Currently, there are numerous mints that produce series of beautiful silver bullion pieces that are backed by the government with a legal tender status. These coins obtain their monetary value for being both beautiful and their metal content, but unfortunately, many people do not know a lot about them. So, here is some more information about them with my top six favorite silver bullion series from all around the world. 6) The American Silver Eagle Series Of all of the modern bullion series that are produced, the American Silver Eagle is one of my favorites. First produced in 1986, this series is still in production where they are a favorite among coin collectors, investors, and coin dealers. Since their introduction, they have been produced at three mints; Philadelphia, Westpoint, and San Fransisco with the corresponding mint mark on many pieces. Their design is inspired by the walking liberty half a dollar which were produced from 1916-1947, and designed by Adolf A Weiman. Each coin contains one full troy ounce of .999 silver, where their mintage varies a lot because they are produced only to fulfill the demand for them, where millions of coins are oftentimes produced every year. The reason why this series is placed so low on this list is that there is simply not a lot of variety and a lot of market hype for these coins. These coins oftentimes sell for a very high premium above its bullion content if there is any change from its normal design which has been produced since 1986. Although the design is striking, there is not much variety as the only thing that seems to change is the coins finish, and whether if it's in a proof or uncirculated, with the rare exception such as the lettered edge on the 30th-anniversary pieces. This is why this coin is placed at number 7 on my list. 5)The Queens Beast SeriesAlthough this series just started in 2016, they are honestly some of the coolest coins on the market today! These coins are produced by the royal mint in the United Kingdom, where the obverse always depicts a portrait of Queen Elizabeth the second. So far, there have already been three different designs produced, being a lion, a griffin, and a dragon. Each of these coins weighs two troy ounces as opposed to many other series which only weigh one, which is expensive for many collectors; but allows for a larger design on the piece. In fact, they are even producing a ten troy ounce version containing the Lion design this year! However, with the series being so new the average mintage is currently unknown; but they deserve this spot on this list due to the unique designs that many people love. These coins are being produced in many different formats, which increases the options that collectors have but make collecting them less affordable to collect them all. Also, many collectors have complaints about unfinished edges, which are not too bad considering the extra metal content that they provide; but they do catch on to soft cotton materials easily. 4) The Mexican Libertad SeriesWithin the Mexican Libertad series, there have been two general designs produced since its introduction in 1982 which are commonly referred to as the "old style" and the "new style." The old style was minted from 1982 until 1995 and depicts a forward facing view of the famous Angle Of Independence Statue. On the reverse, there is a traditional depiction of the Mexican coat of arms which consists of an eagle eating a snake atop a prickly pear cactus amongst rocks. The new version, which was first produced in 1996, and are still being minted today depict a forward facing view of the Angel of Liberty statue on the obverse, where on the reverse there is a depiction of the traditional Mexican coat of arms in the center and various other depictions of the coat of arms surrounding it. Unlike the silver eagle series, most years have a relatively low mintage which is oftentimes under a million or under. Additionally, there are many different sizes produced where the smallest piece that is produced weighs a tenth of a troy ounce and the largest piece weighs a kilo. Additionally, they come in both proof and mint state finishes which are why these beautiful coins are ranked six on this list! 3) The Chinese Panda SeriesThis series of bullion was first produced in 1988, where they are produced by the Peoples Republic of China. On the obverse of the coin, there is a depiction of a panda where every year the way the panda is portrayed changes except for 2001 and 2002. On the reverse, there is a depiction of a building known as the "Temple of Heaven", which is a very famous Chinese building in Bejing that is well-liked due to its history, and stature in traditional Chinese culture. The designs of these coins are amazing, and the mintage of these pieces is relatively low which leads to them carrying high premiums. Unfortunately, they do not weigh an entire troy ounce of silver, but rather 30 grams which are 1.105g of-of silver less than a troy ounce. In fact, unlike much other bullion series, where the coin typically come raw tubes, these coins come in individually hard plastic cases 2) The Australian Koala SeriesThis series was first minted in 2007, where on the obverse there is always a depiction of Queen Elizabeth the second, and on the reverse, there is a depiction of a koala which changes every year. Multiple sizes are sold, with the smallest size weighing one-half of a troy ounce, and the largest weighing a kilo. These coins come in both proof and bullion finishes, and unlike many other series, they come in a very high quality hard plastic capsule from the mint. This, combined with the low premium and my love for the designs is why this series is ranked so highly on this list. 1) The Canadian $20 For $20 SeriesThese coins are honestly on of the coolest series that have ever been produced when it comes to modern bullion, which is why it is on my list as number 1. This series was first produced in 2011 by the Canadian royal mint and was minted until 2016. The concept behind this series is a small silver bullion is sold, which contains a quarter of a troy ounce of silver, for twenty dollars (CAD), but these coins have a legal tender status and a face value of $20(CAD). Throughout the series, a lot of amazing designs have been produced, where popular themes such as Bugs Bunny and Superman are featured on many of the coins. In fact, a few of the designs even had a glow in the dark feature! Unfortunately, these coins were given a noncirculating legal tender status as opposed to a circulation legal tender status, which means that banks and businesses do not have to accept them for their face value in payment, and many do not. Therefore, people were having a very hard time using them and gladly returned them when the Canadian mint would allow them to do so. In my opinion, if they were given a circulation legal tender status, they would have been extremely successful and I feel that this fact, combined with the awesome designs is why it deserves the number one spot on the list. Well, there you have it; the top seven silver bullion series. Out of all honesty, there are so many other awesome modern bullion pieces that I love but did not include on the list because they were not a part of a series. I hope that you enjoyed this article and that it helped you learn about some of the modern silver bullion series that are out there. By: Brandon Spiegel, owner and founder of Let's Start A Coin Collection
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Author: Brandon Spiegel.
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