Who Else Here Buys World Coins For The Silver?

I've been doing that for more than a decade. Went to the local rinky-dink annual coin show, and was disgusted by the bullion premia. Started looking at foreign coins.

Went to one table with some foreign coins and asked if he had any Canadian--he laughed in my face. Found another table that sold me Canadian dollars sealed in plastic for below melt. Guess he was tired of them.

So I picked up some Dutch, some Canadian, a Chinese dollar before they went crazy in price, and a 1950s Swiss 5 franc that was marked as .75 ASW. Didn't know anything about foreign, so I went on line to see what I had. Found out I had been cheated on the 5 franc.

Started buying used Krauses online. Was in line at the LCS, and forced to kill time, I looked at the foreign junkbox. There was a 1950s Swiss 5 franc. I asked how much the coin dealer wanted for this junk box coin. Answer: 25 cents. I was fairly sure the coin had not been demonetized, and a Swiss franc was then 80 cents US, so I figured I had a $4 coin even if it wasn't silver. But, of course, it was.

FWIW, at a later (and different) coin show, I brought 280 (nonsilver) swiss franc coins to a foreign coin dealer. This was when the Swiss franc broke the Euro peg, and was marked at something like $1.20 US. He gave me 90 cents for each franc, and I bought a gold French 20 franc with the proceeds. These were coins I had paid 5-6/$1 to obtain, ranging from half francs to 5 francs, so I didn't have much money in them.

Now, a major part of my collection is foreign silver obtained either in the 5-6/$1 junkbox, or at a spottish price. If the LCS holds coins for me to review, I pick out the silver for them (often setting aside the silver I want to buy). If they throw it in the junkbox, I figure it's free game. And yes, I have found gold in the foreign coins I reviewed.

Was in the LCS recently, and a customer said -- hey, the world coin guy is here. So I guess I have a reputation now.

Gotta love a good junk box...

I like that caballito

@commemms

You just have to realise the dealer is usually the one with better knowledge both of the market and the prices of items. However unlike a dealer you don't have overheads so stack what you like there nothing wrong with proper silver :P

Depends on the junk lot, dealer almost never have unsearched bins and then the world coins are going for well above face so usually not much point to search junk lots these days. But I've purchase odd lots and depending on the market, I would say sometimes I can come out ahead.

I used to go for World silver many decades ago, before the Hunt brothers decided to try to corner the silver market.
I copped out when the silver price rose too high, ending up with about 3 kilos of ASW.
I still have them all, and now, they have acquired considerable numismatic value as well.

To complement the silver coins, I also tried for World bronze and copper coins in EF or better, concentrating on pre 1900 issues. I still have all of those as well.

Most of them came from dealers' junk boxes in the $2 to $10 range from LCS's and coin shows. (1970's and 1980's prices)

To accumulate World coins with the above approach is not possible any more. About 700 coins make up this part of my overall collection, but the accumulation phase has long since been dormant.

At times sterling flatware sells for under melt. Unlike coins, I eat with it in style.

Never overlook gold melters. Sometimes you find a shabby Newfie.

Look what came!!!