Junk Silver Prices Thread - Report In Here

Picked up 3 rolls of silver Roosies @ $96 each (1 AU). More than I wanted to pay, but need them for trading with a friend.

That's how I got into world coins (maybe 15 years ago). Went to the annual local coin show, and couldn't stomach the price of bullion or junk, so I started looking at foreign silver. Foreign silver was priced at (or somewhat below) spot, so I started buying some Dutch, Canadian, Chinese, and other silver. I bought a 1953 Swiss 5 franc that was marked .75 ASW. It took me weeks of online research to determine I had been cheated.

A couple weeks later, I was waiting in line at the LCS to have my turn, when I looked in the junk box and saw a 1950s Swiss 5 franc. I asked how much the coins were and the manager said 20 cents each. At that point, the Swiss franc was 80 cents US so I figured I couldn't lose, even if it wasn't silver. After that, I discovered the Krause catalogs, purchased some used catalogs, and started teaching myself what foreign coinage is silver.

World silver is my passion, and has been my sole focus in the hobby the last few years. But pay attention to purity! Stackers should avoid anything under 0.800 fine. Low-purity silver is very difficult and expensive to refine so dealers wont touch it. That's why they often sell at or near melt. Re-sale can be slow and difficult. Don't get stuck with rolls and bags of low-purity world silver in your stack.

You're good with UK sterling (0.925) and most anything from the US (typically 0.900) and anything from the Latin Monetary Union (0.900 and 0.835 depending on denomination) and Canada (0.800).

Later Scandinavian, Austrian and similar coins often chime in at 0.640 fine, and even UK and the Commonwealth countries lowered their content to 0.500 after the Great War then WWII.

Mexico silver has been all over the place - .0917, 0.900, 0.720, 0.300, 0.100... you have to know what you're doing there. I have some BEAUTIFUL silver from Mexico, absolutely love the stuff, but you have to know what you're buying. Avoid those darn Mexican pesos from the 50s and 60s. Dealers dump those by the millions all over ebay at a buck or two and it sounds like a good deal (priced at or near melt). They claim that they are "big, silver coins" but at 0.100 purity nobody wants them. It costs more to melt them than the silver is worth. You'll be stuck with them.

There are exceptions to the rule. For example, Irish silver was 0.750 which is a bit low but their low mintages offset the low purity. US War Nickels (0.350) and Kennedy half dollars from '65 to '70 (0.400) are difficult to refine but still very collectible. I happily buy those at or near melt whenever I can.

In summary, world silver looks great in a collection or stack, but low-purity silver is affordable for a reason! Stick with 0.800 or higher in your stack.

Which of those are you going to find in the junk bin for less than melt?

But I get what you are saying. I believe the vintage silver appeals more to the hunter.

Another issue you have to take into account is recognition.
Say the internet collapses and you have to trade your silver for bread, it is more likely your local baker will accept American silver coins than world silver coins. No matter what the real value of those world coins is.

Coin show today in town had prices as low as 18x face and as high as 22x face. Most common price was 18.5x. Nice to see premiums have come down a little.

@jeffbuckes
Irish silver isn't just low mintages. The attraction for Uk melters was that while British silver coins couldn't legally be melted, Irish and other British Commonwealth coins could be and were melted. I don't recall seeing Irish or British Commonwealth silver in my change after the mid-1960s.