I started collecting coins in 1962 after one of my uncles showed me a Roman denarius he acquired as a bartender when a customer traded it for a shot of whiskey(!). I remember how excited I was later that year when the mailman delivered the proof set I ordered from the US Mint. I continued to collect silver coins (as well as Lincoln cents,
Buffalo nickels, and
Jefferson nickels) that I found in circulation until I started college in 1970. By that time, I had assembled a complete set of
Roosevelt dimes, and a reasonable number of
Mercury dimes and
Washington quarters. My
Standing Liberty quarter,
Walking Liberty half dollar, and Benjamin
Franklin half dollar collections were much more modest.
Recently I have been lucky enough to find many 90% silver dimes and half dollars while CRH. I have started trading them at a local coin shop for "junk" silver dimes, quarters, and half dollars that are missing from my collection. I pay a 20% premium to the owner in consideration for the time that his employee spends with me sorting through the silver coins he purchased from other customers: i.e., I give the coin shop owner 60 cents in 90% silver coins for 50 cents worth of 90% silver dimes, quarters, or half dollars that I add to my collection. He also lets me upgrade my collection under the same terms: e.g., exchange an EF or AU silver
Washington quarter for one in VG or F condition that I previously collected (plus the premium).
I haven't been able to add any SLB quarters to my collection -- but I've added the following coins by bartering this way:
Walking Liberty half dollars: 16
Benjamin
Franklin half dollars: 11
Washington quarters: 10
Mercury dimes: 14
Now my
Washington quarter collection is complete except for the 1932-D and 1932-S key dates, and I have 35
Walking Liberty half dollars in my collection. Other CRHs should consider using this method to help complete their silver coin collections.
Posted 09/11/2024 8:44 pm
