999 vs 999.9 bars, is there a difference?

[BedMac]

I was just reading this topic and noticed that cast bars are 999 purity and minted ones are 999.9 purity... Why is that? Does this explain why minted bars are slightly more expensive? And if they are more pure maybe it is better to buy minted ones? Sorry for slight off topic.

[ChrisSilver]

I have split your post to a new topic, as it is a good question. I think it merits it's own topic. And as to not let the other topic go off track also..

Your post was in a topic speaking about 500g vs 1kg bars, and there were some comments about Baird's. So I presume your post is based off of that Baird's seem to sell a minted bars that are 999.9 and cast bars that are 999.

The difference in purity is so minimal and both are considered to be pure silver. It is 99.9+% vs 99.99+% 

What I suspect is that due to the production process of producing cast silver, that it is harder to for Baird's to guarantee purely to the 0.09% so they simply just label it 999. Or there may indeed be something else in that 0.09% that helps with the production process (just hypothesising) 

You will also notice that many of the top mints just mint 999 silver, PAMP as an example, their minted bars are 999.0 as well as their cast bars. 

There is currently no real investment value of having 999.9 silver over 999. However some people may prefer 999.9 for their personal preference. 

[Arganto]

It's the same in coins, the silver Maple is often touted for being 9999 over and above 999 or 9993 like the Eagle. Where the Maple can command a premium dependant on year that's more to do with desirability I think as the melt value is the same as other coins 999 or over. 

[Notafront4adragon]

I feel it's most likely marketing, I believe the Royal Canadian Mint were the first to market their 9999 gold coins as the purest in the world, gotta stand out some how. 

[BedMac]

21 hours ago, ChrisSilver said:

I have split your post to a new topic, as it is a good question. I think it merits it's own topic. And as to not let the other topic go off track also..

Your post was in a topic speaking about 500g vs 1kg bars, and there were some comments about Baird's. So I presume your post is based off of that Baird's seem to sell a minted bars that are 999.9 and cast bars that are 999.

The difference in purity is so minimal and both are considered to be pure silver. It is 99.9+% vs 99.99+% 

What I suspect is that due to the production process of producing cast silver, that it is harder to for Baird's to guarantee purely to the 0.09% so they simply just label it 999. Or there may indeed be something else in that 0.09% that helps with the production process (just hypothesising) 

You will also notice that many of the top mints just mint 999 silver, PAMP as an example, their minted bars are 999.0 as well as their cast bars. 

There is currently no real investment value of having 999.9 silver over 999. However some people may prefer 999.9 for their personal preference. 

Thank you @ChrisSilver, for moving it and starting new topic.

Yes that referred to Baird's bars.

And, at the end of the day, the silver content in both is the same - it was just newbie curiosity 🤷‍♂️

[mr-dead]

When you do the math between a 999 and a 9999 1kg silver bar you get an additonal 0.9g of silver (even though the bar is probably silightly over weight to ensure fine weight meets the stated quantity)

Current market value of 0.9 silver = £0.36p

 

I would take a beat up old poured bar over a shiny minted one any day of the week, a bit of character and history.

[BedMac]

2 minutes ago, mr-dead said:

When you do the math between a 999 and a 9999 1kg silver bar you get an additonal 0.9g of silver (even though the bar is probably silightly over weight to ensure fine weight meets the stated quantity)

Current market value of 0.9 silver = £0.36p

Well, that makes sense and I agree with you @mr-dead, but on Baird's web site, when you compare 999 cast bar with minted 9999 bar, the silver content seems to be the same ( 500g bars = 16,075 toz). Unles they just rounded it up...

[mr-dead]

1 minute ago, BedMac said:

Well, that makes sense and I agree with you @mr-dead, but on Baird's web site, when you compare 999 cast bar with minted 9999 bar, the silver content seems to be the same ( 500g bars = 16,075 toz). Unles they just rounded it up...

most coins and bars will be ever so slightly over the specified weight to ensure they dont fall foul of legal requirements regarding precious metal content meeting stated fine weights.

A minted bar is more expensive due to the additonal manufacturing and packaging involved in production.

[Troy77]

28 minutes ago, mr-dead said:

When you do the math between a 999 and a 9999 1kg silver bar you get an additonal 0.9g of silver (even though the bar is probably silightly over weight to ensure fine weight meets the stated quantity)

Current market value of 0.9 silver = £0.36p

 

I would take a beat up old poured bar over a shiny minted one any day of the week, a bit of character and history.

What about a beat up minted bar over a shiny poured bar?

[mr-dead]

9 minutes ago, Troy77 said:

What about a beat up minted bar over a shiny poured bar?

I prefer poured bars although I wouldn't mind a bucket of Scottsdale stackables to play with.

 

[silverdocket]

I think it would only make a difference if you we're buying 1000 oz bars  and tonnage.... I'm not doing the maths on that.

[RacerCool]

The bottom line for me is whether I know the purity or not. So if a coin is known to be .900 silver, or .999 or .9999, it doesn't matter as long as I know beforehand.