Melting Silver Coins - The Sin of Coin Collecting?

Being a dental student at my school, we have learned how to make gold coins through lost wax casting of gold. I was thinking this might be a fun process to make a couple rings for my fiancee. I can't afford gold...I'm a student. So, the next best choice is silver. I have a bunch of "junk" silver lying around and I figured I could melt some of that down and cast it. It's .090...which I would assume would be visually identical to .925. I guess my main question is, is there any reason why I shouldn't melt these coins down? None of them have any value other than silver value.

The majority of them are half dollars unfortunately which is too much silver for one ring. I might have to section the coins somehow prior to casting or find some quarters (of which I have less of). Also, would there be any noticeable difference if I used 40% Kennedy halves instead of 90% coins?

 

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Dude, It will be so worth more as a ring than it ever will as a coin. Just the sheer fact that you will have MADE the ring will get you so much extra "action" that it will be well worth the silver value. :devil: Girls love that stuff.

 

Camaro, though not enforced it is illegal to melt or deface US currency. If the silver is from overseas. I see no othedr problem. Have fun and show us the results.

 

Well, there's another option... you could just hammer it into a ring like this '43 Walker:

 

Hey that is nice work !!!

 

I am so tired of this illegal to melt/deface crap

. Is it illegal to damage or deface coins?

Section 331 of Title 18 of the United States code provides criminal penalties for anyone who fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the Mints of the United States. This statute means that you may be violating the law if you change the appearance of the coin and fraudulently represent it to be other than the altered coin that it is. As a matter of policy, the Mint does not promote coloring, plating or altering U.S. coinage: however, there are no sanctions against such activity absent fraudulent intent.

Coin melter's have been melting coins for years don't see anyone going after them. it is Fraud alter a buffalo Nickle and try to pass it as a 3 legged one that is fraud. Alter a quarter and try to pass as a Dollar coin and there you go.

 

It's not illegal to melt coins, Why do you think you see all these We buy your gold and silver coins for cash! What do you think they do with them? Melt them

 

Ripley,
it is not illegal to melt silver coin. It is illegal to melt copper and nickel but not silver.

 

That is cool! I would like to see the process for doing that work.

 

Was this purchased or were you the craftsman? If purchased, may I ask how?

 

Here's a link :/

http://www.cointalk.com/t161051/

 

I actually just found a circulated 1921 Morgan Dollar that had been encased in a bezel of some kind. I removed the bezel (I think it was stainless steel) and figure that's the perfect coins to use. I'll probably cut it in thirds or in half with a saw and use it to make a couple rings. I have the wax patterns all ready to go. It should be fun.

Just to make it clear, I'm not going to hammer them into a ring. I'm actually going to use lost wax technique to cast a ring. It will not resemble a coin in any way when I'm done.

 

Be sure to post some photos when your done!

 

I make Coin Rings. If you are interested, Take a look.

 

Judd- that's really cool. How much do you charge for them?

 

Camaro...make the ring yourself...



Judd...those rings are fantastic...

 

Very impressive work. Thanks for sharing.

 

To the OP, a 40% half will be very difficult to work with since it is still clad. unless you have a furnace to melt it all and stir it up well, it will be uneven coloring. Also, the color will not be as silver as the surface since it is only 40% silver. I would suggest using 90%, or even getting a silver round.

Also, working with pure gold is very much different than working with coin silver. Coin silver has a much higher melting point and works much differently. If a half dollar is too much for a ring, how about trading it for a couple quarters at a coin shop? One of the benefits of coins is that we have different sizes. Good luck, and let us know how it comes out.

 

It's illegal to melt copper or nickel pennies and nickels. The other copper/nickel coins are still quite legal to melt.

And, Ice, thanks for posting the actual section that applies. Education is always a nice bonus to anything.

 

I would point out also that it was not a law outlawing melting cents and nickels, it was a treasury rule. This has not been litigated, and in the past the courts have ruled that coins are individuals personal property, not public property, so legally the government should have no authority on what you do with them. They would have authority to prevent export, but not what you do with your private property in the US. The treasury still has no issue with defacement of cents, (elogated cents have been made for eons, and no one is stopping them), so I believe in reality the rule is there to scare smelters into not accepting them to smelt until the percentage of them in circulation is miniscule. I believe they will be force by economics to change the nickel at least, and by the time older cents and nickels are gone from circulation they will repeal the rule, unless forced to earlier by a lawsuit.

Treasury rules do not equal constitutional law, especially unchallenged. The big point is who would challenge it? That takes money.