Silver coins are possibly the oldest mass form of coinage in recorded history. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks. Their silver drachmas were popular trade coins.
Many factors determine the value of a silver coin, such as its rarity, demand, condition and the number originally minted. Silver coins coveted by collectors include the Denarius and Miliarense.
Other than collector's silver coins, silver bullion coins are popular among people who desire a "hedge" against currency inflation or store of value. Silver has an international currency symbol of XAG under ISO 4217.
Before 1797, British pennies used to be made out of silver while the ancient Persians used silver coins between 612-330 BC.
Nautical Archeology
A silver coin is sometimes placed under the mast-step of a ship as a good luck charm. This tradition probably originated with the Romans.
Evolution
Silver coins have evolved in many different forms through the ages, a rough timeline for silver coins is as follows:
* 1980 - current : Modern silver bullion coins, mainly from 39mm - 42mm diameter, containing 1 troy ounce of pure silver in content, regardless of purity. Smaller and bigger sizes exist mainly to complement the collectible set for numismatics market. Some are also purchased as a mean for the masses to buy a standardized store of value, which in this case is silver.
* 1960s - current : Modern crown sized commemoratives, using the weight and size of the old world crowns.
* 1930s - 1960s : Alloyed in circulating coins of many different governments of the world. This period ended when it was no longer economical for world governments to keep silver as an alloying element in their circulating coins.
* 1870s - 1930s : Silver trade dollars, a world standard of its era in weight and purity following the example of the older Mexican 8 Reales to facilitate trade in the Far East. Examples: French Indochina Piastres, British Trade Dollar, US Trade Dollar, Japanese 1 Yen, Chinese 1 Dollar. Smaller denomination exists to complement currency usability by the public.
* 1500s - 1800s : World silver crowns, the most famous is arguably the Mexican 8 reales(also known as Spanish dollar), minted in many different parts of the world to facilitate trade. Each major world powers then would have their own set of crowns, so named because the obverse of the coin will carry an effigy of the country's ruling monarch at the time of minting. Size is more or less standardized at around 38mm with many minor variations in weight and sizes among the many different issuing nations. Declining towards the end of the 19th century due the introduction of secure printing of paper currency. It is no longer convenient to carry sacks of silver coins when they can be deposited in the bank for a certificate of deposit carrying the same value. Smaller denominations exist to complement currency usability by the public.
* ancient - pre 1500s : following the designs from the ancient era but produced with better methods and equipments to make better currency standard
* ancient coins : used in Europe and Asia, mostly a cast piece stamped with an identification, either an effigy of the ruling monarch or some other designs.
The most common world silver bullion coins, preceded by minimum guaranteed purity, and the year of introduction:
* 99.99% 1988 Canadian Silver Maple Leaf
* 99.90% 1982 Mexican Silver Libertad
* 99.90% 1983 Chinese Silver Panda
* 99.90% 1986 American Silver Eagle
* 99.90% 1990 Australian Silver Kookaburra (minted by the Perth Mint)
* 99.90% 1993 Australian Silver Kangaroo (minted by the Royal Australian Mint)
* 95.80% 1997 British Silver Britannia (from 1997, proof version only. Public issue from 1998)
* 99.90% 2008 Austrian Silver Vienna Philharmonic
* 99.90% 2009 Russian George the Victorious
Silver rounds
Privately minted silver coins are commonly called "silver rounds" or "generic silver rounds". They are called "rounds" instead of "coins" because the US Mint reserves the use of the word "coin" for Government Issued circulating currency, such as all common coins and the American Silver and Gold Eagles. The privately minted "rounds" usually have a set weight of 1 troy ounce of silver (31.103 grams of 99.9% silver), with the dimensions of 1/10 inch thick and 39 mm across. These carry all sorts of designs, from assayer/mine backed bullion to engravable gifts, automobiles, firearms, armed forces commemorative, holidays, etc.
Why silver is used for coinage
Silver coins were among the first coins ever used, thousands of years ago. The silver standard was used for centuries in many places of the world. And the use of silver for coins, instead of other materials, has many reasons:
* Silver is liquid, easily tradable, and with a low spread between the prices to buy and sell. A low spread typically occurs when an item is fungible.
* Silver is easily transportable. Silver and gold have a high value to weight ratio.
* Silver can be divisible into small units without destroying its value; precious metals can be coined from bars, or melted down into bars again.
* A silver coin is fungible: that is, one unit or piece must be equivalent to another.
* A silver coin has a certain weight, or measure, to be verifiably countable.
* A silver coin is long lasting and durable. A silver coin is not subject to decay.
* A silver coin has a stable value and an intrinsic value. Silver has been an ever scarce metal.
* Unfortunately, A silver coin is no longer difficult to counterfeit, as we can see below there is a large-scale "replica coin" minting business in China. Whilst the manufacturer claims they are only making "replicas", the details are identical to the originals, the detail involved is excellent, and these "replicas" are being passed off as "genuine" by unscrupulous sellers. Since the coinage is no longer in circulation, the "replicas" do not come under U.S. Federal counterfeit laws.
