Silver Coin Collecting

I appreciated your summary of historical aspects @Finn235 !

one element to add is the gold/silver value on a gram/gram basis of pure metal

for centuries (between 1500, when the first talers appeared) and the 1960-ies, when silver coins where replaced by nickel relatives, this ratio was about 14-16
for instance a silver guilder and a gold 14 guilder from the 18th century Holland had the same weight, 10 g
this ratio more or less reflects the abundance of these rare metals on mother Earth

However, today the gold / silver ratio is slowly moving to an astonishing 100 - about 6 times off the historical value
why this happens is an interesting question; two mutually non-exclusive possibilities:
$ market mechanisms keep silver prices artificially low
$$ gold values are too high

Nice find!

Both times silver prices climbed, (in the last 50 years) was due to manipulation, not by natural market forces. That being said, I consider silver a decent store of value, not so much a money maker. I discovered silver coins back in the 1970's when I was a teen. Since then, I've found thousands of silver coins at face value. I have no reason to sell anything. I also metal detect and have found hundreds of silvers, earliest dated 1758, and several silver dollars, all dug in my home town area. Good luck on the dirt fishing.

My advice to all is never stop looking. I was pulling Mercury's out of rolls of dimes as a kid pre 1964 when everything was silver. gradually saw the clad coinage take over so started pulling out all the silver I could find and afford to hold. Fast forward to today, at 64 I still ask at the bank every time I make a deposit "do you have any half dollars someone has turned in?" (I am not interested in the boxes ordered from the armored car companies). And you never know when you will get lucky, last Thursday the teller (I worked at the bank for 25 years, they know mw and save stuff for me) said she had three rolls that were brought in a few days ago. Paid my $30, went back to my office for an appointment with a friend who is a fellow member of our local coin club and we smiled from ear to ear when I opened them. Out of 60 coins I got 2 Franklins, 12 1964 Kennedys and 27 40% Kennedys. Lots of silver coins still out there, never stop looking. Finding silver in circulation is still a rush for me, not because it is worth more but just the thrill of the hunt. My son is 30 and he also constantly looks for silver. About a year ago he saw flashes of "white" in a baggie of quarters a man was putting in the Coinstar machine where he shops and ran over, told the guy he needed quarters and bought all that had not made it into the machine. Sorted through them and found 13 dated 1964 and earlier.

From what I've heard, halves are the easiest way to find silver today. Unfortunately, most banks might not have halves available.

Up until about the mid 1960's, silver was the basis of the Worlds circulating currencies from ancient times, 2,500 years ago.

Silver was regarded as MONEY. Sadly, it isn't now.
I am somewhat of an obtuse sort of collector.
That is why silver coins form the basis of my collection, that covers the whole 2,500 years of numismatic history.