Sakata

Premiums Paid for 100 Ounce Silver Bars

Premiums have been steadily rising all summer on all forms of silver. For silver eagles is it now around 80-90%. However, some dealers do occasionally have silver available for immediate delivery and it is still possible to buy it at a lower premium from them.

All manufacturers are not equal. Bulliondirect's nucleo auction site has Engelhard and JM bars for about a 50% premium but other brands at 36% premium. Last week there were 200 bars auctioned at seekbullion.com. Historical data is not available but I seem to remember a premium of about 30-35% for Engelhard bars. This morning Apmex has them for about a 30% premium for delivery in 4 weeks. That is not immediate, but they are reputable and I have bought from them frequently.

Ebay may be an easy place to check the prices but it is not the only place to look and it is not the first place I look when trying to buy. Plus, their fees are ridiculous (up to 15%) so it is not a good place to judge what you could sell your silver for. Other sites produce more reliable data.

I do agree with you about the high premiums, but don't think they are uniformly as high as you claim.