Is melting going to change the face of US coin collecting?

291fifth

With silver above $46.00 per troy ounce I suspect that significant amounts of US coinage, including BU and Proof material are finding their way to the melting pot in order to meet contracts. After the 1979-80 silver run-up I noticed that Fr to Good Barber coinage seemed to be much less available than had previously been the case.

I wonder what US coins are most frequently being consigned to the melting pot?

So far as silver medals are concerned, I wouldn't be surprised if they all become very scarce or rare due to heavy melting.

ambro51

How much US coinage will trade over the counter in $1000 face bags is a question also. Though some of these US coins no doubt will end up in the furnace, many MAY be saved if they trade in bags.

I just sold 4 1/3 lbs of silver (old gorham sterling flatware) and its headed right to the smelter on tuesday.

EagleEye

If this keeps up the 1932-D and 1932-S quarters may be the easiest dates to find in AG-VG.

keets

collectors aren't stupid and i think they tend to be oppurtunists, so when "Melt" exceeds any reasonable price for marginal coins i think they go...........................for good at these prices and at this pace. at a lower price, like $10-$15/oz. dealers weren't sitting on stuff long. they'd lock in and perhaps deliver in a day or two if the relationship was good, but i sort of feel the way it's going now that many/most dealers don't wait over a day to move what they've bought along in the chain. collectors think likewise and i'm sure there are many among us who are cleaning out their boxes like i did last night. my price was $45 and when it was made i decided a trip tomorrow afternoon is in order.

i think quite a few dates in quite a few series' will get a little tougher in lower grades and some Modern issues will see large numbers of common BU dates shrink. i also figure this will cause a rise in collectors who move away from "junk silver" and start buying/hoarding bullion and Silver rounds/bars. they won't have much of a choice, will they??

DonWillis

I remember the late 70s when the Hunt Bros. were running up the price of silver.

I watched countless BU rolls and bags go straight to the smelters, not to mention every kind of circ coin. We were picking through this stuff one day and the next they were worth more as bullion.

I heard that a lot of proof coins were melted during this time as well.

I am sure that the survival rate of a number of issues was significantly affected then.

I predict the same thing will happen again this time around.

beckes

<< <i> Is melting going to change the face of US coin collecting?
. >>



It already has. Common MS-64 Morgans are selling for a C-Note all day long on EBay. I'll say it again, MS-64/65 1887 Morgans will become a key date!

My 1960-64 Proof and Mint sets melt at $28 bucks. (And you get to keep 6 cents in really cool change!) You were luck to get 10 bucks for them 6 months ago!

questor54

<< Is melting going to change the face of US coin collecting?
. >>

We can only hope it will.

DBSTrader2

I just hope not every coin I still need gets melted before I can afford/collect them!

And I really am saddened by the melting of beautiful designs like the Walkers & Morgans into standard bars, etc..... it's like losing a bit of our past every time.....

- - Dave

mozin

Melting will be good for collecting. The hard to find dates will be saved, the common stuff will be melted.

canadanz

<< <i>Melting will be good for collecting. The hard to find dates will be saved, the common stuff will be melted. >>



And the common stuff will become hard to find.

Type2

<< <i>

<< <i>Melting will be good for collecting. The hard to find dates will be saved, the common stuff will be melted. >>



And the common stuff will become hard to find. >>

Ya and not so Common.

morgandollar1878

<< <i>

<< <i>Melting will be good for collecting. The hard to find dates will be saved, the common stuff will be melted. >>



And the common stuff will become hard to find. >>




And this is why I have not gone out and sold my silver proof sets and a few other things.

jdimmick

Its happening in full force now.
Just this week I bought a complete set of silver proof sets from 99 up, all but the 99 melt bag
prestige sets, common commem's, proofs, melt bag.

I hated to do it but even melted several mint sets from 59 -64. Held off as long as I could becuase the 59, 60's you never see but at 53.00 , nobody is going to buy those at that level, so off they go.

