| Author |
 Replies: 22 / Views: 3,120 |
|
Valued Member
United States
67 Posts |
Hi all. I wondered if someone would be willing to give me some proper guidance with regard to silver coinage. I have a lot, and many questions, so who's up for the challenge? Thanks in advance for your response(s)!
|
|
|
|
Valued Member
United States
392 Posts |
well what are you questions?
|
|
Valued Member
 United States
67 Posts |
Hi kceb10! Sorry to top post on this subject. Again, I have a bunch of uncirculated quarters and dimes that I'm considering selling now, with silver peaking; however, I hate the idea of knowing they will be melted. The coins in question were a compilation of my dad's, and though I would keep a few, the thought of destroying them seems wrong. Also... I am aware of certain key coins, such as the 1916 Standing Liberty, 1932 D&S, 1921 dimes and half dollars, and half dollars in the teens. Am I missing any others, that should I come across, I should consider holding on to for their collector value? Thanks again. Any help is much appreciated here.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
67 Posts |
...I'm sorry, I also have an assortmant of half and dollar coins as well in silver...
|
|
Member
United States
3242 Posts |
Can you post some pictures? &  to the forum |
|
Moderator
 United States
6563 Posts |
Some of your coins could be worth 10x silver melt value...maybe  1. Don't touch the coins. If you must hold them then hold them on the edges 2. try to take some clear pictures of the front and back 3. go ahead and buy a " RedBook" as coin collecting is addictive and I think you might be sucked into our wonderful world |
|
Valued Member
United States
67 Posts |
Ok...so the general consensus here is to hold on to them and sell for collector value? I would be more inclined to do that. I have no ability to take pictures of the coins, but they are not "worn" at all...all nice. I do have some that are worn, however... I've had these coins for about 8 years now...since my dad passed. I like coins, and do plan to hold on to a few, but to have this magnitutude of stuff, to me, I'd rather use the money to purchase things of interest to me. I've learned a lot about the coins since I've owned them...for instance, I learned that I will not be buying bubble gum with the '09 S VDB..., nor will I melt the 1972 SILVER quarter...yes it is silver!! Anyway...in addition to the coin stuffs, he also has in his collection a WIDE assortment of other numismatic items, such as: the obverse and reverse of the 1933(?) Mercury dime dies, a wood/brass handle with a spring loaded clip that was used to carry heavy trunks of coins (US Mint item, I think), Annual Reports from the Phila. Mint (1865, 187?, and 190?), which is interesting reading... He also has a very interesting assortment of error coins. With the price of silver, and my own "collection" (about 400lbs)of silver contacts on brass contact plates that I'm trying to sell for scrap, I couldn't help but to think of the coins...wondering if their melt value surpased their collection value. Thanks again, and I'll keep reading your replies! |
|
Moderator
United States
6563 Posts |
Wow! How are all these coins stored? There never had been a 1972 quarter. Now you are required to go out and buy a camera  |
|
Valued Member
United States
67 Posts |
I took the '72 to the Heritage Auction a few years ago in Baltimore, and was offered $1000.00 on the spot by the company's vice president. Some of the coins are stored in plastic tubes (the incirculated dimes/quarters/halves), others are in designated books (Standing Liberty Quarters/Barber/Washington, etc...). The books range from the 1700's (half cents, Half Dimes, .20 pieces) to the 1970's...about the time he stopped collecting. |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
quote:
I hate the idea of knowing they will be melted
Silver coins are not necessarily melted. One method for buying silver is to purchase face value bags of $100-$1000. 90% silver coinage currently has a "melt value(aka spot price)" of about 14x face value so a $1000 face value bag would cost about $14,000. It is a convenient way to own large quantities of silver as opposed to bars which sometimes need to be assayed and do not always have a guaranteed purity unlike US coinage. quote:
nor will I melt the 1972 SILVER quarter
I am not sure how that would be possible since silver quarters had not been minted since 1964. |
|
Valued Member
United States
67 Posts |
The coin was checked out thoroughly by Heritage. It is a silver planchet, as would have been used on 1964 and prior quarters; however, it was stamped in 1972.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2797 Posts |
