Purchasing junk silver, good idea or bad?

[jim4silver]

In the recent downfall of silver prices I have been trying to pick up silver and have found generally the premiums on .999 have been quite high relatively speaking, except for a few lucky finds.

However, in my area 90% is pretty much at the same premium level, proportionally speaking, as it was a few months ago. So I am considering buying 90% halves instead of .999 until the premiums go down, if they ever will.

Also, I had a chance to buy some fair quality silver dollars for about 11.50 a piece, but declined. Any silver dollar people out there think this is a good price, with silver at about 12.80? What say you BB RI?

I don't really buy into the whole "barter theory" that some propose that says when all fails here people will want to barter with junk silver coins. My hope is that if and when silver goes back up, I will have make an easy 30% or so return (assuming silver gets back to 20-21), although I think it could go much higher.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Jim

 

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[BBcardsRI]

Well Jim,

I am not of the belief that the economy will crash and we will all become like the Indians where we trade silver coins for goods in place of the waumpum that they used.

However, junk silver does have its benifits. It is legal tender, it is EASILY recognizable by EVERYONE. You see it, you KNOW you are looking at 90% silver coinage. Its not like canada's stuff where you have to pull out a book to see if it is 90... 80.... 50... clad... etc.

Coin collectors collect it without silver in mind because they need it to fill holes in their books/binders, so it carries a numismatic premium on top of or in place of silver value.

As far as if YOU should buy junk silver, it is your own opinion and feelings. Personally I love the stuff. The 11.50 a pop dollars you mentioned are a steal. The silver in them alone is worth $10 and their numismatic premium easily jumps them to above the 11.50 you paid for them. You could buy the guy out of them and resell them on ebay 10 minutes later and make a profit. Why turn down free money?

It depends one what you want out of silver though. 90% coinage can very well be a long term investment but it seems to get sold and resold more often than bullion.

I say buy buy buy no matter what it is, then its just up to you if you want to turn around and sell it right now for a small profit or sit on it in hopes of a bigger one.

I paid $14 for some subpar peace and $14 for some well ABOVE par morgans... I bought whatever I could get because I like my junk. And I know it will make me money one way or the other... short term or long, etc.

~Dave

 

[jim4silver]

Well Jim,

I am not of the belief that the economy will crash and we will all become like the Indians where we trade silver coins for goods in place of the waumpum that they used.

However, junk silver does have its benifits. It is legal tender, it is EASILY recognizable by EVERYONE. You see it, you KNOW you are looking at 90% silver coinage. Its not like canada's stuff where you have to pull out a book to see if it is 90... 80.... 50... clad... etc.

Coin collectors collect it without silver in mind because they need it to fill holes in their books/binders, so it carries a numismatic premium on top of or in place of silver value.

As far as if YOU should buy junk silver, it is your own opinion and feelings. Personally I love the stuff. The 11.50 a pop dollars you mentioned are a steal. The silver in them alone is worth $10 and their numismatic premium easily jumps them to above the 11.50 you paid for them. You could buy the guy out of them and resell them on ebay 10 minutes later and make a profit. Why turn down free money?

It depends one what you want out of silver though. 90% coinage can very well be a long term investment but it seems to get sold and resold more often than bullion.

I say buy buy buy no matter what it is, then its just up to you if you want to turn around and sell it right now for a small profit or sit on it in hopes of a bigger one.

I paid $14 for some subpar peace and $14 for some well ABOVE par morgans... I bought whatever I could get because I like my junk. And I know it will make me money one way or the other... short term or long, etc.

~Dave

Thanks for the input Dave.

Looks like silver is down a bit in the Asian markets so far, so I may go back tomorrow and pick up some of the silver dollars.

I might be able to get them a bit less in that I have negotiated with the seller before and got him to come down in price a bit if I buy a decent amount.

Jim

 

[BBcardsRI]

It's always worth trying to negotiate prices, you never know when you have a flexible dealer or deal unless you try.

I hope you can get them even lower, but even at those prices they are quite good. What shape are they in and are they just peace or are there morgan and such as well? I'll go back to your original post and see if you mentioned it there.

~Dave

 

[jim4silver]

It's always worth trying to negotiate prices, you never know when you have a flexible dealer or deal unless you try.

I hope you can get them even lower, but even at those prices they are quite good. What shape are they in and are they just peace or are there morgan and such as well? I'll go back to your original post and see if you mentioned it there.

~Dave

I asked him to show me what the condition of the ones for that price looked like, and he brought out a couple of 1921 Morgans that he described as fair to almost good. I dont know ratings such as that, but they were definitely not AU or something you would want to show off. You could read the dates but the face was smooth and the coins looked heavily circulated. I was looking that it more as a junk silver purchase, but I guess there are those out there that like the old silver dollars and will pay a premium.

