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 Replies: 62 / Views: 6,864 |
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
It's actually very interesting ... Just as a logic-check, I did some really quick math (so please correct me if my logic is way off) ... a) a typical 50 cent piece from 1920 through 1967 is 80% silver and weighs 11.66 grams ... b) there are approxiamtely 28 grams in an ounce (please don't ask me how I know that) ... So => ((11.66 grams) * (80%)) / 28 grams/oz = 0.33 ounces Apparently "today", silver is worth about $21/ounce Therefore a typical silver dollar = (0.33oz * $21/oz) = $7.00 So basically what you are saying is => "today" a typical 50 cent piece must be worth at least "seven bucks", otherwise it's on death-row? It is actually very interesting, because until I just did the math, I never realized that a 50 cent piece was actually worth $7 in silver ... So a coin needs to have roughly ~ $7's worth of "appeal" in order for me to buy it ... it's actually very interesting ... However, I totally realize why the majority of the CCF members are against any sort of "melting" ... the majority of the members are small-time collectors (like myself) and unfortunately they look at you as if you are "Ugly Walmart" => apparently it's merely a curse of taking the hobby "seriously" ... I'm sure that if any of us small-timers decided to ramp-up and become actual "coin dealers" then we'd run into the same dilemna that you have stumbled upon ...  All I can say is "good luck being the bad guy" Cheers  Edited by stevex6
01/02/2012 6:29 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1733 Posts |
The funny part of all this is ...
I'm NOT A DEALER.
I will happily search 40,000 pre 60 coins to find only one MS67 because the joy for me is not the varieties, it's not the mules, it's finding the PERFECTLY struck coin on the best metal planchet by craftsmen that took (at one time) pride in their work. The thrill when I find something like that.... I couldn't be happier if I'd just won the lottery. In fact I'd rather find THAT coin.
Why is silver worth 21 dollars an ounce Steve?
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
849 Posts |
I would agree to melt certain grades, I see where your coming from Ugly and now that I have read through all the posted I agree. There are certain grades of coins that are not really worth keeping or selling.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1984 Posts |
Don't forget that metal trades in troy ounces....31g per troy ounce.
I have mixed views on melting. As a coin owner, I kind of like that the supply is being reduced on an ongoing basis. As a coin buyer, I don't like it for the converse reason. Also, as coins are melted some varieties are likely being lost forever.
Regardless, though, as a libertarian at heart, if it is your coin, then I would say you can do what you like with it. Melt it, treasure it, use it to play tiddly winks if it makes you happy......
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1213 Posts |
Very interesting discussion going on here. I'm sure the same logic applies to U.S. halves, although the US Mint does not melt down coins - at least I'm not aware of it if they do.
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
Okay ... ummm, what is silver worth, $27/ounce? Plus, apparently I never bought troy ounces in high school => troy ounce = 31g/troy-oz So a 50 cent piece = 11.6 grams @ 80% Ag = 9.28 grams (9.28 grams / 31 grams/troy-oz) = 0.3 troy ounces (0.3 troy ounces * $27/troy-oz) = $8.08 per coin => so at today's prices, a coin needs "$8" worth of appeal to survive Example => 1964 MS63 50 cent piece = $15 (Charlton catalogue) => "it's safe" .......... but heads-up MS62! ... interesting SIDE-NOTE => for the record, stevex6 will "not" be melting any coins!  Edited by stevex6
01/02/2012 8:03 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
10743 Posts |
Quote:
Also, as coins are melted some varieties are likely being lost forever. That's the sad part.  Edited by SHAFTA9a
01/02/2012 7:56 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1733 Posts |
A popular melt calculator has it as 8.34 US per coin.
80% of 11.6 is 9.28g
silver is 27.80 per tr oz
31.103g in a troy oz means each gram is $.8938 per gram
9.28 x .8938 = 8.29
Must be some rounding errors on my part somewhere
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Pillar of the Community
3352 Posts |
Ugly, I admit that this thread is very interesting ...
However, I don't hunt (although I'm a total hypocite, for I'll eat deer and/or moose if somebody gives it to me) and I don't melt coins (although I understand why you might since it seems fairly lucrative) ...
=> anyway ... this topic is getting old and unpopular, so I'm gonna bail by saying => "I don't want you to melt my precious coins ... but if you do, then please melt thoughtfully"
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Valued Member
 Canada
258 Posts |
To be honest I think this is becoming more of an emotional thing rather than the real logic behind wanting to melt 50 cents you don't want.
Just to point out, again as it has already been said : Ugly offered to sell them and I don't think he had any bites.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1733 Posts |
Actually someone may yet, I'll keep you posted. I did get the usual 90% of melt offers, no harm in those; just wasn't the point of the exercise.
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Valued Member
Canada
258 Posts |
oooouuuh  I'll keep checking to see how it goes. Has it ever happened that you found a 47 or 48 searching through silver halves? I found one 48 in a couple thousand halves (mostly common 40s and 50s ) but I wouldn't give it more then a 12. Still a nice find though. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10284 Posts |
I have seen that rubber bands on 2x2's have left blackened stripes on the top and bottom coins in bundles like those that Ugly has pictured. https://goccf.com/t/106399#898520I think the sulfur in the bands gets through the cello window somehow. Just mentioning it, rubber bands can be harmful to a lot of other things over time. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Quote:
I came to the conclusion that most people that think it's a crime to melt silver coins are not willing to pay to save the coins. It's easy to tell someone else to take a loss & quite another when you ask them to pay to back up their opinion.
Such an incredibly truthful statement that it needed to be quoted again. Quote:
I'm sure the same logic applies to U.S. halves, although the US Mint does not melt down coins - at least I'm not aware of it if they do.
The US Mint has done massive historic melts, ten percent of all silver half dollars(>170 million) have been melted by the Mint itself over the years. Most US silver half dollar mintages were 10x or more than same-year mintages for Canadian half dollars so they tend to be much more common. Us US collectors tend to deal with even more dreck than our Neighbors to the North so melting coins is not quite such a taboo subject. However, some coin melting has been reduced with the advent of face value multiplier bags for investment purposes- many collectors prefer these bags to a "cold and lifeless" 100oz or 1000oz silver bar. |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
7096 Posts |
The aussie round 50 cent is also 80% silver. There were 36,454,000 minted with a silver content of 12,451,597 oz Only 14,000,000 were put into circulation with a silver content of 4,781,980 oz. I would imagine that the mint kept all the coins returned to it and refined them with all the predecimal silver coins taken out of circulation. It would be intresting to know how many of the Aussie round fifties have survived  |
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Posted 01/02/2012 6:53 pm
