Perth Mint Silver Bars

Interesting discussion on the Perth Mint bars. I've been eyeing some of their kookaburras for a while now but hadn't considered the bars themselves for my IRA. For those who've actually taken delivery through your custodian, what's been your experience with the certificate of authenticity for the bars? Is it a separate document you receive, or is it typically etched/stamped directly onto the bar itself? Just thinking about potential resale down the line.

Totally agree on Perth Mint. My first significant silver purchase, way back in '08 when everyone was panicking, was a stack of their 100oz bars. Paid about $12.50 an ounce and they still look pristine in the vault. Quality makes a difference, especially when you're talking long-term hold for wealth preservation.

Yep, totally agree with you here. My first chunk of silver, maybe 20k worth, was almost all Perth Mint bars back in '17. The premium wasn't bad then, and honestly, they're just beautiful pieces of metal to hold. Definitely a quality product.

Am I the only one who thinks Perth Mint is charging a premium for… well, just being Perth Mint? I get the purity and brand recognition, but honestly, at some point, a silver bar is a silver bar. My stack from various refiners in my IRA, including some generics I picked up during the dips, has performed identically. It feels like we're paying more for the pretty kangaroo than for the actual metal value.

Perth Mint is solid. I've got some of their 10oz bars through my gold IRA, mostly for diversification within my precious metals allocation. Their premiums are usually fair, and the quality is consistently top-notch. Thinking about adding more silver to my retirement savings this year, maybe a few more of these or some Scottsdale Stackers.

I've always been more of a gold guy for the bulk of my gold IRA, but I have a small allocation to silver, and Perth Mint is definitely top-tier for quality. For my retirement savings, I generally stick to coins for their liquidity and fractional options, but if I were going bars, they'd be on the shortlist. Anyone else notice their premiums creeping up lately, even on smaller silver bars?

@Brian Edwards Man, Perth Mint. That hit me right in the nostalgia. My own "panic purchase" wasn't silver, but a few 1oz gold kangaroos from them back in 2011. Gold was rocketing past $1800 an ounce, the markets felt like they were actively trying to set themselves on fire, and I just had this visceral need to hold something real. I can still remember the weight of that first coin in my palm up here in Lexington – felt like I was finally doing *something* right after watching my 401k take a beating. It was a hell of a feeling, a mix of relief and intense fear that I'd just bought at the top. Never regretted it though, especially not after diversifying into my Gold IRA a few years later.

@Robert Thompson Yeah, Perth Mint's solid. Diversification is exactly what I was after when I first dipped my toes into the gold IRA world. Man, that was a wild ride a few years back. The market was so volatile, and I was just looking for *anything* to feel secure. I remember staring at my old 401k statements, feeling a pit in my stomach as numbers just… evaporated. It felt like my life's work was just being whittled away by forces I couldn't control. That's when I really started digging into gold. My wife, bless her heart, thought I was going a little crazy, spending evenings poring over charts and reading every article I could find. She kept saying, "Are you sure this isn't just a shiny rock fetish?" But I had a feeling, a deep-seated conviction, that gold was the anchor I needed. Honestly, the biggest hurdle, besides convincing my wife, was figuring out how much to allocate. I used the IRA Calculator linked in the sidebar here on GIRAB, and it was a revelation. I plugged in my existing portfolio numbers, my age (let's just say "closer to retirement

@Robert Thompson That's good to hear. I just started looking at adding some silver to my gold IRA and the Perth Mint stuff keeps popping up. New to all this, but do the premiums on silver bars typically track relatively close to gold bars from the same mint, or is there usually a bigger percentage spread with silver given the lower price point? Just trying to get a feel for what's "fair".

Thread: "Perth Mint Silver Bars"

My gold IRA is mostly coins, but I've got a decent stack of Perth Mint 10oz bars through my regular brokerage. The premiums are pretty reasonable compared to some other brands, and the recognized assay is a big plus for liquidity. Definitely a solid choice for diversifying a portion of your overall precious metals holdings.