I am going back tomorrow and will let you know what I find out. If nothing else I am going to buy more
90% halves. I have some great older AU Morgans and Peace dollars I bought a long time ago for about 19 or so, thus I really dont need anymore in great shape, unless of course I get them super cheap.

Jim

 

[BBcardsRI]

Well as long as the date is readable there are still those at there that will see them with a nusmismatic tag attached.

If they are REALLY crappy though and you are solely in this for the bullion weight of the coin, then if you are getting better deals on the halves I would suggest you stay with them.

Would like to hear what you end up with when you go back.

~Dave

 

[Silver Stripe]

I'm Jonesin! I haven't been to the local all week, been busy with halves though. HH Mark

 

[jim4silver]

Well as long as the date is readable there are still those at there that will see them with a nusmismatic tag attached.

If they are REALLY crappy though and you are solely in this for the bullion weight of the coin, then if you are getting better deals on the halves I would suggest you stay with them.

Would like to hear what you end up with when you go back.

~Dave

Dave,

Went back today and bought 20 Morgans, all with readable dates. They did not have much left, or I might have gotten more. The surfaces are pretty smooth and they were highly circulated. I paid 10.75 a piece.

I also got a few rolls of Walkers for 9X face. They were all "junk" status.

I wish I had more money to invest, at these prices I would go get more of the 90%s. Maybe I could buy some from the guy that found 1/4 of a junk bag of solid silver. Supplies around here are still real tight on rounds and bars, even the crappy happy birthday bars (I never get those anyway).


Jim

 

[GaryM5]

Hey guys I've really enjoyed reading yalls post. I've been thinking about buying a few 90% silver coins, but I don't know where to go to buy them, I've never done this before.
I'm on a small disibilty income, but I can budget $120.00 per month for this project, not very much I know but better than nothing I guess?
I don't want the fancy coins, I can't afford them, I'm more interested in weight than looks for the long haul.
Like the other post where he is buying old worn silver halfs just for the silver content.
Where do I buy these, I live in north west Tn. and don't know of any coin shops
in my area. I was looking on the u s treasury site at walking liberty half dollar for
$25.95 they look great, but I don't think thats what I'm trying to achieve.

Gary

 

[jim4silver]

Hey guys I've really enjoyed reading yalls post. I've been thinking about buying a few 90% silver coins, but I don't know where to go to buy them, I've never done this before.
I'm on a small disibilty income, but I can budget $120.00 per month for this project, not very much I know but better than nothing I guess?
I don't want the fancy coins, I can't afford them, I'm more interested in weight than looks for the long haul.
Like the other post where he is buying old worn silver halfs just for the silver content.
Where do I buy these, I live in north west Tn. and don't know of any coin shops
in my area. I was looking on the u s treasury site at walking liberty half dollar for
$25.95 they look great, but I don't think thats what I'm trying to achieve.

Gary

Gary,

I am guessing that the "Walking Liberty" you saw on the US Mint site was an American Silver Eagle bullion coin that cointains one ounce of silver. If you are limited in funds, stay away from these. Especially at 25 bucks each.

I would search for coin stores and if there aren't any, try flea markets or buy online. One good online site I use to check prices (I never have to buy online because there are quite a few stores in my area) is Apmex. They have been out of most stock for the last couple of weeks, so you may have a hard time finding stuff. As far as the silver dollars, I bought a few a while back, but would try to stick to 90%. If you want the most bang for your buck get 1964 Kennedys or later year Franklins, since they show less wear and thus will weigh a bit more.

Always check around on prices so you dont get ripped off.

Jim

 

[BBcardsRI]

Jim gives good advice.

The first thing you need to know is what silver is going for an ounce, try a site like http://www.kitco.com/charts/livesilver.html for live silver prices. Use that to get an idea of what you should be paying. You need to know what is a good price so that you don't get ripped off. Some dealer charge a lot more than others so you need to shopa round.

This site: http://www.coinflation.com/silver_coin_values.html

Tells you the value of the silver in each type of US coin based on current spot silver prices. You can use this as a guide as well. These are the absolute minimums you can expect from a store that sells coins, and you only normally get these prices if you are on good terms with the dealer. Expect to pay little bit more, as the dealers like to make money. Just set a price in your head of what is too much above these numbers, and refuse to pay that... keep shopping around till you hit your goal.

Good luck and keep us posted.

~Dave

 

[Sky Pilot]

GaryM5, if you are looking to buy silver coins just for the silver, you might try local flea markets. We have a man in Sweetwater, TN. who has a regular booth there, and I've bought rolls of common date mercury and Roosevelt silver dimes from him. He has always been fair about giving me a break for buying bulk, maybe there is one near you? Just a thought. Great hunting and good luck! Regards, Richard.

 

[Roger Mn.]

Around 17 years ago I bought 30 silver dollars for $10.00 apiece =$300.00.at a coin show. In 4 days I sold most for $20.00 apiece and some for $15.00.Bar hopping.