Isn't this pretty? Let me tell you, even through the plastic, it's weight feels good in the hand.
The above is a 5 Troy oz silver (AG) bullion bar from my personal stash. Now, let's not get the wrong idea here, I am not "Daddy Warbucks", or "Ritchie Rich", not even close, but I have been able to acquire silver bullion that is a legitimate commodities investment. I can only speak for the United States, but this particular bullion bar is eligible to be used in a precious metals backed IRA (Individual Retirement Account).
To date, I can only verify from my own experience, the process that I went through to invest this way using cryptocurrency.
Recently, when Gridcoin (GRC) hit close to ten cents per, I divested a little bit of my holdings (hodlings) in order to have a bit of liquidity to play around with. If you're going to spend all this time, effort, learning, crunching, etc., then take a little of that and enjoy the freedom that comes with it.
Did I lose money doing this, Yes! Did I care, no. It was an interesting experience and fun to do. (Hey, if you like the article enough, I might actually break even one day, hah)
Step One - Own a cryptocurrency, duh.
Step Two - Convert it, if it is convertible, to the amount of Bitcoin (BTC) you are willing to part with.
Step Three - Open an account at two places:
Check out the catalog at JM Bullion, especially the silver sales that usually change weekly and usually gain you silver at $0.75 or so over spot. (Spot = the current price of the commodity on the open market) They also have a much better presentation of the products, unlike my original photo of my personal bar (top), but it's there as an indicator I actually am vested in this, for what that is worth.
Why BitPay? Simply because that is who the dealer uses for payment processing.
Note - If you are intending to place the silver in a precious metals backed IRA, it's easy to setup one through them. If you prefer to play "Scrooge McDuck" one day and swim around in a bathtub full of silver bars, then have them ship it straight to you. In any case, I highly recommend bullion bars that are specifically indicated to come with an assay card, a means of counterfeit detection, and are approved for use in a precious metals IRA as not all silver meets those requirements.
I was very satisfied with my experience purchasing from them, and this was a very light overview of consumer level purchasing precious metals commodities. There is quite a bit more to it, and if I can't answer questions in the comments easily, I'll answer them in another article.
Thanks for looking!
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