@Thomas Walker – I've been looking at some of the Perth Mint bars too, especially since my last batch of Eagles felt a little lighter than expected (probably just my imagination, but still). For those of you who have taken delivery, did you notice any significant differences in how the Perth Mint bars are packaged or presented compared to, say, Sunshine Minting or even Royal Canadian Mint bars when they arrived for your Gold IRA? I'm in Minneapolis, and sometimes the courier handling can be a bit rough, so protection during transit is a real factor.

You know, two years ago, I almost pulled the trigger on a bunch of those 10oz Perth Mint bars. Had the money saved up, ready to go. Then my AC unit in Charleston decided to spontaneously combust in the middle of August. Spent that exact cash getting it replaced instead. Kicking myself ever since.

@Brian Edwards That's a great score on those 100oz bars, especially for '08. Given the current market and the Perth Mint's reputation for quality, did you ever consider selling those through your Gold IRA custodian when silver spiked, or are you holding them purely as physical in storage? Always curious about the practical logistics of moving larger physical pieces.

I've always been more of a Gold Eagle man myself, but I did dabble in Perth Mint silver bars back around 2011 when silver really started climbing. Picked up a few 10oz bars through JM Bullion. The markup felt a little steep at the time, but the quality was undeniable. Honestly, though, for IRAs, stick to the recognized coins for easier liquidation – bars can be a headache unless you're buying a huge quantity.

@Thomas Walker - Good question on Perth Mint bars. While I appreciate the aesthetic of their kooks, and the bars are certainly a solid option for many, I actually steered clear of them for my own IRA. My controversial take? For the amount I'm putting into my IRA – north of a half-mil – I'm *only* interested in pure allocation to gold, and I actually prefer to avoid any numismatic or "branded" premiums, even if they're minor. Give me plain, low-premium 1oz American Gold Eagles or Canadian Maple Leafs all day. I'm focused purely on the underlying asset and ease of liquidation, not the pretty picture stamped on it.

@Matthew Murphy - Absolutely, Perth Mint is solid, no doubt there. For my silver allocation within the gold IRA, I’ve actually been leaning more into the Royal Canadian Mint’s stuff lately. The security features they engrave on their Maple Leaf coins are pretty next-level compared to some of the others, which gives me an extra layer of comfort, especially with some of the recent geopolitical instability. I still hold some Perth Kookaburras, but the RCM’s fraud-prevention tech is a big plus for me.

It's funny, I actually started with a few of those Perth Mint silver bars back in 2015. Bought them through an online dealer, thought I was being really smart diversifiying beyond just my gold. Ended up selling them a few years later when I needed to free up some capital for a rental property down here in Birmingham. While the gold side of my IRA has definitely outperformed, those silver bars still held their value well enough to make a decent profit. Solid product, no complaints.

Just saw the thread about Perth Mint silver bars. I've got a decent chunk of my physical silver in those 10oz bars from them. Picked them up between 2018-2020. premiums were certainly better back then compared to what I'm seeing now, but the quality is undeniable. My biggest gripe is just the storage logistics when you start stacking a few hundred ounces, but that's a problem for any physical silver.

The Perth Mint Silver Bars are solid. I picked up a few 10oz bars a couple of years back through my custodian. No issues at all and the premium wasn't bad then. They sit in the vault, knowing they're good quality makes sleeping a lot easier than watching crypto charts, that's for sure.

Honestly, the whole "precious metals as a safe haven" thing felt like a cliché to me for years, something my grandfather in Brooklyn used to ramble on about during family dinners. My portfolio was all tech and real estate; I was riding high on that wave. Then 2008 hit, and watching half my wealth evaporate in a few months… that was a gut punch. NYC real estate held on better than stocks, but it was still rough. It was after that I started looking at actual physical assets, something tangible that wasn't just digits on a screen. Started small with some fractional gold, but it was actually a conversation with old Manzo down at the deli – he still takes cash, by the way – that got me thinking about silver. He showed me a handful of old junk silver coins he’d been holding onto since the '70s. That did it. I picked up my first lot of Perth Mint 10oz bars a few months later, not through any fancy broker, just a local dealer I found after some serious digging. The weight of them in my hand, the shine… it was different. It felt like I was *actually* holding wealth, not just trading it

Unpopular opinion here, but sometimes I think we get too hung up on specific mints and assays. My silver stack is mostly American Eagle and some Canadian Maples, but honestly, I bought a few generic Perth Kilos from a dealer years back when the premium was practically non-existent. My portfolio isn't bleeding because it's not all brand-name. If you're near retirement, the RMD Calculator is super helpful, but for accumulation, sometimes generic is the way to go if the price is right. Just my two cents from Jacksonville, FL.

