Inflating the Other Way – Some of the Many One-Ounce Silver Bullion Coins

Back in the 1980’s, a new phenomenon emerged onto the market when it came to coin collecting: the non-circulating, legal tender coins, now called bullion coins. A few governments were making them in gold. Some were making them in silver. The collecting community was wondering if this was a flash in the pan, or the beginning of something big. With three decades now under our collective collecting belts, we can see this is no flash in the pan, no passing fad. It is a part of the collecting experience that is here to stay. In the past, we have presented in several articles the idea of one large, silver coin or another “inflating away,” meaning its value disappeared over time. Right now let’s look at inflation of another kind – the spread of silver bullion coins throughout the world.

We can start by giving a passing nod to the truly big players on the world stage when it comes to silver bullion coins. Any list of what qualifies as “big” can be a fun source of good-natured arguments, but most of us will include the silver one-ounce pieces of the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, and Australia. It’s a good bet that many collectors in Wisconsin, and indeed throughout the U.S., who have focused on any sort of one-ounce silver piece may have started a decent collection of silver Eagles. The regular strikes are usually not too expensive, and even some of the proof or special offerings can be reasonable. The Canadian Maple Leafs are also a series that can be fun to build. Both regular issues and proofs are readily available. As for the Chinese pandas, there is the added twist of different designs from one year to another, and thus the potential to create a collection with numerous images. Likewise, there is a huge spread of bullion coins from Australia that do not really cost that much, especially if we stick to the regular issues, as opposed to the proofs and special issues aimed specifically at the collecting community.

But the big guns in this field have now been joined by an entire suite of silver one-ounce pieces from all over the world, and from nations that span a wide range of areas and colonial lands. There’s no real rhyme or reason to where a person might wish to start in looking at these coins; so let’s check out a few random places, and see just what might be available.

First, Kazakhstan

The breakup of the old Soviet Union made some amazing waves through the Central Asian S.S.R.s that eventually became independent nations. The biggest of these new lands in Kazakhstan, a land with quite the capacity when it comes to mineral wealth. It did not take them too long to produce a silver of bullion coins which include what are called the silver Irbis pieces. The term “irbis” means snow leopard. This animal is a shy, reclusive cat native to this Central Asian land. And while there are several different weights of silver Irbis, the one-ounce silver piece is the cat we are looking for right now. Despite it being an ounce, it will cost a bit more than those of the nations we’ve just mentioned. Actually, that can be true of any that we mention here, since they are all produced on a smaller scale than coins like the Eagles, Maple Leafs, and Pandas. But hunting one down could be fun.

Second, Ukraine

Another former S.S.R., but one that has been in the news more of late, is Ukraine. Since its independence, the folks in charge there have issued Archangel Michel silver pieces, and yes, have one in a convenient one-ounce size. The choice for this design is at least as interesting as the irbis, and maybe more so. You see, Saint Michael the Archangel is the patron saint of Ukraine, which has to strike anyone as a good choice, since he is supposed to have been the one who stole thunder from Satan himself and gave it to Saint Elijah. There’s probably no better definition of ‘tough’ than that. Curiously, many of the offerings for Archangel Michael coins – at least the on-line ones – tend to be for proofs. They are attractive, but can carry a serious premium beyond the price of the silver metal in them.

Third, Serbia

One of the modern nations born from the dissolution of the old Yugoslavia, Serbia has jumped int o the silver bullion coin market recently by honoring one of their own, Nikola Tesla. What appears to be a growing set of one-ounce silver bullion coins features the inventor on the obverse, and one of his inventions on the reverse. We can only wonder how many years will see an issue of Tesla one-ounce pieces, but right now it won’t cost all that much to land the two that are available, as this series seems to have gotten its start in 2018.

Fourth… and finally (for the moment), the British Virgin Islands

It’s a fair bet that many of us, if presented with a map of the Caribbean showing all the islands, but none of the names, would have a tough time getting the British Virgin Islands right if only given one guess. But this small colonial land has produced a rather large series of commemorative coins in the past few decades, and sprinkled in among them are some silver bullion pieces. The most recent is one that dusts off and re-uses the very beautiful Una and the Lion piece issued in gold, during the reign of Queen Victoria. This modern version is certainly far less expensive than its gold predecessor, and is arguably just as beautiful. As we just mentioned with the Ukrainian pieces, it appears to be easier to get this one as a proof, at least for the moment. And while this means the price is a bit higher, it’s a truly gorgeous design.

More?

Are there more than these to add to any growing list of places from which to snag a silver bullion coin or two? My heavens, yes! There are plenty of possibilities. The best of luck if you choose to do some armchair globetrotting in looking for them. These offerings and others are, after all, inflating to an ever-greater presence when it comes to one-ounce silver bullion coins.

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