Silver is approaching $30 an ounce today. Climbing over $4 USD/oz in just the past 3 days. And is up from $19 USD/oz last month.
At the time of this posting US Junk Silver (pre-1965 90% Silver Coins) are valued at over $20 per dollar face (e.g. four quarters, or ten dimes).
Is this a good time to start unloading some or all of your silver stack?
Looking at a 5 year view of silver prices
Silver prices for the past 5 years have been rather flat in the $16-18 USD/oz range. At that time, one dollar face of silver coins would be valued a little. above $13 (e.g. 4 silver quarters). There are many factors that could continue to drive silver prices higher.
COVID which has both a global impact, and also the continued impact in the US, and vaccines not likely being available until at least 2021.
2020 political elections are coming up.
Continued turmoil between the US and other countries (e.g. China)
We would like to hear what others are doing at this time. Do you wait, Do you unload some/all, or do you wait for prices to potentially skyrocket past the highs both in 1980 (~ $120 USD/oz) and 2011 (~ $60 USD/oz).
This is a post for anyone that is currently buying Silver or plans to start investing in Silver.
In particular those interested in Silver Bullion (e.g. American Silver Eagles, generic bars & rounds, etc.) and U.S. Junk Silver coins (e.g. 90%, 40% or 35%). It's always a great feeling when you find a great deal on a some silver. Whether your buying .999 fine bars/rounds or something like 90% U.S. Junk silver, a great deal is a great deal.
However if you're not careful with detailing your purchases, you may not know as much about your collection as you should.
Here are just a couple examples of issues, not having a good record of your purchases can lead to:
- Wasting time doing repeat inventory of your collection
- Selling for a loss (because you aren't aware of your initial purchase price, not due to the market)
- How much have you spent in a given time period or in general
For anyone that is buying (and selling) silver, I really feel that using software like Microsoft Excel is essential. And you don't have to be a pro to use this software.
I have created a spreadsheet that aims at helping people track their Bullion and U.S. Junk Silver coin purchases.
Below is a YouTube Tutorial for the spreadsheet I have created
What can you expect to get from using this Tracker?
At the very least I hope that this tracker will provide those who use it with the following:
- A simple way to keep track of their Silver Bullion & Silver U.S. Junk Silver purchases
- Keep a running total on the total Cost per ounce of silver in their entire collection
- Know how much the collection has appreciated or depreciated
- Have a running breakdown of each purity in the collection (by total oz. and % of collection)
Screenshots:
Start by selecting the product from the drop down list
The enter the quantity of that coin. So how many of that product you bought. Careful not to confuse the Quantity cell with the face value. Once you have entered a product and a quantity, the spreadsheet will automatically tell you the Total Troy Ounces within that lot. Please note this total is based on ideal measurements (newly minted bullion or silver coins), and does not factor wear on the products that could offset the actual silver content.
Finally enter the Unit Price, which is what you actually paid for the product. You also have the option to include any additional costs in the Other Costs cell. This can be a great place for expenses like premiums or travel expenses.
Now over time as you continue to make additional purchases, just update the tracker and it will keep a record for you to refer to.
BUT WAIT IT GETS BETTER!!!!!
There is also another worksheet in this tracker that will give you a summary of your purchases. I'm calling it the SnapShot page.
You do need to Manually enter the Current price of Silver in cell B2.
But after that the SnapShot page provides you with:
- Total T oz. of Silver in the collection
- Your cost per ounce of Silver (this will be skewed if you include anything with a high $$ premium)
- Cost of Investment (how much you've spent on the collection)
- Net Profit (Loss)
- Return On Investment
As well as the breakdown by purity:
- For .999 Fine bullion you can see Total T oz. & % of Collection
- For Junk U.S. Silver Coins you see Total T oz., Total Face, & % of Collection
- It is not designed to track sales
- It will not track Non-U.S. Silver coins
- It is only set-up to track U.S. Silver coins and common bullion amounts
- Does not include a section for grades of coins
This is my first attempt at creating an Excel Spreadsheet to track Silver Bullion & Junk U.S. Silver Coin collections and purchases. If you try it out, please comment on the YouTube video, or here on this post. I would love to learn if this is useful, or if you have a better system (digital or analog) for tracking your silver stacking.
There are many factors that could continue to drive silver prices higher.
There are many factors that could continue to drive silver prices higher.