eel, I wish I had your problems! From your description, I wouldn't send anything off for melt. I would acquire the latest edition of Red Book (Forum Mom has them for sale in the "selling" section) and catalog the collection. If you have difficulty assigning grades, visit the local coin shop for their opinion on the non-common pieces. If you want a quick reference on pricing, go to the PCGS page linked at the top left of the forum and check prices (note ... divide the price given in half for a ballpark estimate of value). Varieties and errors are very hot these days (your '72 silver quarter is an example). The PCGS pages list some of the hottest ones (42/1 Mercury dime, 1955 double die lincoln, etc.). And if you have Morgan and Peace dollars, you would want to check these for possible rare die varieties ( http://www.vamworld.com/Morgan+VAMs+By+Date). Also check the threads here on varieties and errors. Most importantly, ask the experts here. Too bad you don't have a digital camera as it's difficult to impossible for us to give an accurate call without a picture. |
|
Valued Member
United States
67 Posts |
Seated Nut (funny name)... Thanks for your input! again, the thought only crossed my mind because I have a few hundred pounds of commercial sized electrical silver contacts (some about the diameter of a quarter, and twice as thick) still attached to their solid copper or brass armatures, and the price of metal is at a premium now. I took the material to a local place where they were evaluating such items as mine, jewelry, coins, etc... I explained briefly to the fella' of my coins, to which he replied the silver content was of higher value than the collector value. I couldn't, and cannot help but to think that the rise in price for the metal alone should bump up the value of that coin by at least that amount (i.e. if a 1964 quarter is worth ~$2.00, and it is approximately 1/4 ounce of silver, @ $16.00/ounce, the coin should be now worth $6.00... theoretically). Oh well...feel free to correct me in all my wrongness with that analogy...but I think you get the picture. I will hold on to the coins guys...won't sell them for melt. I have a lot of the other "scrap" to focus on, and will leave the coins for another time to think about selling to some appreciative people like all of you. Feel free to continue to post/reply, and thank you all much for helping!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2797 Posts |
quote:
Seated Nut (funny name)...
eel, It's in reference to my passion for the "Seated" series of coins minted from the 1830's to the 1890's. Others here may agree with your first impression ... whacko in a chair. |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
I don't know who you talked to but if the coins are in uncirculated condition then most of them would definitely be worth more to collectors than bullion prices. There is another option that others have failed to mention since you don't have a way to photograph the coins yourself, that is let someone like Susanlynn9 (the one selling redbooks) and Bobby131313 consign the coins to ebay for you, they will take a photo of each coin or lot of coins and sell them on ebay for you for an agreed upon percentage of the final value of the coins, they are very dependable also and can tell you exactly what you have that could bring big bucks that maybe ebay wouldn't be the best place to sell. If I were willing to part with some coins and had no way of knowing what they were worth and only considering selling for bullion then this would probably be my choice because as I said if they are uncirculated coins the collector value could be 100x what bullion value would be |
|
Valued Member
United States
67 Posts |
Bryan...thanks for your input as well. One of these days I plan to sit with someone and sell the coins. My biggest fear though is choosing a dishonest person. As I've learned, there are those "key" coins, and it takes such a trained eye to determine condition, which ultimately can vary their value a few hundred or thousand dollars either way. Would it be considered "wrong" of me to place the 1909S VDB penny in the mix of a few other wheats just to see what an appraiser might say, enabling me to further trust his/her continued judgement/evaluation? I'd also be concerned about their perceived value of the errors, such as the penny stamped on a silver dime planchet, nickel stamped on a penny planchet, off-centered strikes, etc... Not that I'm saying all numismatic types are sheisty, just that I guess I've been around long enough, and have heard stories. My dad would never sell them, so...when I do sell, I need to know his efforts in collecting them were/are appreciated with today's value in mind, and also that someone with the same passion will appreciate them. Before he died, he learned that his first and only airplane, (which he completely rebuilt/restored - 1939 Taylorcraft) had been purchased by an aircraft museum and now is on display; I think that made him happy too.
|
| |
Replies: 22 / Views: 3,120 |
Posted 04/22/2008 09:16 am
