Posted on 03/04/2010 7:00:08 PM PST by hsmomx3
We've got approximately two dozen silver dollars that have been in a plastic bag for several years ranging in age from 1880 to 1924. They have never been cleaned but look kind of dirty and the earlier ones do not appear to be Morgan silver dollars.
I have been told that I might get a few dollars for each.
I know nothing how this works so I am asking here.
Is it best to take these to a coin dealer or would I get more money where one is looking to buy silver and I get paid for its weight?
Don’t clean them.
Several here have suggested that you hang on to silver dollars against the disaster scenario where modern currency and credit arrangements break down.
If you agree (and BTW I do), that is good reason to have your stash appraised; there could be coins in there that have substantial numismatic value. If the S ever really HTF, numismatic values will greatly complicate attempts to trade with those coins; in my view, a stash should have no significant numismatic value.
Therefore, take any numismatic value out of your stash by trading it for additional “junk” silver.
By the way...
Your best strategery depends on your estimation of the chances of if, or when, the SHTF.
If you think we have a few years left, it’s not a bad idea to hold coins with numismatic value. As long as there’s some kind of functioning market, numismatics will do well.
The problem is when to get out of numismatics and into junk. If things really GTHIAHB and you still have your numismatics, you’ll regret not having the extra silver they could have been traded for beforehand.
A form of diversification within your precious metals portfolio is to have some numismatics and some junk. After the appraisal of your present stash, you may even decide that the mix is fine. But the closer you sense that we are to doomsday, the better junk will look compared to numismatics.
To tell if they are fake, use a magnet on them. If the magnet sticks, their fake...Have son’s that have been collectors since their teens...depends on spot what they are worth just for the silver content...
Unless you think the price of silver will go down, why sell now?
FWIW, dollars which aren’t in good enough condition or sufficiently rare to have true numismatic value, will only be worth the spot price, less the dealer margin in today’s market. This is because the price of silver is higher than the ‘basic’ numismatic value of the coins [other than truly exceptional coins].
If you decide to sell, please verify first that you don’t have something more valuable than coins valued by weight, plus a slight premium.
Dealers sell them for spot, plus a premium. If you wanted to sell on your own, you could price somewhere between what you’d get from a dealer and what the dealer sales price would be to the buyer. Both sides would come out slightly ahead.
With that many coins you are almost bound to have one or two that may or may not be sufficiently rare enough to warrant grading. I would take them to a trusted dealer or grader and get them checked, and if need be get that double checked. If you have ones that are graded 60+ with either a S or CC mark you could be looking at a nice financial bump and a nice thing to hold on too for future savings. As far as I can tell prices have been down trending for a while. I have been having my stash of fifty cent pieces looked at lately and most of them are only worth the spot price for silver so I am holding on to them but perhaps you have some rare CC stamp that is 64+ and could buy you a new car or something. Good luck.
These were given to my husband by his lawyer grandfather in the 50’s so I know they are real. Thanks.
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