Jinx86

I built a BU Washington set 2 yrs ago....melt price now for the coins I'd triple my money, but its such a nice set I cant bring myself to melting it.
As for lower grade barber, a dealer I help has been having me search through bags and keeping anything with slight rims and tubing them up. There should be a nice market for this grade in the coming years.

bidask

I am keeping my Panama sets

Steve27

There are always people who hoard the common stuff as an "investment" in precious metals, and in so doing, prevent it from being melted.

jmski52

Dan, you might end up with some of the few left in existance.

beckes

Since proof and mint sets are only bought to keep, they never seem to go up. I would love to know how many are showing up at the big time buyers of silver? My local guy here is a big time player. I guess I need to call him. If he is getting tons of them, I might leave mine in the garage. (I have about 100 59-64) If he is not, turn the heat up!!! I should probably melt all those blue Ike's as well? (About 15 bucks each)

ernie11

<< <i>

<< <i>Melting will be good for collecting. The hard to find dates will be saved, the common stuff will be melted. >>



And the common stuff will become hard to find. >>



I wonder if it will ever get to the point where the original mintages will differ hugely from the quantity still in existence and be misleading, sorta like many of the 1920's / 30's U.S. gold coins.

beckes

<< <i>

<< <i>

<< <i>Melting will be good for collecting. The hard to find dates will be saved, the common stuff will be melted. >>



And the common stuff will become hard to find. >>



I wonder if it will ever get to the point where the original mintages will differ hugely from the quantity still in existence and be misleading, sorta like many of the 1920's / 30's U.S. gold coins. >>



Do you think gold coins are melted? They seem to be in a different league.

ambro51

I had a mid level buyer here today, he told me most silver US coinage is going into $1000 bag lots.


so, it is very possible these AG washington quarters will yet resurface to haunt us.

coinkat

I doubt that 100,000,000 1964-D Washington Quarters will be missed-

It will change with EF Walkers 1940-47- I suspect those are not going to survive and that does hurt

I will agree that the melt is taking fun out of the hobby as for US coins

For World coins, I think it is a different ball game that has changed and will continue to dramatically change in ways that are just not appreciated and likely will not be for another 5-10 years.

beckes

Wouldn't it be something is a silver dime buys a loaf of bread?

pennyholic

Just bringing up this thread again and finding out if anything has changed. Are all the same good answers in line with today? The last silver lot I bought was full of state quarters which was a $1000 lot. The previous one that my friend bought was a lot of Mercury dimes and several 1920s and 1942/1 were found.

Elcontador

In 1979 and 1980, I unloaded the few low end Barber coins, and all other silver I had found in change, because they were worth less than melt. Expect more of the same now.

claychaser

How long will it be before silver buyers discount worn out barbers in favor of junky BU rolls of 64-D dimes and quarters just because the silver content is greater in the higher grade coins?

Anybody got a roll of slick barber dimes to weigh on a precision scale to measure the wear loss?

JamesM

<< <i>How long will it be before silver buyers discount worn out barbers in favor of junky BU rolls of 64-D dimes and quarters just because the silver content is greater in the higher grade coins?

Anybody got a roll of slick barber dimes to weigh on a precision scale to measure the wear loss? >>




Well that is already going on, look at the price of common seated coins without full rims, good luck getting melt.

adamlaneus

It might help with the First Spouse Series. The melting, I mean.

johnny9434

<< <i>If this keeps up the 1932-D and 1932-S quarters may be the easiest dates to find in AG-VG. >>



no kidding.

cladking

<< <i>Just bringing up this thread again and finding out if anything has changed. Are all the same good answers in line with today? The last silver lot I bought was full of state quarters which was a $1000 lot. The previous one that my friend bought was a lot of Mercury dimes and several 1920s and 1942/1 were found. >>



The fact that the melting of silver continues apace is a sort of change. This is already one
of the longest melts of US coins ever if the continuing melts of noncurrent (cull) coinage by
the mint is discounted. It's been going on over two years now and seems to be gathering
momentum. At this rate just another three or four years could wipe out all the "junk" and
this will come to include coins made scarce by overdestruction.

One has to imagine that a lot of world coins have already been very significantly impacted.

I wonder how many things like 1971 Indian proof sets are still being melted because people
aren't aware of price increases. Dealer supplies of many modern silver coins must be decim-
ated by now and large percentages of some of these were in dealer hands.

I expect the melting to continue until there just isn't much left to melt.

Overdate

Virtually all circulated 20th century silver semi-keys have already been demoted to junk status. If silver reaches $200 per ounce in the next few years, as some are predicting, a circ. set of Franklin halves will set you back $2500! (A set already melts at over $500.) At those prices, I think set collecting will be almost totally replaced by type collecting except for cents, nickels and clad coinage.

Bear

I wish someone would talk dealers into melting those mountains

of white , washed out, over dipped, dull ,as well as fugly Classic

Commems and turn them into nice shiny 100 oz ingots of pure silver.

The so called common Commems that are decent color with decent luster

are not as common as folks think nor are they deserving of the low prices

that the sheets list them for.

