I recently bought 20 of the 40% silver Kennedy half dollars for $50 plus $4 in shipping. Was this a good deal or should I try to buy more 90% silver coins? My main question is... Is the silver from these 40 percent coins just as good as any other silver or is it some how less valuable because of the fact that its been mixed with other metals at a much lower percentage compared to 90% or .999? Also I'm new to silver stacking, got any tips for me?
From what I understand, 90% is worth more than 40% due to the fact that the extra junk added into a 40% leads to more costs in refining. I would recommend buying 90% and/or silver bullion if you're looking for return on investment. Analogy: you buy a bag of 40 red marbles and 60 blue ones. It's going to take you more time and effort to sort out all 60 blue marbles than it would if there were 90 red and just 10 blue.
You did OK. 40% tends to sell below spot when liquidating to a dealer but you can often sell to other stackers at spot. Although they are pretty common and many people have an unfavorable opinion of them 40% is pretty liquid and I've never had a problem unloading them. You could also stack 40% and then trade up into 90% at some point later. As for tips I'd say the best overall silver to stack is American junk silver or silver eagles (ASE). With both it's extremely easy to liquidate them and the ASE's generally maintain a premium over spot. I'd shy away from generic bullion and foreign silver unless you want to collect them versus stack them. Yes silver is silver and generic bullion has cheaper premiums to buy, but when liquidating it you won't be getting a premium either and will likely be offered back of spot and lose money unless silver has gone up a lot.
At current market prices ($16.71/oz), a roll of 40%'ers has a total silver value of $49.43. They will sell at higher than melt (in my experience) on eBay and Craigslist. Dealers will pay less than melt but you can probably buy them for less than what you paid when you factor in the shipping. But hotwheelsearl is right; 90% is better.
@hotwheelsearl What I don't understand is why someone would buy something when they don't understand what it is they are buying. Chris
I've done that more times than I can count... Lots of impulse purchasing and getting blinded by the dollar signs in my eyes.
I prefer generic rounds myself. I buy them online for $.74-$.99 cents over spot and sell them to dealers for spot. It's just a little better than what I could get with the Eagles. 40% silver is tricky. In my circles the more you have to sell the closer to melt you can get. But it is always at a discount to spot because of the refining process. I get all my 40% from Coin Roll Hunting and would never buy it. Love the 90% too. Very liquid and in high demand in my area.
I understood the amount of silver i was buying lol. But like i asked, i was wondering if the silver being mixed at 40 percent would actually be a little less valuable. And now i know. But as Blissskr explained, it wasn't too much of a problem anyways. Although I will now stick to buying 90% in the future.
Silver has to go up before I sell you guys,. Let me know where you can buy at spot and avoid a premium. Your sell back of 40% to a dealer will be a lower percentage of melt.
