Thanks for the replyOriginally Posted by N/A
Thanks for the reply
Last edited by Scootertrash; 03-09-2012 at 11:57 AM.
Nickles were nickle, except for a couple years during WWII.
As to going through the large stash. Likely it will be a waste of time, so that's up to you if you have the time to spare or not. Most were picked out of pocket change years ago, but sometimes if you have a stash that sat for long enough then you get lucky.
About 1995 I was in a bank and noticed a person a couple folks in front of me in line was turning in two older looking rolls of half dollars, I attempted to start up a conversation but he was kind of a dick (maybe embarrassed to be cashing in change, who knows). Anyway when it was my turn I asked to trade cash for the rolls with the bank and they accepted, no coin in it was minted after 1960. Was a good day for me.
Last time I found silver in pocket change was a silver dime probably in 2004, and yes I check every coin I get.
To save a shitload of time, a tip for the stash....sort out any dollars or half dollars and check them first, it's worth looking at the dates if you don't have too many of them.
Then for the quarters make a stack and under good light look at the outer rims. You will see the goldish coppery color on most coins. Those coins are not silver. Any ones that don't show the coppery color on the edge might be silver (or really freshly minted), pull those ones and check the date. This method works for all the silver coins, but it's only as good as you are perceptive. Grab a short stack of regular pocket quarters and you'll see what I mean, there is a band of copper that you can see.
Thanks Kadmos, I know what you mean by the copper band.
W
hen the Kennedy half dollar was released in 1964, it was to be the last of the 90-percent silver half dollars minted for general circulation.
It was the end of a long-running era of silver coins going back to 1793. By 1970, silver coins were still found in daily use, but in declining numbers as compared to a few years earlier. The price of silver was on its way up from the long-fixed price of 91 cents per ounce prior to 1964, to $1.29 after 1964.
The new dimes, quarters and halves were made with a copper nickel coating over a copper core — commonly referred to as "clad" coinage. The half dollars of 1965 through 1970 were clad coins, but still contained 40 percent silver. Starting in 1971, these coins, too, became silverless.
In my experience, having worked some with silver, it stands out from 'clad' coinage. If you can find a few 90% silver coins and handle them for a while, I'd bet you could pick them out real quick from a stash. For starters, an old silver coin is going to be lighter colored, or maybe whiter is a way to put it, then a non silver coin. They also make a different sound when you flip them.Kadmos is right about the copper band, but you probably don't need that to pick em out of the pile.
Not sure if this is Federal law or if it goes by state, but in Texas you don't pay sales tax if you buy over $1,000 worth from a dealer. When I buy, I make sure it's at least $1K at a time to avoid our 8.25% sales tax.
cevulirn - if you can afford it, have you ever considered buying bullion instead?
There are 1 oz. bars/discs from different companies (Englehard is a good one) that are sold for slightly higher than the spot price and bought for slightly under.
You can also buy them in 10 oz. bars and 100 oz. bricks.
Most stores dealing in bullion will let you trade the 1 oz. pieces for a comparable amount of 10 oz. bars so it is easier build up a store of bullion.
Good luck.
“I have little patience with people who take the Bill of Rights for granted. The Bill of Rights, contained in the first ten amendments to the Constitution, is every American’s guarantee of freedom.” - - President Harry S. Truman, “Years of Trial and Hope”
Bullion's a thing to consider, but let me relate a little story about bullion. Someone sold China, I think it was China at least, a mess of gold bullion that each bar had a say 1/4th inch layer of gold around another metal that had the same density as gold but was far cheaper. China then cut most of the bars open and saw the trick. You can be sure in shtf that the same will take place here, and most folks not knowing bullion from bullshit, coins will be much more accepted. At least after some hard lessons are learned by those who get fooled.
That's why I mentioned Englehard. They are one of the best and their name and serial number is stamped right on every 1 and 10 oz. polished ingot. The 100 oz. ingots only have the serial number and aren't polished to mirror-like luster.
“I have little patience with people who take the Bill of Rights for granted. The Bill of Rights, contained in the first ten amendments to the Constitution, is every American’s guarantee of freedom.” - - President Harry S. Truman, “Years of Trial and Hope”
On a related note, bullion sales are considered reportable investments for tax purposes. This is not true when buying legal U.S. coinage, i.e. junk silver or investment coins such as Silver Eagles.
Something else to consider is that in the case of a truly catastrophic SHTF scenario precious metals will retain some value, but in terms of our current thinking they will be drastically devalued and usable commodities and food items will rise drastically in value. If you are truly hungry how much silver is a can of beans worth?
Just saying........
CHOOT UM!
In a catastrophic SHTF, yeah, they wouldn't be worth much... but in the event of hyperinflation, they would be invaluable, and even if nothing does happen, silver will probably maintain its value.
I found a coin dealer near me that sells junk silver coins for within a few cents per face value dollar as the web sites that were suggested here, and also has canadian 'maple leaf' coins for $2 over spot price.
Agreed, but the barter economy wouldn't last long. Gold and silver, with their relatively fixed supply, would become the new exchange medium. Bullets and beans would simply be priced in terms of metals rather than worthless paper dollars. The barter system is extremely inefficient, which is why we went to a currency-based system in the first place.
It's soooo much easier to carry some gold or silver coins than a dozen chickens or a few cases of 762. Or cases of tp.
At current prices, $100 of silver is just a smidge over $4.00 face value of 90% silver coins.
Ok so lets say TEOTWAWKI never comes what does the future of silver look like? Are the prices inflated now like gold seems to be or will it likely retain and gain value in the future or will it drop in value in a few years if the SDHTF? Of course it's a guessing game just wondering what those of you that have researched it think?
I think it's a very good idea to have things that retain value if the dollar crashes though I am just wondering if silver would still be a good investment if things keep chugging along like "normal" the rest of my life.
Silver has already had its price correction, (It spiked to almost $50 about a year ago) Gold hasn't. I don't plan on putting my entire savings into silver, but it will always be worth something. Then again, so will ammo...
I just raided my desk for relics from the past. It looks like I had over $400 worth of silver (at current prices) that I had accumulated over the years.
Gold and silver should never be looked at as strictly an investment. It is a hedge. There is a significant difference. As a hedge, gold and silver should be underweighted in your portfolio during good times and overweighted during times of uncertainty. The golden rule (pun intended) to investing is diversification. Never put too much of your money in any one type of investment.
I was bored, and went trhough my stash, and didn't find a single one. Took it to the bank, and there was $454 dollars in change without a single pre 64.
When shtf gold could go to 6k or higher, silver to $600 or even higher. If the dollar tanks the dollar is then worthless and gold and silver will be "priceless". Today the spot prices are held artificially low much the same way the stock market is being propped up, the metals are worth far more than they go for today. Just remember that gold at $1600 is a lot cheaper than when it's $6k.
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