Might be time to sell some silver soon...

Up, up and away SILVER at $42.17 !!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

As I write this silver (9/15/2025) is at about $42.50/toz. My local coin stores are offering 25x face (which equates to approximately $35.00/toz. 82% of melt. Seems low or is that normal for a local coin shop in your area?

 

As I recall the last time silver reached these levels that's right about what most dealers were paying.

 

I got an offer for 23X face about 2 months ago from a local coin dealer. (for Peace dollars) Spot silver is higher now but I thought that was a lowball offer even then. Silver is flying off the internet shelf on eBay but........that 13% vig on gross sales price is a killer.

 

Low

 

If prices don't take a big dip between now and then, I might sell some off at the local show in November. I can't really compare right now to the 2011 frenzy or the years of doldrums that followed, but it seemed like I always got stronger offers at shows than folks report here from dealers.

I see that MoneyMetals is offering a buy price for 90% dimes and quarters of 28.44x FV, and they're quoting $42.78/toz as the current price for silver - that puts them at about 92% of melt. I'd expect to get, I don't know, maybe 27x at a local show? 28x, if the dealer's running short and has a lot of people clamoring to buy?

I still remember that one show in 2011 where I bought a bag of SLQs from one dealer at 26x, picked through them, saved out a couple, then walked over to the next aisle and sold the rest to another dealer for 26.5x...

 

I might wait for the next coin show, if it's relatively soon. Off to coinzip.com I go!

 

Oooh...this Sunday (21st) in Van Nuys!

https://www.coinzip.com/van-nuys-coin-show

@Kentucky

 

Thanks, it slipped up on me...

 

When you go to a coin show, do you go to the vendor tables and ask around what they are paying, if they are buying at all? Or do you wear a trench coat and stand in the corner, whispering to attendees, "psst, hey buddy. Do I have a deal for you!"
I'm being sarcastic but only half jokingly.

 

Yes, you ask around what the dealers are offering. (When the market was very hot, dealers often posted their buy prices.)

No, you do not offer to sell to other attendees, not unless you've rented a table. That's a good way to get ejected from the show.

 

Dealers at tables will have a sign posted saying that they are buying, and sometimes they list a price ( as Jeff said). Just walk around and ask what they're paying for 90%, and they'll tell you. Sell to the highest or to the guy you'll be buying something from.

 

I’ve never sold at a coin show. I just buy and add to my hoard. If I was to sell I would definitely ask dealers what they are paying.

 

From what I've heard, retail is not buying silver presently - they have been selling. Dealers have been selling silver to refineries to be melted/scrapped to maintain a cash flow. Refineries are now backed up with inventory and have stopped buying from dealers. Dealers are selling 90% below spot because they can't sell it to refineries for scrap presently.

 

You wouldn't know that from looking at completed eBay sales. Another member mentioned silver Washingtons were selling for in excess of $300 per roll. I checked it out, he wasn't lying. They are selling like hotcakes. There is a whole new generation of hoarders/speculators.

 

That member would be ME not lying.

 

I couldn't remember, exaggerating would have been a better way to put it. I was shocked. Junk silver quarters are selling as good or better than silver dollars. Maybe quarters are more affordable in lots than the bigger denomination, who knows? Either way, I'm very hesitant to sell given the direction of PM lately.

 

More sellers at LCS than buyers, or so they told me last week. Rapid price rise is getting people to pull out their hoards. Some have worked on slim margins at brick & mortar shops. Increasing value of the stock isn’t their business model. Turning stock fast at a profit is the model most follow. Everybody gotta eat. Employees need to be paid.

 

Exactly. Any shop that wanted to speculate on silver going up would've been driven out of business in the early 2010s.

In a price environment like this, I'd expect dealers to offer well back of melt, and possibly sell below melt. (Which, I suppose, is repeating @pmbug's point above.)

I mentioned Money Metals earlier, not because I'm especially familiar with them, but because they're one of the few online dealers that's showing anything other than "call us" for buy prices. Right now, they're quoting the price of silver at $41.85/ozt. Their sell price is 30.42x FV, which works out to 1.6% over melt, and their buy price is 27.78x FV, about 7.2% below melt. I have no idea what their inflow and outflow are like at those levels, but presumably they adjust them to try to get the traffic they want while maintaining an adequate profit margin.

At shows, dealers have already sunk the cost of their tables, so "adequate profit margin" may be a little lower. If they've got a lot of inventory they bought at lower prices, they may be willing to deal. If they're short on inventory and people are still wanting to buy from them, they may make stronger offers for sellers. If they've got a lot of inventory they bought at these prices and nobody wants to buy, well, stinks to be them.

 

Stop your selling! It drove the price down today. Thank you.