How much are world silver "at melt" coins worth?

Drazzil

I spend a large amount of my coin budget on world silver coins "at melt" Most of these coins are between fine leaning extra fine and AU condition.

I figure these coins are 20 percent Canadian, 10 percent GB and her holdings 30 percent South American (40 percent of these are in Fine Condition and the rest are XF) and a few are in AUC) and the rest are German and other European. I also have a few really nice Mexican pieces. Also a smattering of middle east and Chinese silver in great condition from the turn of the last century.

I don't know if I am doing myself any favors buying this stuff... But its all SO fascinating. This weekend I got a mint 1972 Churchill piece from the territories still in packaging, a handful of European and Philippines silver (Victory stuff from WW2 and Danish silver.) A nice German 2 mark piece in STRONG XF mint mark D from 1908. A few Sower silver half dollar type pieces from 1918 in AUC and a Mexican Cien Peso cap and rays in XF from 1932.

I hardly NEVER buy any coin in less then Fine condition, unless it's a REALLY unusual piece and it leans towards Fine condition and I buy coins with as much "tread" on them as I can get.

I just don't know how much it would be worth if I ever ran into needing to sell them. Am I sabotaging myself?

Drazzil

Shoot, the Churchill piece is in 925 silver, not sure of the date.

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Drazzil

Well suppose thats good news, far as your selling stuff at melt, if'in you get in the mood again... I would be interested to see whatcha got. I'll be fair.

PM incoming.

Icollecteverything

You should check the value of any coin from China, they could be worth way over melt.

pruebas

You won’t get anything near melt for odd finesses of silver (0.300, 0.500, 0.720, 0.750, etc.). Nobody wants that stuff, even the smelters.

HoledandCreative

A few years ago, I sorted all of mine into buckets by fineness of .500 and up. I then weighed them carefully and put them into labelled zip lock bags. Silver was at $35 an ounce, I sold for 88% of melt. I had almost 2,000 ounces. It was a very good day. The under .500 weren't worth smelting at the time. All common coins that I had accumulated over 30 years or so. If I thought a coin was worth more than melt, I kept it. Not many buyers, just my experience. All fineness .500 and up smelt just fine.

291fifth

@pruebas said:
You won’t get anything near melt for odd finesses of silver (0.300, 0.500, 0.720, 0.750, etc.). Nobody wants that stuff, even the smelters.

Absolutely correct. The odd fineness silver is market poison. Don't overpay for it. If you are paying melt you are overpaying.

Drazzil

Good to know

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Drazzil

I mean the worst I can do is wait till silver hits 50 again and then dump it back on the coin shop.

7Jaguars

However, if they are high mint state and saved impeccably they do have pretty good value and way in excess of melt. I still am in wonder how the surface of these coins is of such obviously higher purity - that would not be simple pickling in acid I would think. Maybe someone can do an XRF reading on a high grade example??

neildrobertson

@pruebas said:
You won’t get anything near melt for odd finesses of silver (0.300, 0.500, 0.720, 0.750, etc.). Nobody wants that stuff, even the smelters.

I've been able to sell Mexican and Canadian silver of those purities for melt and over. Some of the more obscure stuff is tougher. Those are collector to collector sales and not at a bullion dealer or the like.

neildrobertson

@hvellente said:
Another example: Mexico un peso coins from the 50s and 60s with 0.100 silver. No market for those at all. The silver content is so low that it would cost more to smelt them than the silver is worth any time soon. I haven't done the math but I'm guessing silver woud have to hit $50/oz to justify the cost of smelting. Also, they are readily available in all conditions so there's no market for them as coins either.

Collect them if you like them, but don't expect a return on them if you can ever sell them at all.

And on that note, remember that many of us DO in fact keep bags and cigar boxes filled with low-end world silver! They're fun to look at, just a bit harder to sell.

Those low purity silver pesos do fairly well on ebay, especially if you group them together. You can get above silver value easily. Why is that the case? I don't know. I wouldn't pay it.

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Drazzil

I love the world coinage. Nothing like finding an XF or AU turn of the century german piece or a prussian schilling.

pruebas

@neildrobertson said:

@pruebas said:
You won’t get anything near melt for odd finesses of silver (0.300, 0.500, 0.720, 0.750, etc.). Nobody wants that stuff, even the smelters.

I've been able to sell Mexican and Canadian silver of those purities for melt and over. Some of the more obscure stuff is tougher. Those are collector to collector sales and not at a bullion dealer or the like.

You may be able to get over melt +/- 10% for odd fineness from a collector. But not from a silver bullion dealer.

Those 0.100 silver Pesos are basically trash to a knowledgeable buyer unless in a high-grade slab.

Bjorn

Some odd fineness coins will sell for good money, at least in their 'home countries' - for instance, here in the UK, the .925 fineness silver goes for full melt value. The .500 goes for pretty close to melt as well. But then again, when bags of silver go to the smelter here, it will be in these finenesses...