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 Replies: 14 / Views: 2,415 |
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Valued Member
United States
244 Posts |
The typical valuation it seems, for "junk" silver coins, given the high silver prices these days is "melt value". But that makes me wonder - does anyone, in fact, actually melt the coins down, or do they just change hands as coins ad infinitum?
If one were to melt down the coins, presumably the actual value would be less than the silver content (90% for most coins) due to the cost of melting and removing the 10% impurities? Is there is standard factor one can apply to silver spot price to calculate up-to-date melt value?
Thanks!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1418 Posts |
Here's a good tool that will tell you how much silver is in each coin.
Edited by tumbleweedtrumpet
08/29/2010 5:02 pm
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New Member
United States
42 Posts |
I think you forgot to add that link.
I'd be interested in whatever it is tho
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1418 Posts |
Just google silver coin calculator.
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Valued Member
United States
320 Posts |
EDITED: I guess a specific link is not allowed. Sorry about that.
There is a site out there, though, and it is pegged to daily rates & updated daily, if not hourly. Googling should find it pretty easily.
On this site one thing to be aware of there is that they include the non-silver content too. IE if it's 90% silver and 10% copper they include that 10%.... but click the link @ you'll get the itemized value.
As to whether they'd actually get melted or not, sadly they get melted all the time.
Edited by Secret Argent Man
08/29/2010 5:30 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
Honestly though, the 10% copper in a silver coin has a negligible alteration to the value, probably around 1/4 a percent.
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Valued Member
United States
313 Posts |
Try.... (124) This link is not allowed by the Staff
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Valued Member
United States
313 Posts |
Sorry  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1418 Posts |
Why are these not allowed by staff?
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Valued Member
United States
320 Posts |
phew, I was thinking I was the only one who accidentally posted a non-allowed link. Least it caught others by surprise, makes me feel a little better. It wouldn't surprise me if the mods altered the "profanity" filter on the forum the software to pick up this specific site. After all, to many the melting of coins is a profanity (a sentiment which I agree with, btw) so a site that is all about the melt value is probably persona-non-grata. Or site-a-non-grata.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1418 Posts |
I do disagree with with melting coins, but a silver calculator can be a good tool for pricing coins.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
Take (face value) X (spot price) X (.715) to get the melt value for 90% silver coinage. This works for dimes, quarters and halves.
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Moderator
 Australia
16810 Posts |
The website in question is indeed on the forum's blacklist. Not because the admins have any particular problem with melting coins, but because the owner of that website constantly spammed this website when he began it. It's how the pest got to the top of the Google searches on the subject, by spamming everywhere. Bobby doesn't believe in rewarding spammers.
As for the question in the OP: if someone buys silver at the silver price, they are buying a fungible commodity - they don't care what form the silver is in. If they're buying it to hoard, they'll probably keep it in whatever form they bought it in - especially coins, since they have a government-legislated weight and fineness. But if they bought it to actually use (in jewellery or in an industrial application) then they would indeed literally go into the melting pot. And, as the OP implied, purchasers of coins for industrial use would indeed probably actually pay less than "melt value", because they'd want pure silver and would have to go to the extra expense of refining out the 10% copper.
Which is why the banned site's basis for calculation is flawed. For people who are interested in pure metals (which is what the spot price is based on), alloys are typically worth less than the sum of their parts, because if you want to turn an alloy into its constituent pure metals again you have to spend money to separate them.
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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Valued Member
United States
463 Posts |
personally I think it really is pointless to melt down coins to get pure silver rounds or bars as at the end of the day it is the same amount of silver. Silver is silver so in my mind it doesn't matter if you have x of 35%,40%,90% or 99.99% its still the same thing.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
personally I think it really is pointless to melt down coins to get pure silver rounds or bars as at the end of the day it is the same amount of silver. Silver is silver so in my mind it doesn't matter if you have x of 35%,40%,90% or 99.99% its still the same thing. But if you are in a business that uses silver you typically need to start with pure silver. Say you are a maker of silver rounds or silver jewelry. Where do you get your raw material from? If you get it from a smelter where does he get his raw material from? Silverware, Jewelry, some other sources, and COINS. Sure he may get some from raw ore, but it is a heck of a lot cheaper to melt and refine silver coins than raw ore. |
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Replies: 14 / Views: 2,415 |
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Posted 08/29/2010 4:49 pm