@Patricia Miller Perth Mint is quality, no argument there. But honestly, for pure diversification, I sometimes wonder if people sleep too much on palladium. Feels like everyone flocks to gold and silver, and while I've got my fair share – about $150k tied up in various forms – I carved out a small percentage for palladium a few years back. The bid-ask spread is a bit wider, sure, but I saw some serious gains from it that my gold just couldn't touch in the same timeframe. Might be an unpopular opinion, but it's a solid part of my El Paso portfolio.

Honestly, I've seen a lot of folks here on GIRAB singing the praises of Perth Mint silver, and while their quality is undeniable, I'm starting to wonder if the premium is truly justified for an IRA. When I was setting up my initial 100k+ allocation in Omaha a few years back, my custodian pushed hard for American Silver Eagles, citing easier liquidity if I ever needed to sell quickly. While Perth is beautiful, is that extra shine really worth the slightly tougher sell on the back end for a long-term hold? Just food for thought.

Yeah, the Perth Mint bars are definitely solid. I've got a few of their 10oz in my physical holdings outside the IRA, and the quality is always top-notch. For the IRA, though, I usually stick to things like their Kangaroos or Kookaburras just because coins generally have a bit more liquidity when it comes to selling, even if the premium is slightly higher. Less grief from some dealers down the road.

@Robert Thompson Agreed on the Perth Mint quality, their lunar series is gorgeous, but I've personally started leaning away from some of their larger bars for IRA holdings, even for "intra-metals" diversification. Premiums are decent, sure, but in a true SHTF scenario, I wonder about the liquidity difference between a 10oz bar and a handful of smaller, more universally recognized denominations like ASEs or Canadian Maples. For my roughly $800k portfolio, I've consolidated smaller bar positions into more fractional options recently, focusing on instant trade-ability if things go south quickly. Curious if anyone else in the Austin area market has seen a noticeable difference in bids between larger and smaller gov't issue coins/bars in a pinch.

Man, Perth Mint. I remember eyeing those chunky 10oz bars back in 2018 when silver was *low*. I was still stuck in that "stocks always go up" mindset, even after the '08 crash rattled me. Had a decent chunk in tech, thought I was invincible. But then my buddy in Santa Fe, who's always been a bit of a contrarian, started bugging me about inflation, about "paper money losing its shine." He kept showing me charts, talking about *real* assets. I scoffed, but the seed was planted. It wasn't until late 2020, with all the money printing and the market feeling like it was running on fumes, that I finally pulled the trigger. Saw a deal on some 100oz Perth Mint bars through a dealer out of Phoenix – not quite as pretty as the smaller ones, but the premium was right. Felt like a massive leap of faith, moving that much capital out of the "growth" sector, but looking back, it's one of the best decisions I've made for my IRA. The safety net those bars represent, tucked away, really helps me sleep at night

@Paul Hill, good to hear from another dabbler in the shinier stuff! Your mention of JM Bullion brings back memories. I went with APMEX for a good chunk of my silver in those days, primarily because their shipping insurance and discrete packaging were top-notch for larger orders. For the Gold Eagles, I'm with you, solid choice for an IRA, but I've always thrown a bit more into fractional PAMP Suisse gold for liquidity reasons. Easier to offload a few grams if an unexpected expense crops up without having to break up a larger coin.

