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 Replies: 10 / Views: 6,026 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1454 Posts |
I recently purchased a coin on ebay. It has a lot of eye appeal and if I had to guess, I'd say it was minted either in the '70's or '80's. I'd really like to know a little more about it, primarily the true date and secondarily, the mint, if known. Since it's not altogether clear, the coin is called "Old Ironsides 1791". One vendor claimed the coin was valued at $24 + spot. If he/she wasn't just cooking up a figure to, hopefully, pad the final sale price, the coin might be found in a book. Thanks in advance for anything you can add to the coin's story.  Edited by Sap
05/28/2009 05:57 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1082 Posts |
That looks like a Franklin Mint Ingot to me, and you probably got ripped off if you paid any more than five bucks for it...
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Moderator
 Australia
16804 Posts |
Yep, it's not a "coin" - coins are issued by governments as legal tender; this is just a silver ingot. They're not listed in regular coin catalogues; I'm not aware of an "ingots and rounds catalogue". Prices for silver ingots are typically not too much above spot, though occasionally you might find a thematic collector (in this case, a collector of ships and naval-related items) who'd be prepared to pay more. Even so, $24 above spot might be a bit optimistic.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1454 Posts |
Right, definitely not a coin. I inventoried it as a bar, but ingot works for me. I'd love for it to be worth $24 over spot but I didn't pay $24 period. But as far as the first poster saying I got ripped off if I paid anymore than $5 is pretty out there. Anything over $5 is getting ripped off for an ounce of pure silver?!?!?
Does anyone else agree with this?
Let's put it this way, I would happily pay him double his $5 projection for one ounce .999 silver bullion. Just tell me how many and give me your Paypal account info :)
So has anyone seen this in any books or could pose an educated guess on the year it was minted?
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
5953 Posts |
You should pay within a few percent of Spot for it. If I could get silver @ $5 per ounce I would be looking to take out every loan I could find. Typically dealers will ask for anything from $1 to $4 over spot for silver bars.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5953 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2049 Posts |
Quote:
But as far as the first poster saying I got ripped off if I paid anymore than $5 is pretty out there. Anything over $5 is getting ripped off for an ounce of pure silver?!?!?
I am going to assume he meant anything over $5 over spot would be a ripoff but maybe he can explain. It's clearly marked as one ounce of silver, and silver is $14.50 an ounce or so. I have seen local dealers charge $20+ for bars like these because of the collector market for art type bars. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1840 Posts |
The USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned war ship in the US Navy. It is still afloat in Boston and, on rare occasions, they even take it out for a sail around the harbor. The time frame of 1970's-80's makes sense, as the ship was refitted in the mid '70s to prepare it for the bicentennial celibration in '76. I'm not sure if the history of the ship increases the value of the ingot though.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1082 Posts |
Quote:
I am going to assume he meant anything over $5 over spot would be a ripoff... Yep, that's what I meant. Although I doubt I would even pay the extra five bucks for the pretty picture. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1454 Posts |
Nohope, Thanks for the replies. I don't put much stock in what the ebay vendors quote but the date's probably about right. I'll send him an email and ask him where he got his figure. But as far as paying a few percent over spot, I guess it depends on the coin or bar. I paid 17.83, which is what, about 15% above spot. Because of the condition, I was pretty satisfied. But I haven't seen enough of them go to judge whether or not a got a decent deal. There's a really cool program that I stumbled across that gives you a good estimate of what certain coins are selling for on any given day on ebay. Check it out. http://www. <<(0059) This link is not allowed by the Staff>> |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1454 Posts |
The link didn't work. I'll send you an instant message.
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Replies: 10 / Views: 6,026 |
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Posted 05/24/2009 05:21 am
