Starting A Collection Of World Silver Coinage

Looking forward to seeing what you've got

Are you picking your collection randomly or have you certain criterias..Such as minimum silver content, historical events or dates etc?..Paul

I've got a very large supply of foreign silver, most are uncirculated. I'd sell close to melt.

I have built a World silver collection of perhaps 500 coins.
A problem that I don't have now but is a problem for all modern collectors:
I started in the mid 1980's and obtained almost all of them from dealers's higher priced junk boxes.
Can't do that now. People like me have taken most of the 'cherries' from this source a long time ago. That does not stop me from still searching these days, but the nice pickings are far and few between.

So a different strategy has to be adopted, if you are starting out now.
I am a regular attendee at public coin auctions. A better current strategy would be to consider World multiple coin lots, in the $100 to $500 price category. To make this strategy work best, it would still be advisable to use the auction view days to examine each coin in a lot that you may be considering to place a bid against. I never attend such auctions, I lodge a fixed price bid only, and wait for the result. You will always get a range of conditions with this sort of strategy; that may be a downside for you.

Another strategy is to buy single coins, but keep an open mind. Just don't try to buy targeted coins, but be an opportunist and buy any World silver coin that may sit nicely into your growing collection.
That is my current strategy.
By keeping an open mind, it opens you to opportunities across the whole of numismatics. With this approach, condition and value for money is still critical.


To be honest, my numismatic horizons are currently across the whole of numismatics, so that cherry picking opportunities are far more common. That means World coins of all ages, cultures and metals.
Your knowledge of the development of World history and cultures will also greatly expand.

@ariette, this is a great idea for a collection and am glad that you are going to share the building of it on this thread. You could jump-start things by buying group lots or take your time and pick them up one at a time. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages.

My dealer does have a small "junk bin" for silver that he sells for melt. if you go through the boxes and binders of world coins, sometimes there are opportunities to get at or even below melt.

Fun collection idea!

Word of advice from someone who did this a while ago: Always do some research before you buy, even for inexpensive coins! I can't tell you how many times I overpaid based on the logic that "If another bidder is competing against me for it, it must be something good!"

Also any idea about what time ranges you are looking for? Don't discount medieval or even ancient silver coins; many are well within your $25 budget!

@Ariette, Some countries still issued them well into the 1970s (Austria 1973, Germany 1974), although those were higher denominations so many probably circulated very little. In the 1990s Mexico issued bimetallic coins with a silver centre and these did circulate.