As Salaamu Alaikum my respected Mufti,
I have a question please, about buying silver dollars…is this permissible? From what I can see on these sites that advertise these dollars, they are approx. 1oz. 99% silver (I don’t have the exact percentage of purity in front of me, but it is very close to 100%). They usually charge more dollar wise for the coin, than the weight is worth (in dollars) on the precious metals market. Is that Islamically permissible? If you need to look at one of these sites for clarity, here is a link.
Search | JM Bullion
http://www.jmbullion.com/search/?q=1oz+American+silver+dollar+&x=0&y=0
Wa Alaikum Assalaam,
الجواب و بالله التوفيق
From your explaination, I understand that one purchases a silver dollar (in a coin form) for US dollars.
Normally, two factors are used in arriving at the price of the silver dollar. One is the silver content in the coin (silver dollar) and the other is the value of the coin. As such, the price will not only be for the silver content, it will also be based on the value of that particular coin which takes into consideration the year it was minted, the condition of the coin and the mintmark.
Hence, a coin may cost more than the weight of silver which is in it, due to the other factors that are taken into consideration, and this is permissible.
And Allah Knows Best.
Mufti Waseem Khan.
23/11/15.