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I know the debate between "junk" silver and bullion has been going on forever, and a lot, if not most, will say both are good and for their own reasons. I currently have about 15% of my stock in "junk silver" and the bulk of that is actually 80% Canadian silver.

How much of each do most of you keep around?

As much as I can !

whatever I can get at a good price

I much prefer Junk Silver to everything else. It tends to sell a bit below spot, but you just make sure you buy it a bit below spot and there's no loss from it.

I don't necessarily seek junk Ag out the way I do bullion items that I want. Most often I'll use junk silver to round out a purchase. For instance, if i want to spend as close to $100 as possible, I will pick out 3 1 oz rounds that I like and complete the order with silver quarters and dimes.

The exception is Morgans and Peace dollars--I'll take these at spot whenever I can. Not sure if they count as junk silver, though.

It just depends on where I can get the best deal for the dollars I have to spend. Silver is silver. I like it all!

I prefer junk silver based solely on nostalgia. I like to think about all the things a wore out ol mercury must have seen in her decades of circulation through some of the most pivotal years of the 20th century.

Right now I have around 25% junk silver, or what I like to call 'Constitutional Silver', and 75% ASE's but from now on I'm planing on having a ratio of 50-50%. Over the last month I've become a huge proponent of constitutional silver. If the SHTF and we eventually go back to a bartering system, you don't have to sacrifice a ASE for a loaf of bread. I very much like ASE's and since they are the most popular silver coin to own it's a no brainer to stack them, but in addition to what I already mentioned about constitutional silver, there is also an added interest to me because those coins will never be minted again. I am also trying to decide if I should purchase one, 100 ounce silver bar for every 500 ounces of ASE's and constitutional silver I own. I am not close to 500 ounces yet so I still have time but if I do decide to also own 100 ounce silver bars, I do not foresee myself owning any other type other than what I mentioned. I'd be interested in hearing other peoples comments on their ratios and their reasoning behind it.

jasonI wrote:I prefer junk silver based solely on nostalgia. I like to think about all the things a wore out ol mercury must have seen in her decades of circulation through some of the most pivotal years of the 20th century.

Nostalgia is a big piece of it for me also! I've also thought about doing some searching online to purchase some silver from the early 70's during the time that the Hunt brothers decided to make a huge move. If you do not know the story of the Hunt brothers, I highly encourage you to check out the below videos.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swrrAQBsEE0

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoBgXW2SGWk

CtrlAltBernanke wrote:

jasonI wrote:I prefer junk silver based solely on nostalgia. I like to think about all the things a wore out ol mercury must have seen in her decades of circulation through some of the most pivotal years of the 20th century.

Nostalgia is a big piece of it for me also! I've also thought about doing some searching online to purchase some silver from the early 70's during the time that the Hunt brothers decided to make a huge move. If you do not know the story of the Hunt brothers, I highly encourage you to check out the below videos.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swrrAQBsEE0

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoBgXW2SGWk

I had heard the story but decided to check out the vids anyways. The narrator offers a much different spin on the story than I have heard from other sources. I feel more informed now.

I like junk silver because it satisfies two of my interests. Stacking, and collecting. Plus it has a pretty low cost of entry for beginners like myself.

It isn't junk!

CtrlAltBernanke wrote:Right now I have around 25% junk silver, or what I like to call 'Constitutional Silver', and 75% ASE's but from now on I'm planing on having a ratio of 50-50%. Over the last month I've become a huge proponent of constitutional silver. If the SHTF and we eventually go back to a bartering system, you don't have to sacrifice a ASE for a loaf of bread. I very much like ASE's and since they are the most popular silver coin to own it's a no brainer to stack them, but in addition to what I already mentioned about constitutional silver, there is also an added interest to me because those coins will never be minted again. I am also trying to decide if I should purchase one, 100 ounce silver bar for every 500 ounces of ASE's and constitutional silver I own. I am not close to 500 ounces yet so I still have time but if I do decide to also own 100 ounce silver bars, I do not foresee myself owning any other type other than what I mentioned. I'd be interested in hearing other peoples comments on their ratios and their reasoning behind it.

Rather than 100 oz which puts a big bulge in your Pants Pocket I think fractional Gold would be more comfortable an a better value for big deals

Stay away from 100 ounce bars. From the Sovereign Man website http://www.sovereignman.com/

100-ounce (or larger) silver bars. The higher the price of silver, the greater incentive for fraudsters to make fake bars with lead (or whatever) in the middle.

Believe me, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. My friend Dan Rosenthal, former Editor of the Silver & Gold Report, once showed me a fake silver bar from the last big bull market in the late 1970s, sawn in half, which occupied pride of place in his office. In the middle were three lead tubes!

The higher silver goes, the more this sort of thing will be going on again. Caveat emptor.

CtrlAltBernanke wrote:Right now I have around 25% junk silver, or what I like to call 'Constitutional Silver', and 75% ASE's but from now on I'm planing on having a ratio of 50-50%. Over the last month I've become a huge proponent of constitutional silver. If the SHTF and we eventually go back to a bartering system, you don't have to sacrifice a ASE for a loaf of bread. I very much like ASE's and since they are the most popular silver coin to own it's a no brainer to stack them, but in addition to what I already mentioned about constitutional silver, there is also an added interest to me because those coins will never be minted again. I am also trying to decide if I should purchase one, 100 ounce silver bar for every 500 ounces of ASE's and constitutional silver I own. I am not close to 500 ounces yet so I still have time but if I do decide to also own 100 ounce silver bars, I do not foresee myself owning any other type other than what I mentioned. I'd be interested in hearing other peoples comments on their ratios and their reasoning behind it.

The 50/50 ratio matches my philosophy, which I've implemented. I have one 100 oz bar, mostly as a curiousity. I decided I didn't want to focus on large bars for the reasons others have listed. While you can get those bars verified without melting them (density/sg analysis, x-ray, etc) that can cost money to have done and certified, which negates any other advantages, unless you are truly buying and selling in bulk. The coins and rounds can be verified easily by users by simple dimensional/mass analysis.