A couple hours ago I met with a guy who had an ad on CraigsList for 90% silver coins. I bought $10 FV in halves from him and that was what we agreed before meeting so I didn't bring anymore cash with me than what I needed for that. He brought along with him what seemed to be the rest of his 90% silver collection. He had some beautiful Washington quarters, most were BU and some even appeared MS. He told me that if I was interested in buying anymore from him to just give him a call. I definitely want to buy some of those Washingtons off him. What would be a fair price per quarter in BU condition? I bought the halves from him for 22x FV. Would that be a fair amount to pay for the quarters as well?
BU is MS. That aside, let him name his asking price but remember most Washington quarters are worth about melt unless they are high Mint State. You paid too much for junk silver (which melts out at around 21X face at today's price). Your local coin shop most likely pays UNDER melt for junk silver.
Yeah I know I paid a little over melt for the halves, I really don't mind. I just didn't know if BU quarters were worth more than melt or not. Thanks for the info.
Speaking of 90% scrap I have a newb question? I am mainly a bullion guy but I purchased a package deal that has some Mercury dimes and pre-65 roosevelts I went to ebay them today but noticed that coinflation has them listed as being only 70% silver is that correct? Every auction I looked at to compare has them listed as 90% do these people really not know they are only 70% or is coinflation wrong? Thanks
The ebay people are right. Coinflation is right. You are wrong. Coinflation does not list them as 70%. The United states never made a coin that was 70%. Here is the link: http://www.coinflation.com/coins/1946-1964-Silver-Roosevelt-Dime-Value.html
Rainyday, You are confusing US junk silver % with the fact that $1 face value of pre '65 US silver coins contain .723 ozt of silver. All pre 1965 US circulating coins are 90% silver but you can multiply the face value (excepting dollars) by .723 to get the approximate silver content. The denomination doesn't matter. Add halves, quarters and dimes and use .723 to determine silver content. Hope this helps.
Sorry to disagree, but the coin shops need to make a profit too. Rarely will you be able to buy silver coins for below melt when PMs are hot, like they are now. The OP got a fair deal according to the current market.
It sounds about right, what you paid for the halves. Last show I attended the guys were buying at 21, selling at 23. Silver has dropped a bit, but I would offer 21x for the quarters and take all he has. Last I loooked, Washingtons were either "unavailable" or "out of stock" at most on line sites. Just sayin'
You're right Smitty. I was just trying to show what the number on the Coinflation site meant. Coinflation uses (the "as struck") .723. When buying or selling circulated US junk silver, .715 should be used.
I went into the local shop I buy at from time to time on Wednesday looking for some junk silver and they were 32X FV!!!!! I didn't want to just walk in and look around and buy nothing so I just bought two BU silver washingtons. Also picked up my 2012 ASE, looks great. I'm meeting with that guy again tomorrow to buy some more of his silver, going to get as many of those quarters as I can from him, they were all BU. I only have enough to buy about $11 fv unfortunately though.
Is there a better term for circulated 90% silver than junk? I've worked a a couple auto dealerships, and no salesman ever referred to the used vehicles as junk!!!
"No Junk" Recent Silver Transaction On Friday 1/13/12, a buyer caught my craigslist 90% Silver offer ad before it was flagged by metropolitan dealers who object to "subject" indication of offering below melt value. A buy/sell ad is usually deleted within an hour if any competitive pricing information is included in the ad title (e.g. buy at 105% melt, sell at 95% melt), but the Title may remain on site longer, so I always include my phone number in the ad. Another factor that infuriates "dealers". He wanted to buy that which I normally offer/sell, namely "no junk" 90% Silver mix of Mercury dimes to 90% Kennedy , denominations between included. He wanted the coins to have all culls removed, in G to AU condition. He lived 50 miles South of the largest metropolitan area in our state, and had tried all resources to locate that which I offered, at a premium above melt of 10%, without success. He wanted a quantity above the $95 Face that I'd offered, so we agreed on a monday meeting, with the sale price at melt. He drove the 100 mile one way trip to where we met 50 miles North of the states' largest populous. He was given 3 boxes each containing $50 face, all coins in $10 lot size 2" x 6" zipper closure plastic transparent pouches. The boxes were transferred one at a time after he counted appropriate funds, where we both could view the count, him seated within his vehicle, and myself standing without. He was allowed to inspect and count the product while I returned to my vehicle until receiving a "thumbs-up" acknowledgment to return with an additional box. Upon completing the transaction he signaled approval, and indicated he wanted to talk, where I approached his vehicle. He was elated, as he had tried without success, for some time, to find that which I was supplying. He said that dealers wanted to generally sell all their coins at premiums, dependent upon type/grade. They offered to purchase quality 90% Silver generic material at discounts to 35% below spot. He found that eBay competitively priced lots were generally low grade (e.g. Good average condition) with an average of 5-10% culls. He was looking to buy more of that which I supplied, and had several associates who were like-wise interested. He was ecstatic when I gave him a $100 bill for his travel/efforts. The synopsis of the tale is: That although this individual in a urban area with a population of several million had tried to acquire what the majority indicate being readily available, he received "Junk"at a premium. This is a possible explanation for the dealer title of "Junk Silver" when delivering, although not necessarily when acquiring. Availability of competitively priced material apparently is a regional phenomena, as this buyer was extremely satisfied acquiring "No-Junk Silver" at 20.85 times face. :thumb:
Your experience sounds similar to a transaction of illegal goods, imrich! Did the thought ever cross your mind that this guy could pull a fast one on you?