@Jason Morgan I hear what you're saying about generics versus Eagles/Maples, and for a pure silver stack, I mostly agree. But for me, in a Gold IRA, it's a completely different ballgame. The whole point of the IRA is the long-term, tax-advantaged safe haven, right? I'd rather pay an extra point or two for something like a Perth Mint bar or a specific sovereign coin that has recognized liquidity and zero question in a future transaction, especially if I'm hoping to pass it down. Generics in a Gold IRA just feel like introducing an unnecessary variable to something that's supposed to be as rock-solid and straightforward as possible. For my ~350k portfolio, I prioritize certainty over saving a few bucks on premiums.

Loving the discussion on Perth Mint bars. I'm just getting into the physical side of gold and silver for my IRA back in Honolulu, and Perth Mint keeps popping up. Are the premiums noticeably higher on these compared to, say, Sunshine Minting or even generic rounds, or does the recognized brand value make it worth it for future liquidity within an IRA setup? I used the IRA Calculator from the sidebar and was surprised by the projections, so now I'm trying to optimize every percentage point.

I stocked up on some Perth Mint 10oz bars a few years back, got a great deal from a local dealer in Tampa. Always preferred their designs over some of the other generic stuff. For anyone looking at physical, always factor in shipping and insurance if you're not buying locally – those costs can really eat into your premium spread, especially on smaller quantities.

Man, Perth Mint. That takes me back. I remember back in '08, right after the whole financial meltdown, I was staring at my 401k feeling like I'd just watched my life savings evaporate. My wife, Brenda, was freaking out, and honestly, so was I. We'd always been pretty conservative, but this felt different. That's when I started looking into physical assets, and gold felt… weighty, you know? Like something real in a world that suddenly felt very, very fake. I ended up buying a few of those Perth Mint silver bars, along with some Eagles, for our little emergency stash. It wasn't much then, probably only a couple thousand bucks' worth, but it was a psychological lifesaver. It felt like I was *doing* something, taking control back. Fast forward to now, and that initial investment has grown nicely, but more importantly, it was the first step on a journey that led me to getting serious about a Gold IRA. We're not talking millions, but that 50-100k portfolio feels a lot more secure than anything else we've got. If you're just starting out,

I've personally steered clear of Perth Mint for anything beyond collector coins, specifically their 10oz and 100oz silver bars. While their branding is great, the premiums on their bullion bars often outweigh the minor aesthetic appeal compared to something like a Johnson Matthey or even generics. For a significant silver allocation, those extra percentage points really add up over time.

The Perth Mint stuff is solid, no doubt. But for silver bars, especially when you're thinking future liquidation, I've always leaned towards the 10oz and 100oz **Johnson Matthey** or **Engelhard** bars from the 80s/90s. They've just got that extra layer of recognition and history in the secondary market that might make a difference when things get thick. I bought a few 1oz Perth bars in '18 for collectible sake but for serious weight, it's gotta be the older, established players.

Reading about the Perth Mint always brings back memories. My dad, bless his heart, was old school – always talked about how "real money" had weight. After he passed, I inherited a small collection of his coins, mostly silver Eagles he'd tucked away, and it got me thinking. I'd never really considered precious metals before, always chasing the next big tech stock. But then 2008 hit, and I watched way too much of my retirement dry up like the Savannah River in a drought. That's when I seriously started looking at diversifying. It wasn't about getting rich quick, it was about not having night sweats over my future. I remember seeing a chart, probably something similar to the Gold vs Stocks 10-year comparison – really put things in perspective how gold can be a steady hand when everything else is going haywire. That's what ultimately pushed me into setting up my Gold IRA, focusing on physical holdings like those Perth Mint bars and some American Gold Eagles. It's not the sexiest investment, but knowing I have that tangible asset helps

@Linda Taylor - RCM is excellent too, can't go wrong there. Funny story actually, my initial dive into sovereign mints for my gold IRA, about eight years ago now, was almost exclusively driven by a chat I had with a rather stiff but ultimately brilliant fellow at a Greenwich Country Club dinner. He practically gave me a dissertation on the geopolitical stability behind the RCM and Perth Mint, going so far as to pull out a silver maple leaf from his jacket pocket to show me the detail. He stressed not just the purity, but the sheer recognition factor globally for resale. I think I ended up allocating about 10% of that year's rollover to Perth 1oz gold coins and another 5% to RCM Maples based purely on that conversation. No regrets.