Dhanteras falls on Friday 6 November 2026, and in a lot of Indian homes the same question comes up every year: do we buy a silver coin or silver jewellery? My honest answer to silver coin or silver jewellery is that it depends on the job you want the silver to do. If you want metal to keep, place in the puja and one day sell close to its silver value, a 999 coin does that better; if you want something you will wear and hand down, 925 jewellery wins.
I make silver jewellery for a living, in our workshop in Jaipur, so I am not neutral about what I love. But I am not going to pretend a bracelet is a savings plan. This page lays out what each one actually is, where your money goes, what usually comes back if you ever sell, and how to check purity before you pay. It describes trade-offs. It is not investment advice, and I am not a financial adviser.
In short
- A 999 coin is 99.9% silver. 925 sterling silver jewellery is 92.5% silver, with about 7.5% copper added for strength.
- A coin's price sits closer to the value of its metal. Jewellery adds making charges for design and hand work, and those are usually not recovered if you sell.
- If the goal is purely to hold silver as metal, a coin or bar is the more direct choice. If the goal is something worn every day and inherited, jewellery is.
- Both tarnish, because both are real silver. A dark film is chemistry, not a sign of a fake.
- Dhanteras 2026 is on Friday 6 November; Lakshmi Puja is on Sunday 8 November.
Silver coin or silver jewellery: the short answer
Think of them as two different purchases that happen to use the same metal. A coin is silver bought as metal: more of what you pay is silver and less is labour. Jewellery is silver bought as an object, with someone's hours of work inside it, made to be worn to office, to a cousin's sangeet, and later passed to a daughter or daughter-in-law. A coin cannot do that job. And if what you want is silver kept simply as metal, a coin does that job better.
What you are actually buying: 999 versus 925
A 999 silver coin is a disc of fine silver, 99.9% pure, sold mainly by weight and stamped with its purity, often carrying Lakshmi and Ganesh or another auspicious design for the festive season. Fine silver is soft, which matters very little for something that lives in a box or a puja thali.
925 sterling silver is 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. As the definition of sterling silver notes, fine silver on its own is relatively soft, and the copper adds hardness and strength. That small share of copper is what lets a toe ring hold its shape on your foot and a chain survive being caught on a dupatta, which is why we work in 925 for pieces meant to be worn daily. I have written a fuller comparison of 925 and 999 silver for jewellery if you want the detail.
Put the same weight side by side and the arithmetic is simple. A 10 g coin at 999 contains about 9.99 g of silver. A 10 g piece of 925 jewellery contains about 9.25 g of silver. Both are real silver; the coin just has a little more of it in every gram.
Where your money goes, and what usually comes back
The price of a silver coin sits fairly close to the value of the silver in it, with a mark-up for minting, packing and the seller's margin. The price of a piece of jewellery has three layers: the silver, the making charges (design, labour and finishing), and tax.
Making charges are where the two part ways. On a coin, the making is a press striking a blank. On a handcrafted piece, it is a karigar shaping, soldering, filing and polishing by hand. That labour is real value when you wear the piece, not value you get back across a counter.
When silver jewellery is sold back to a jeweller or a silver dealer, the offer is generally based on the weight of silver it contains, at that buyer's rate on the day, less their deductions. The making charges you paid are usually not part of that sum. A coin is valued the same way, on weight and purity, which is exactly why less of your original spend disappears.
Here is what the jewellery trade tends to skip at festival time: jewellery is often sold as an "investment". In the way a coin is, it is not. The making charge is the price of craft, and it stays with the craft.
| What matters | 999 silver coin | 925 silver jewellery |
|---|---|---|
| Silver content | 99.9% | 92.5%, with about 7.5% copper for strength |
| What the price is mostly made of | The silver, plus a smaller mark-up for minting and the seller | The silver, plus making charges for design and hand work |
| Made to be worn? | No; fine silver scratches and dents easily | Yes, that is what 925 is for |
| Place in the festival | Widely used in Lakshmi Puja and kept with family savings | Worn through the festival and long after it |
| Tarnish | Yes, it is silver | Yes, it is silver; wipes clean with a silver cloth |
| If you sell it later | Valued on weight and purity, so more of the price paid tends to come back | Valued on silver content; making charges usually not recovered |
| How to check it | 999 stamp, weight and purity on the bill, sealed pack where given | 925 stamp, "925 sterling silver" on the listing and bill, an authenticity certificate where given |
| Best suited to | Holding silver as metal, the puja thali, a token gift | Daily wear, a personal gift, something to pass down |
Why silver at Dhanteras in the first place
Dhanteras is the thirteenth lunar day (Trayodashi) of the dark fortnight, usually two days before Lakshmi Puja. In 2026 that is Friday 6 November, with Lakshmi Puja on Sunday 8 November. Dhanteras is traditionally considered an auspicious day to buy gold or silver articles and new utensils, and Dhanvantari is worshipped in the evening.
