How to invest in silver in Ireland

Silver has been a valuable commodity for hundreds of years and while its purposes have changed throughout history it has never lost its place on the Irish market. In part due to its inherent malleability, silver has managed to adapt to the changing times, keeping its value high even today.

This page will discuss different ways to invest in silver from Ireland and some of the risks that you may face.

Buy silver shares

One common way to invest in silver in Ireland is over the stock market. When you buy shares in a silver mining (or related) company, you can typically expect your stock to rise in value as the price of silver increases.

Silver has a number of uses which makes it a desirable asset in many modern industries. The main difference between investing in physical silver and stocks in the silver industry is you’re exposed to the same risks that come with buying into any company, such as bankruptcy. By that same token, there can be additional benefits such as dividends or potential higher returns.

In Ireland, you can invest in silver mining and manufacturing companies like Great Western Mining (GWM) on the Euronext Dublin. Alternatively, you can invest via overseas exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with stocks like Gatos Silver Inc. (GATO) and Hecla Mining Co. (HL).

Invest in silver ETFs and ETCs

Investing in a silver-themed exchange traded fund (ETFs) can be an easy way of gaining exposure to silver prices or companies in the silver sector. ETFs are investment funds that trade on stock exchanges and track the prices of underlying assets.

Some silver ETFs simply track silver spot market prices, while others track a collection of companies in the silver mining industry or a combination of the two. This makes ETFs an easy and flexible way of adding silver to your portfolio.

While there aren’t silver ETFs on the Euronext Dublin, you can always use your trading account to access silver ETFs on other well-known markets like the NYSE, Nasdaq, and more. The iShares Silver Trust (SLV), for example, tracks the spot price of silver by owning physical silver bullion, while the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) tracks an index of silver mining companies.

ETCs, on the other hand, track the price of a commodity or commodity index. Just like ETFs, ETCs can be traded like regular stocks. A silver ETC to consider on the ISE is the WisdomTree Silver 1x Daily Short fund which tracks the Bloomberg Silver Subindex. ETCs are popular because they offer exposure to silver without you having to buy physical metal or futures contracts.

Compare online brokers to trade silver stocks ETFs and CFDs

Warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

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Purchase silver futures or options

By investing in silver futures you are agreeing to buy an asset at a future set price. In other words, you are agreeing to pay today’s prices for an asset that gets delivered sometime in the future.

If the price rises between the time the futures contract is purchased and the contract expiry date, buying at today’s prices will be a profitable trade. The difference between the price you paid for an asset and its price at the time of delivery is the profit.

This system also lets traders in Ireland profit from falling prices. If a trader thinks prices will drop, they can also buy a “short contract.” This means they put in an order to sell the asset at today’s prices, for delivery in the future. Now, if prices drop between the time the short contract was purchased and the contract expiry date, the price difference will be the trader’s profit for the trader.

With traditional futures trading, you’re dealing with physical commodities. Typically only professional traders buy and sell contracts over the futures market.

Investors from Ireland can purchase silver futures through the COMEX market via platforms like Degiro and Interactive Brokers. When you invest in futures, you agree to buy stocks in a commodity at a set price, which you then receive some time in the future. The idea is that you end up buying stocks at a lower cost than prices would allow otherwise, but success heavily depends on market movements.

Buy silver bullion

Rather than investing in silver stocks, you may decide to invest in physical silver, in the form of silver bullion bars or coins, to sell on your own terms at a later date.

“Bullion” refers to high-purity silver that is officially recognised as being at least 99.5% pure silver. When buying silver bullion, it’s important to remember that you are purchasing by weight regardless of whether it’s in the form of a bar, a coin or anything else.

More collectible forms such as commemorative silver coins will often be much more expensive per gram than silver bars, so it’s important to check how much you’re paying by weight before buying silver.

While you have full control over the asset, buying physical silver is a longer-term investment and you will have to find a buyer to realise a profit. Like other investments, physical silver prices are still influenced by the market.

It’s up to you to decide how you want to store physical silver. Some people keep it at home, others entrust it to a custodian. Both options have different costs and risks.

For investors in Ireland looking to own physical silver, you can contact a seller like GoldCore and have them deliver your silver to you or store it in a secure vault on your behalf. Do note that physical silver may come with VAT taxes if your silver is imported from overseas. To avoid this, opt for VAT-free silver coins like silver Maples, Eagles or Kangaroos through local silver dealers.

How much is silver worth today?

Why do people invest in silver?

There are two main ways people think about silver’s value as an investment. One is as a practical and in-demand commodity whose properties give it many practical applications, similar to zinc or aluminium. The other is as a precious metal with a finite supply and inherent “folk value” similar to gold.

Silver prices are based on a combination of these two factors, which gives it a unique investment profile.

Silver as an industrial commodity

Silver’s chemical and physical properties, such as its conductivity and antibacterial properties, make silver essential for many electronics, healthcare and other applications.

Silver’s also malleable, ductile, reflective, relatively corrosion-resistant and not overly common, which historically made it a practical choice of metal for jewelry, coins and similar applications.

These also formed a practical foundation for silver’s status as a precious metal.

Silver as a precious metal

Silver (and gold’s) innate value as a precious metal is typically described in the context of its finite supply, or scarcity.

It’s not certain how much silver is left in the world, but some estimates suggest that Earth will run out of silver by 2050. These estimates, however, depend on a range of assumptions around silver’s continued use, how much we recycle and how likely miners are to uncover large previously-unknown sources of silver.

One economic theory holds that a commodity such as silver, which is in constant demand while having a finite supply, should carry a constantly-growing intrinsic value.

Proponents of this theory will often contrast the scarcity of silver with the theoretically infinite amount of government money, such as euros, that can enter circulation.

For this reason, silver is often regarded as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation, and its prices have been known to run opposite to the changing values of currencies.

Is silver a safe investment?

As mentioned above, silver is a staple material for many modern industries in Ireland and there are a number of routes available for investing in it. However, regardless of which way you approach it, your investment will inevitably come with risks:

• Fluctuating prices. Valuable metals have a tendency to fluctuate in price over small periods of time, sometimes with no real cause.
• Storage. Finding somewhere to store physical silver in Ireland can be a hassle, and storing it with a broker will come with a fee.
• Fraud. While it is tempting to look for the best prices, if it is too good to be true, it probably is. When buying physical silver in Ireland, trade with reputable dealers to avoid being fleeced.
• Political and environmental events. Political and environmental issues can make the mining, refining and trading process more expensive for companies, causing price fluctuations.

Frequently asked questions

• How much is silver worth in Ireland?

  Over the last twenty years, silver prices have ranged from approximately €3.39 to €40.45 per ounce.

• How is silver found?

  Silver is an element found in the earth’s crust. It’s extracted from ore veins all over the world, with some of the largest mines in Australia, Mexico and Bolivia. It’s purified through refinement, which separates impurities from the precious metal before distribution.