Panama 1 Balboa

I sold some of mine recently at a coin show for that same price, $30. As you say,, they have the same amt. of silver as Morgans, silver is silver, so if you can buy one in nice condition why not?

CPC24 The one and only drawback to holding silver in Panamanian Balboas instead of US coin is resale. This applies only to bullion items in the US.

At resale you can easily get 90-100% of spot silver price these days for US coins. Dealers are even paying over 90%. But NOT for foreign silver. To get 90% of spot for a foreign silver coin in the US you really need to have a private party to sell to and they are notoriously fickle. Also foreign silver will almost always be discounted for wear by almost every person purchasing the coins. US coins are often sold and traded by count.

But quite frankly I prefer the foreign silver coins as being less boring.

chasinva69 Your coins must have been better than bullion or the dealers had a retail sale in mind because spot value today is closer to $29 than $30 with no discount. Remember the coin being discussed is VG - a clear bullion coin and the value at melt is the issue. To be collectible a Balboa must be VF or better and that applies even to the ones dated in the 1930s. Typically I retain EF-MS Balboas and melt everything below that grade.

Perhaps terminology is at fault. Spot price in my thinking is the value of the silver in the coin based on actual weight of the coin multiplied by the stated fineness multiplied by the current silver value. Well worn coins can be 2-3% low in weight.

Melt value is always lower (spot Minus a %) and represents the value of the coin at a refinery. They do NOT pay spot but a percentage below spot which varies. Many dealers say they melt coins but that is often not true. Working for a dealer who does in fact ship to a smelter daily, I know NO dealer can afford to pay anything over 95% because that is all the smelter pays and the payment is based on spot on the date of refining NOT the date of sale.

Coin value is usually higher (spot PLUS a %) and is the retail price for a coin in a store or show setting.

It might have been EF, I didn't get a good look. I usually stick to US coins, but this one was interesting.

chasinva69 If you know of a market that gets $60 to $70 each for the Balboas please let me know. They go begging here for $40 in MS grades. The last one that went in the display case was an MS 1934 and it stayed there for months. It eventually went in the melt bin. The price was set as a % above melt and no one would pay 25% over spot. The price of $60 is almost TWICE spot. I would love to buy them here at spot or even 25% over and sell for 100% over in another location. At that rate I could afford free shipping.

Even if it is bullion, it's more interesting than some generic round. Also, there's almost no wear on it. It's at least XF; it still has some luster under the toning. 1947 Balboas in the same condition can go for $40 or more on ebay. I'll hold on to it for a while.

Assuming were talking the spot price of silver being $40. Yes, it is worth it.

Panamanian coins have the same weight and fineness as their U.S. counterparts. The Balboa is linked to the U.S. dollar one to one. U.S coins are legal tender there and circulate side by side with Panamanian coins.