Benefits of Junk Silver
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What Is Junk Silver? | Benefits Of Junk Silver (this page) | Buying Junk Silver Tips | Where To Buy Junk Silver | How To Sell Junk Silver | Junk Silver Bags
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Above: Typical example of Junk Silver Coins:
USA 90% silver "Walking Liberty" Half Dollars.
Worth around $13 each in Feb. 2012
One of the great things about junk silver coins is that they are a very widely recognized and accepted form of value. They are not as prone to forgery as some other monetary assets, being very easily recognized on account of their size, denomination, and the coloration that genuine old coins made from real silver acquire, which is difficult to counterfeit. Investors like them as they are confident in their value and in their silver content.
Junk silver coins are easily counted, divided, stacked, shipped, traded, stored and transported. Plus there is the added historic interest and attractive look of the old coins. Additionally, there is sometimes the intriguing possibility that you will find an unusually good condition coin, or an uncommon date. There are still some of these coins "out there in the wild" and depending on the source, anyone with junk silver coins, who has a little time on their hands, may possibly find an uncommonly good condition example of a coin, or a less common date.
One of the exciting things about buying and selling silver is that it sometimes has a little more "zip" in it than gold. Its prices are a little more volatile, and although it only seems to move a few dollars per troy ounce at a time, the percentage difference can sometimes be greater than the equivalent swings in the gold price. If silver goes up a dollar per Troy ounce, a "bag" of junk silver coins, ($1000 face value), around $25,000 worth in 2012, will jump up around $700.
It's hard, though, to predict which way silver is going to move. The moves seem to happen as soon as some news breaks which affects the price, and so it's hard to pre-empt. If an announcement appears in the news of something happening with the dollar, silver seems to react quickly.
Some people think that the dollar is on its way "down the tubes" - and they are seeing silver coins as a form of "survival currency" that will continue to have value in case of some kind of disaster scenario. While this is of course hard to predict, silver is of course a "hard asset" with a value that is inherent - and of course silver coins are easily traded. Dollar bills are, in the end, just pieces of paper, however precious metals have been a commodity with a tremendously long history of uncontested value. It's unlikely that there is any scenario that could render them worthless: Silver has been the primary metal used for coinage since very ancient times.
Another thing about silver is that it is waterproof. Hoards of silver coins in jars are still sometimes unearthed that are hundreds or even thousands of years old. If the jar is intact, there is a strong chance that the coins are still in very good condition also.
Be aware that a substantial value in silver coins will be heavy! Whereas gold is around $1700 per ounce, and equivalent value of silver would weigh around 48 ounces; that's 3 pounds. A $1000 face value bag of silver coins weighs over 44 pounds; often, bullion dealers will ship the coins in smaller bags for handling convenience.
Please note - please be aware that buying and selling bullion items is highly speculative and there are of course substantial financial risks. This web site is not investment advice and we do not make any actual recommendations.
