But not to mention even within the coins of the government bullion, you know, they're going to vary as well. So, um, things like the American Silver Eagle are probably going to carry a higher premium than, let's say, a kangaroo or even a Maple Leaf in most cases. So, it's just a solid typically the number one choice for us stackers when it comes to prioritizing liquidity and recognizability.

[00:05:26]So, how do the prices compare right now?

[00:05:30]Well, I'm not going to go into a full breakdown, but I did pull from the top five sites that I think many people buy from, including myself. I bought from all five, and I'm not endorsing any one of them specifically, but I just wanted to show you the prices that they advertise. But feel free to pause the screen because it can be a lot to look at. I'm not going to keep it up here for long, but basically we have the top five bullion dealers from SD Bullion, JMB Bullion, ATMEX, Monument Metals, and Bullion Exchange. And in this, I've shown the spot price, the sale price of that silver, and the premium amount in terms of dollars, and what that percentage is. And for the most part, Bullion Exchanges has the best deals right now when it comes to government coins. Because typically, in my experience, JM Bullion, ATMEX, and even SD Bullion can be a little bit on the pricier side of things, but Monument and Bullion exchanges are typically on the more affordable options side for you as stackers. So, regardless of where you choose, obviously the cheaper is going to be better, but the more important takeaway here is the average percent of the premium that you're going to pay.

[00:06:40]Because even with the extremes on both ends, the average premium right now on government coins is about 11% when everything is said and done. And in my opinion, that 11% is starting to cross into the threshold of where premiums become a little bit too high. So while there are some good deals out there that are better than 11%. You'll see that even the lowest premium percentage that was on that list is still going to be higher than what you're about to be shown. So, the government coins are going to typically be more expensive.

[00:07:12]It's just the price you're going to pay for it, and it's almost always going to be true in that sense, but as of right now in today's market, that's where we stand, roughly around 11%. Now, the next type of silver is going to be your generic silver. These are typically the lowest premium option that you can find, and it's usually the first choice for those concerned about affordability and accumulating ounces or weight. Now, while some are very recognizable, they are minted by a private company. So, the reputation is going to be very important amongst these versus a governmentbacked coin like the ones that we just discussed. But the Buffalo rounds here in the US are the going to be the most popular one. But really, any generic bar or round becomes more attractive as silver gets expensive because the premium efficiency is going to matter more when the prices go higher. And again, I'll throw up some of the prices from the same online dealers and their price and premiums that coincide with that type of silver. I've thrown in the buffalo around as a standalone example, and the rest I kind of scaled into a 1 oz, a 5 oz, and a 10 oz bar that will probably be the ceiling for what most people are going to be able to afford in this current market. And finally, the third type of silver that you're most likely to stack is the 90% or the junk or even constitutional silver, however you want to call it. And these consist mainly for us here in the US. So, if you're not from the US, this might not apply to you. But as far as the US goes, this is where the dimes, the quarters, the half dollars are going to be involved. And they're great because they are fractional by nature. So, you don't have to commit to a minimum of 1 ounce and drop $80 or whatever the spot price of silver is because in some ways it can even be the more affordable option. And so, right now, it definitely is the most affordable option when we break down the amounts and you'll see that in a bit.

[00:09:12]And these type of silver do have a bit of a wild card to them. So, they do have a barter appeal to them. People intend to use these for barter if any crazy scenario takes place. And some of these have a little bit of numismatic value to it, but typically they are just worn down and conditions may vary. But these fractional forms of silver are great, especially because like I said, affordability is going to be the main concern. You can also prepare it for barter use and you can still participate in stacking silver while holding a little bit of history. So, you kind of get a little bit of everything with this type of silver, but the premiums do fluctuate more often than not, but right now, the 90% silver is one of the strongest pieces of silver that you can pick up right now. And you'll see why in just a second on the graph. So, I didn't go through every single form of 90% silver, but again, for simplicity reasons, I just chose the quarters in the $10 face value for this example.

[00:10:15]Now, this is going to be true almost across the board whether you're looking at dimes, quarters, and halves. But one of the things that you'll notice on this here is that the premium percentages are almost all negative. Meaning that you can pick up the 90% silver for under spot. And there is a reason for this.

[00:10:33]It's because the dealers can't turn this type of silver into the refineries for cash because the refineries do not want them. They do not want anything that's less than 39's fine. So the 90% silver is considered too impure for them right now to even want to manage or refine it or do whatever they need to do with it.

[00:10:51]And so that's why these premiums are so attractive right now if you're a buyer.

[00:10:56]So getting silver for less than what the prices are being shown should be a no-brainer. But keep in mind if you were to try to sell this, selling your 90% could be a little bit difficult because if you go back to the issue at hand, the dealers can't offload it. So, they are probably going to give you an unfair price or they simply won't even accept it. So, just some things you got to consider. But if you do want a bargain, the 90% silver is where it's at right now if you ask my opinion on things. So, if I were to be buying anything right now, what would I buy? Well, you guys already know that I currently lean towards gold because I think the GSR is more important right now. And silver can be a little bit too volatile for me, at least right now. But if I were to buy silver today, given the info that you just saw, I would target the 90% silver because the issue of affordability can be solved with 90% silver. You get to participate in stacking. you get to dedicate smaller amounts of dollars or spending than what a 1 ounce piece could do for you. The premiums are negative right now and so this just makes it a really good option. Now of course remember your preferences and strategy are going to matter more. So if affordability isn't a concern for you then perhaps weight or reputation or prestigiousness or whatever you want to call it is going to be your focus and so the generic or the government coins is going to be the better pick for you.

[00:12:28]However, since affordability is the main concern amongst stackers, 90% silver should be your pick if you're going for anything right now. So, at the end of the day, just because silver gets expensive, it doesn't mean that you need to stop stacking. There are ways around issues. It's just a matter of how you choose to solve them. because the premiums right now have been very low on 90% for quite some time, a lot longer than I actually would have anticipated.

[00:12:56]But at some point, you know, who knows how long this opportunity will last because at some point everyone's going to want it and it's going to flip from a buyer's advantage like it is right now into a sellers's advantage. So, you should get the 90% silver and you can alleviate the affordability problem ever so slightly or even with greater degree than what you previously thought. So, that being said, guys, what type of silver are you buying right now? Let me know in the comments down below. Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you all in the next one. Bye-bye, guys.