Just came across 20 POUNDS of Pre 64 SILVER coins. What shoud I do with them?? VALUE?

Hi Folks,
First post here and wanted to pick yall brain.

I'm not a coin collector but a military antiques collector (WW1/2 US, German and Japanese swords, daggers, helmet ect). I run ads in my local area that I buy WAR relics and Gold and silver coins. Ive run this same ad for a year now and no one had brought in any large quanities.

Last week a lady came in with (I cant make this up)..about 20 pounds of pre 64 silver coins. :hail:so I bought them all.

About 70 Morgan's and Peace dollars, tons of Franklins, quarters and dimes.
From the research I have done about 80% of these are VG or better condition.. Some are MUCH better. All are loose and none have been professionally graded.

Here is what I came up with so pls correct me if I'm wrong concerning raw silver prices.


20 lbs +/- x 16 ounce =320 ounces of silver

320 x $20.00 (todays spot price) +/- = $6400.00

The coins are only 90% silver

6400.00 x .9 = $5760

$5760 is the "spot price" for 320 oz of silver

Question 1: looking at it from the numismatic side would it be reasonable to expect to get MORE the melt rate For these coins?


I would think especially for the 80% (in VG or better) I mentioned above shouldn't you get 10-40% MORE than melt rate?

Question 2: If I were to take it to bulk Metals dealer (NOT a pawn shop or the like!!) what kind of costs do they have to pay to process/melt them?


Is there a ballpark percentage that would work? 5%..10-20%??


Thank you in advance for any advice since I do plan on selling them in the near future. If you don't want to post a reply here you can call me if that is OK with the forum rules..
Thanks Chris


ps Ill post some pics of the "treasure pile" when I get back to the house.

 

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Well off the top of my head there are not 16 troy ounces to a regular pound. A troy ounce is heavier than a regular ounce. I would go to www.coinflation.com and just count how many of each denomination and value it that way.

 

Not a good idea to post your phone number in an open forum after telling the world you have a 20 pounds of silver coins laying around. I suggest you edit that out ASAP.

There are 12 troy ounces in a pound, not 16. The coinflation.com site is the way I'd go as well.

 

I just have to throw this out there - have you checked the dates and mint marks to make sure there ain't a key date or 12 in there?

Joe

 

Not to ask a dumb question but what KEY dates?? is there a list?

thanks

PS I pull the phone number.. thanks.. .I guess Im too trustworthy.

 

Hate to burst your bubble but it's illegal to process and refine us currency.

But if absolutely necessary you outta find a way to resurface them so they no longer resemble us currency then bring them to a mill to smelt

 

it is not illegal to melt U.S. silver coin.

one pound equals 14.583 troy ounces
20 pounds=291.66 troy oz.
291.66x20.00=5833.20
x.90=5249.88 at melt

About $500 less than your original calculations

Richard

 

So this is only true for us silver then right?
Because I was under the assumption that since CU pennies are illegal to smelt that AG & AU would be as well.

I thought it was destruction of government property

 

Silver and gold are legal, all others were legal until a few years ago. The new law is unconstitutional but just not challenged yet.

To OP, you would never nee to worry about melting, since these things are sold to silver investors as is. Key dates are rare dates that are worth much more than silver value. If you know nothing about coins, I would suggest not selling any of them until either you get up to speed on how to grade and look up dates and mintmarks, or you get someone trusted who knows coins to go over them for you.

 

Any Morgan or Peace dollars has collector value above melt even in cull condition and i would also suggest you pick up a copy of a coin book called the Red book that you can get at any book store for around $13.

 

There are several on-line grading and price guides for all US coins. I think you might be pleasantly surprised to research every coin just to see what you have. If you really just want a fast turn around, offer them as "lots" on eBay. You will see a greater return than selling them to a dealer or pawn shop I think. You can also sell directly to a smelter, but most have a minimum amount they will purchase. One I know of sets it at a $1000 face bag. But I am sure there are some that will accept lesser amounts ?

For a rough value guide I use http://www.numismedia.com/fmv/fmv.shtml

gary

 

Do you just collect military memorabilia or do you deal in it ? I am asking because I need a value of a WWII German officer's pistol, or how to find out.

Thanks

 

That is exactly.. what I collect.. Trade ya some coins..HAHA

PM me..

 

Do you mean 20 pounds or 20 OUNCES? 20 pounds is quite a hefty lot of silver...

 

Actually I think its between 21 and 22 POUNDS.. IT WAS a LONG walk out to the CAR!! HAHA

 

I believe you'll find that if you purchase $1000 face value bags of 90% Silver coins (generally the minimum amount which will be purchased by bulk dealers), you'd realize that 20 pounds is approximately the weight of a 1/3 bag. However, even 20 pounds of feathers can be a challenge for the physically deficient, and a significant amount of feathers. LOL

If a bulk dealer could be found who would only accept 1/3 bag of Silver, the most competitive source of which I know, would only net ~$4750. It would probably require a major time investment to realize a greater net monetary return. The amount stated represents >14 times face value.

"Junk Silver" $1000 face value pre-1965 coin bags often have coins in better than VG condition, because the bulk coin price paid far exceeds that which would be netted by selling to collectors.

From my pawn shop associate experience, I suspect that a shop sale might net you ~$4000, under ideal negotiating conditions. This sales outlet would probably provide your best return on investment, unless you have a significant amount of "free time".

 

Were there any MS or AU in the lot?
If so Ill take em off your hands when ready.

 

For the morgans and peace dollars you can for sure get more than melt value if they are in VG+ grade. I don't know about the rest though it depends what grade they are and what the dates are.

 

100 % wrong.

 

Welcome to CoinTalk. First thing to do is make a list of the dates and mint marks of all your coins. Next list what you feel their condition is along side each coin. Next go out and buy a blue book listing U.S. Coins. Compile what each coin is valued at. If you have any KEY DATES or coins in Mint State condition then you could EASILY surpass the $6400 mark of melt value. You must also verify these coins are not counterfeits or fakes. Any good coin scale for about $25 will do and will help you immensely in judging fakes. An accurrate digital micrometer or calipers will doubly verfy real from fake. You can get all the weights and diameters of each coin from the Blue Book. I just bet you have some valuable coins in your possession that you never thought you had. It will be well worth your efforts, mark my words. PLEASE post the lists of your coins. pICS ALSO IF YOU CAN. tHANKS ZEKE----Don't forget to use a magnet on all your silver and copper coins. If it is attracted by the magnet it is a fake.