What about VAT on silver?

Because silver is widely used in industry, silver is basically considered a raw material or industrial good. Silver is therefore taxed at 21% VAT.
 
Silver coins, on the other hand, are seen as a collector's item. This has the advantage that these coins can be traded under the margin scheme, and then VAT is only charged on the profit margin of the dealer. If the merchant has a profit margin of 5%, then about 1% of the purchase price would be the VAT.
 
With silver, there is additionally the possibility of buying VAT-free silver, and this involves large industrial silver bars stored in a customs warehouse in Switzerland.
 
Because this silver is never imported into Europe, no VAT applies. VAT-free silver is especially interesting for larger purchase amounts starting at around €25,000.