How families mark it varies by region and community. In some homes the new coin is placed in the Lakshmi Puja and then kept with the household's savings; in others the custom is a new utensil or a small ornament for the newest bride in the house. I would never tell anyone that one purchase brings more luck than another.
How to check purity before you pay
For a coin, look for the purity stamped on it (999), its weight, and a bill that states both. Coins from established sellers often come in a sealed pack with the weight and purity printed on it.
For jewellery, look for the 925 stamp, a product listing that names the metal plainly, and a bill with weight and purity. Be wary of phrases like "silver-toned", "silver finish" or "German silver". German silver is an alloy of copper, zinc and nickel and contains no silver at all.
If you want certainty beyond the paperwork, a jeweller can run an XRF test, a machine reading of the metal that does not damage the piece. And over the months, real silver proves itself in a quieter way: it tarnishes. Our guide on how to tell if silver is real before you buy online covers what to ask a seller for.
As for our own pieces: every Smith Jewels piece is stamped 925, and every order comes with an authenticity certificate confirming the silver is 925. Along with that you get a plain description of what each piece is made of, and a family that has worked with silver since 1985 answering your questions.
What I tell women who ask me
If you are buying silver to sit in a locker, buy a coin. If you are buying silver to sit on your wrist, buy jewellery. If your family's tradition is a coin for the puja thali, keep it, and buy a piece for yourself separately if you want one.
What I push back on is jewellery bought at Dhanteras and then locked away for "occasions". Silver is meant to touch skin. It darkens as it meets air, sweat and perfume, a soft silver cloth brings it back, and real silver tarnishing is proof, not a defect.
For a first Dhanteras piece that will actually get worn, I would look at the Classic Link Bracelet, about 6 g of hand-finished links that pick up a soft patina over the years, or the Silver Box Chain, about 4 g and made in several lengths, which will carry any pendant you add later. The Infinity Toe-Rings come as a pair and sit quietly under a saree or with jeans.
If you want a Lakshmi association without a coin, the Lakshmi Kamal Bookmark is a sculpted lotus, the flower Lakshmi is traditionally depicted with, in 925 sterling silver that clips into whatever you are reading.
One practical note: most of our pieces are made to order and usually dispatch within 2 to 5 working days, excluding Sundays and public holidays. If you need a piece in hand by Friday 6 November, message us before you order and we will tell you honestly whether the date works. For what lasts beyond one festival, read why 925 sterling silver lasts for generations.
Frequently asked questions
Is it auspicious to buy silver jewellery on Dhanteras?
Dhanteras is traditionally considered an auspicious day to buy gold or silver articles, and many families include jewellery in that, not only coins. Customs vary by region, community and household, so follow what your family does. Some families buy a coin for the puja and an ornament to wear, and both are part of the same tradition.
Which is better for investment, a silver coin or silver jewellery?
If the aim is simply to hold silver, a coin or bar is the more direct route, because more of the price is metal and less is making charges, which are usually not recovered on resale. That describes how pricing works; it is not investment advice, so speak to a qualified adviser before any financial decision.
Do 999 silver coins tarnish?
Yes. Fine silver also reacts with sulphur compounds in the air and forms a dark film of silver sulphide, and humidity speeds it up. Keeping the coin in its sealed pack or an airtight pouch slows the process. A darkened coin is not a fake coin; the film is simply what real silver does over time.
When is Dhanteras in 2026?
Dhanteras falls on Friday 6 November 2026, and Diwali's Lakshmi Puja is on Sunday 8 November. The auspicious time, or muhurat, for buying and for puja differs from city to city, so check a local panchang or ask your family pandit for the exact window where you live.
Silver coin or silver jewellery: decide by what it will do
So, silver coin or silver jewellery? Choose the coin if you want silver as metal for the puja thali or the locker, and choose jewellery if you want silver that lives on you and outlasts the festival. Both are real silver, both will tarnish, and both are a perfectly good way to mark Dhanteras. Real Silver. Made to be worn every day.
