Options
"In Reply to Your Query About a 'Silver Trade Unit' Round"
Dentuck
Posts: 3,854 ✭✭✭✭
July 10, 2008
Dear Mr. ____________:
Thank you for writing. You inquired about a medal or token that you have in your collection. From
the pencil rubbing you enclosed, this appears to be a “silver round”—an ounce of .999 fine silver
minted into the convenient form of a round medal.
Such silver rounds were popular particularly in the 1970s and 1980s as a visually attractive means
to invest in silver. They featured many different designs; this one resembles the portrait of Liberty
on the Morgan silver dollar. (Silver rounds are still produced today, but their heyday was during the
silver boom of about 30 years ago.)
In this case, “Silver Trade Unit” does not have any governmental significance, even though it sounds
official. Silver rounds are struck by private mints.
One note of caution: I have seen counterfeit silver rounds—containing no actual silver—that have a
design very similar to your example. Without examining it in person, I can’t judge if yours is real
silver or not. Counterfeits often have a dull, grayish surface, rather than a bright silvery luster.
The owner of a local coin shop would be able to look at your medal and give you more advice. You
could also take it to a coin show and ask a dealer there.
If you’re interested in medals, tokens, and such, I think you’ll like a recent Whitman book called A Guide
Book of United States Tokens and Medals, by Katherine Jaeger. Check your local library or bookstore, or
it can be ordered online or by phone directly from Whitman Publishing.
Best wishes,
Dennis Tucker
Publisher, Whitman Publishing, LLC
0
Comments
2008?
to hunt down Whitman's mailing address and write in. They might be a potential
collector if they get some encouragement.
This one was from 2008, when metals were starting to skyrocket! I imagine a lot
of people were checking Grandpa's cigar box to see if any of his old coins were
silver or gold and worth a fortune.