ProofArtworkonCircs

<<I doubt that 100,000,000 1964-D Washington Quarters will be missed->>

If well mixed and Bill Edward's figures are right, that would be 8,333 1964 D type C's gone and that would be a shame.

pennyannie

Melting a bunch of AG, VG and the like will do the hobby good IMO. I am going to sell 120 ounces this week of stuff i would have never dreamed would end up melted

CoinCrazyPA

<< <i><<I doubt that 100,000,000 1964-D Washington Quarters will be missed->>

If well mixed and Bill Edward's figures are right, that would be 8,333 1964 D type C's gone and that would be a shame. >>



8,333 1964 D type C's, is this the estimated mintage of these or what would be gone? Thanks

GoldenEyeNumismatics

I've searched and ran about $100k face through a coin counter in the last few weeks.

Proof halves are plentiful in bags, 1956 and later. I've pulled out many earlier proofs, including a few 1950 and even a couple proof Walkers. For quarters, plenty of 1940s and 1950s BU rolls are being thrown into bags. I don't thoroughly search the dimes (too many), but I have pulled about a half roll of circ 1921 and a few 42/41.

ProofArtworkonCircs

<<<< <<I doubt that 100,000,000 1964-D Washington Quarters will be missed->>

If well mixed and Bill Edward's figures are right, that would be 8,333 1964 D type C's gone and that would be a shame. >>



8,333 1964 D type C's, is this the estimated mintage of these or what would be gone? Thanks >>

Bill Edwards estimated that the 1964 D type C were one in every 12,000 1964 D.

melvin289

Shame on the lot of us. Are we collectors or money hungry. It hurts my heart to see or even think about coins going into the smelter. I posted pictures of a circulated set of toned Roosies I had found among my stuff. I gave either $10 or $15 for the set back in the late 60s. The first response I got from the Forum was melt them.

Oh well.

Ron

Edited to add:

Do you see a beautiful old coin with a story to tell or do you see $17 melt (or whatever silver is at the moment)?

MercCrazy

I love searching through silver dimes for better dates and seated dimes and whatnot... Found quite a few nice pieces for my collection. I also pull BU Mercs to keep.

Speaking of which, anybody know of any dealers that are cool with you searching through bags of whatever silver they have laying around to cherrypick out whatever you want to buy at melt-ish prices?

Overdate

<< Do you think gold coins are melted? They seem to be in a different league. >>

Reportedly many modern gold commems and early First Spouse issues have hit the melting pot. I would guess that some circulated pre-1933 gold coins have been melted also, since they trade so close to spot. Gold Eagles always carry a premium, so probably not many of them have been melted.

DAM

<< <i>How long will it be before silver buyers discount worn out barbers in favor of junky BU rolls of 64-D dimes and quarters just because the silver content is greater in the higher grade coins?

Anybody got a roll of slick barber dimes to weigh on a precision scale to measure the wear loss? >>



I've been selling off silver over the past 6 months to a local dealer. We were discussing worn silver coins and he told me he weighed them if someone brought in a bunch of severly worn coins.

coinkat

Interesting comments

Jeffrey1

So what series will be impacted the most? I'm not talking the obvious PM content issues (i.e., dollars vs dimes), but more numismatic condition rarity due to melting. If I'm workng on a type set, are there any specific coins I should concentrate on now before silver reaches $200?

Overdate

<< <i>So what series will be impacted the most? I'm not talking the obvious PM content issues (i.e., dollars vs dimes), but more numismatic condition rarity due to melting. If I'm workng on a type set, are there any specific coins I should concentrate on now before silver reaches $200? >>


I doubt that $200 silver will impact the rarity or price of any truly scarce higher grade type coins. However, it would have a huge impact on the price of bullion-related silver coins. I would secure the most common coins first (Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters, silver State Quarters, Silver Eagles, etc.) before going after the scarcer items, which are likely to rise less (or not at all) in percentage terms.

WoodenJefferson

I read an article in a periodical a long time ago, where a metal smelter on the East Coast had tagged, open top 55 gallon barrels of 90% coins that were tagged Hunt. They came in a 18 wheeler and there were 4 drums per pallet and the truck was almost full. Those coins were rendered into 1000 oz bars.

Unlike junk gold, I do not think that there is much of any real significant melting of 90% coins being turned into ingots this go around...this PM is being held in it's original state and will be recycled in the future. Now, if the Chinese get their hands on it, all bets are off!