Filling slots in folders or albums from bulk bags or rolls of "junk" silver...

lordmarcovan

...strikes me as possibly a fun way to have a casual collection or two going on the side.

Probably not a way to build a well matched, high quality set, but it sounds kind of fun to me and i can't see much downside as one is essentially just hoarding small amounts of silver.

Any of y'all done this? I know at least two forum members have mentioned it in the past.

What series to collect? Or should one buy a set of folders and work on all the post-Seated silver series simultaneously?

Any suggestions? Any cherrypick stories?

I found myself wanting to treasure hunt some circ silver dimes and quarters yesterday and my detector is out of commission presently.

pmac

I think this is the essance of beginning collecting, affordable and quickly forfilling. They never lose their melt value.

ricko

Merc dimes make a good looking album.... and Franklin halves....Cheers, RickO

AMRC

From the ages of 12 to about 15 this was the only way I could fill albums.

lordmarcovan

Well, though I'm getting close to 50 and have spent 38 years in the hobby, I've mostly remained a YN at heart.

Like any addict, one always tries to recapture the sensations of those early highs, I suppose.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>Merc dimes make a good looking album.... and Franklin halves....Cheers, RickO >>



I was thinking Mercs. It was a circ Merc that started me collecting, so long ago.

Also considering silver Washingtons. If I did those, I could also pursue the clad portion of that series at face value, from circulation.

I've already played with the circ Walkers and Barber halves in recent years, though I wasn't trying to find the Barbers at melt.

SmEagle1795

I've done this and it is indeed very enjoyable, and a decent way to make more than spot on eBay (people like having complete collections, apparently). I started by completing my circulated childhood collections, which now reside in Dansco albums that almost cost more than the coins are worth.

lordmarcovan

Weighing the pros and cons of Mercs versus Washingtons...

The Mercs go back farther in time, have a more appealing design to me, and have more variable values in low grade. More semi-keys and stuff to give bulk searches that "treasure hunt" feel. But they are smaller coins, which is both pro and con. More of them to the ounce of bullion means more cherrypicking fun, particularly since I don't have the budget for $500 face value bags. But smaller coins are harder to read, and my eyesight has not been improving with age.

The Washingtons are easier to see and it could be fun to combine the pursuit of them with a clad set from circulation, too. Typically I find Mercs a bit more interesting but Merc bulk lots tend to be overloaded with 1940s coins. Perhaps less pricing variability across the Washington series might make bulk lots of them MORE variable? Know what I mean? Wouldn't a circ set of Washingtons (sans 1932 mintmarked coins) be easier to complete than a circ Merc set (sans 1916-D and 1921 coins)?

Both might be fun, but I am thinking perhaps Washingtons could be less frustrating?

Maybe we need a poll.

claychaser

TrainNut, my YN, did that with Walkers when I bought him a Dansco. You can fill a lot of holes from junk silver, or paying a small percentage over melt. He started when silver was less than today, and he snageed some nicer XF and AU coins frok junk boxes.

Wizard sells some really nice "Coin Collector' brand albums for dirt cheap too.

messydesk

Why stop with just Mercs? A blank "Dimes" Dansco will hold Mercs plus Roosevelt dimes well into the 70s. You could even start with Barber Dimes, but I don't think the blank album will hold both the Barber and Merc sets without adding a page.

lordmarcovan

Thanks for the tip on those albums at Wizard. Wow, those are indeed nice and cheap. Better than using the one sided snap-in folders, but not as pricey as Danscos.

MsMorrisine

I dream of having the time to do this

erwindoc

I think it would be a fun project. As already stated, you have melt prices in them. I bet you could come up with XF/AU Washingtons, Franklins and Walkers in bags and rolls.

Sonorandesertrat

That is a lot of fun, without real financial concerns. One of the things that brought me back to the hobby, after a long hiatus, was the state quarter program. I bought a Dansco album, and filled it entirely from pocket change.

The only problem is that the keys will have been picked out. Possibly the easiest set to complete this way is the Walker short set.

originalisbest

It's fun to do and I see nothing wrong with trying both Mercs and Washingtons as time and budget allow. You don't have to do them both at once, and you aren't required to finish in a week.

SkyMan

Lately I've been building Franklin and 1940 - 1964 Washington Dansco sets from raw coins (the Franklins are generally MS62 - MS64 and the Washingtons are generally MS63 - MS65). Obviously this is a bit more expensive than what you are contemplating, but it is still relatively inexpensive. I've been having a LOT of fun putting together the sets, to the point where I got an extra Dansco for each of the sets for "overflow".

Whichever series you decide on, you should DEFINITELY be putting together album sets. It's a LOT of fun, and relatively inexpensive.

lordmarcovan

I decided to give the Washingtons a whirl. Ordered one of the "Coin Collector" brand albums from Wizard, since I needed a new Redbook and flat clinch stapler anyway. Five bucks for a bookshelf album with slides? Not bad. I ordered one for the PD Statehoods, too. Might as well, since the first album runs to 1998 and so I will be hunting clads from circulation when not searching bulk lots for the silvers.

I have never collected any quarter series by date and mint before. Only by type. I did complete a 50-piece Statehood type folder from change once, and I've been likewise working on a National Parks quarter folder from change for a while.

Though I am enjoying my eclectic Box of 20, it's always nice to have a cheap, casual Liteside set going on the side to play with between larger purchases.

Thanks for the tip on the albums, Claychaser. I had never heard of that brand.

I have a $475 BST sale pending, so it's time to try and find some silver Washies at or near spot...

lordmarcovan

Nice. Unfortunately I dwell in a bit of a numismatic backwater. My tiny antique mall setup was the closest thing to a coin shop in town. I tired of being a so-called "dealer", though, and sublet it to guitarwes. But he closed up shop when he became a new father. And I haven't done shows for several years, so I am dependent on the forums and eBay, mostly.

I wonder about pawn shops, if they'll sell at spot? Might be worth checking. I've never considered them before because they never have anything that interests me.

But for bulk silver, who knows. The few silver coins I have seen in pawnshops here were always cleaned junk at ridiculous prices.

SaorAlba

Did my Mercury dime date set from "junk" mercs, with the exception of the 16-D and the two 1921s. All the others like the scarcer 26 dated coins were found in junk bags.