Hi - newbie here. I was at work when someone came in and used a ton of change to buy cigarettes. She looked at a quarter, said, "That's a weird one," then slid it over to me. Figuring any "weird" coin might be worth something, I bought the quarter for myself and later found that it's a Standing Liberty quarter - first one I'd ever seen. Well, 2 days later, I'm out of town on business, stop somewhere to buy cigarettes, and the guy has to break open a roll of quarters to give me change. He hands me a Standing Liberty quarter. I noticed that the quarters in his tray looked white. So I immediately tossed him a $10 and bought 'em all. Turns out, they're all silver (with about 5 Standing Liberty quarters in there). The question is - what do I do now? I don't think I've got the time (or patience) to collect. It seems like wherever I search for the value of the coins, I just get smelt values. I certainly will not melt down such unique, old coins. Half of the others sites wanted me to pay and join before getting the values. I could make a list, with pictures, for people here to look at, if anybody cares. I'd still like to know how people actually find the value of this stuff. Well, thanks for reading. Any info is appreciated!
Welcome Pictures would help determine their values and whether it's melt or numismatic (collector's) value. Any quarters 1964 and before are silver.
One of the best things you can do, if you don't want to collect is search for a reputable coin dealer in your area. They can help you ascertain the value of the coins and possibly buy them from you if you wish to sell. Another good way to get a GENERAL idea is to look through E-bays completed auctions, search by type and date and mint mark then look for pictures of coins that match yours in terms of wear. You won't have an exact price but you'll at least have a good idea of the value. Some coins even though old are only worth their weight in the metal their made of.
I think you're right. I've been doing more research and making a few calls. I think what I have may mostly be considered "junk silver." I may just keep buying rolls and saving up for one big sell (or smelt). So far, it seems like each of my quarters is actually worth a few bucks for smelt, and really not much to collectors as most are kinda worn.
below I've posted a great site for figuring the silver value. to see if you have any key dates w/ collector value you would have to post pics. http://www.coinflation.com/coins/silver_coin_calculator.html personally I would never sell to a LCS unless you are really in a hurry for the cash. They have to buy low sell high to make a profit obviously. If you list them for sale on this board they will get snatched up quick at full melt value. I would be tempted myself but the wife would probably jump me if I bought a whole roll. at current spot the melt value of a roll of silver quarters is 243.06!!!! Not bad for your $10 investment hah??? CONGRATS!! :yes:
No need to send to a refinery and melt all that history away. they will charge you fee's. it is easy to sell junk silver for full melt value. Silver investors like to stack junk silver even if it does not have any collector value right now.
Wait, what? I figured I made around $40. haha. Wow. Good news, then. So - on that page you listed, it didn't show melt value for Standing Liberty quarters. Should I keep those out? The only one I can actually read the date on is 1930. The mint mark on the left by her feet is either a "C" or an "O" and there's an "M" on the right side by her feet.
I'm sorry, I misspoke. $40 is actually a high estimate. but since I lead you astray I would be happy to buy that roll off of you for $50. Seriously though, I'm not sure why that sight does not list some of the older dates. I'm almost sure the silver content of all quarters older than 1964 is the same though. someone else will clarify
I would say if you don't collect sell them to a collector that will appreciate the coins. Or store them properly in a safe place, they might go up even more in value in the future.
yep, the standing liberty coin hold the same amount of silver as the rest. you made it sound like they may be very worn though that could reduce it slightly if a lot of silver has worn away. I recently bought a roll of mercury dimes that were so worn that the stack looked like it was about 3-4 coins shorter than a stack of newer coins! that is a significant loss of mass/silver. U.S. MINT SPECIFICATIONS Denomination: $0.25 Obverse Image: Standing Lady Liberty Reverse Image: American eagle in flight. Metal Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper Total Weight: 6.25 grams U.S. MINT SPECIFICATIONS Denomination: $0.25 Obverse Image: George Washington, first President of the United States. Reverse Image: The presidential coat of arms (an eagle with outstretched wings). Metal Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper Total Weight: 6.25 grams
this site should do the job. http://www.coinstudy.com/seated-liberty-quarter-values.html We want pictures! hya:
They're worth about $240 spot in junk silver. However, no dealer will pay you that. You might take them in to see about possible errors and/or rare dates. Honestly, If it were you, I'd hang onto it, not necessarily to collect, but maybe to see if silver will do anything cool in years to come. It's been up to $40 a troy oz. I don't thinking it'd be unreasonable to see it at $50 at some point in the next year or two. And if not, eh, even if it drops back down to $30, you're not losing much.
Great news, I would say sell what ever you want to but may be retain one coin to retain the memory. Make all possible efforts to sell to a serious collector. On a lighter note, please do not forget to report to the IRS the gain of ~ $ 200 for short term capital gains tax and pay them ~ 35% on the profit, lol.
Actually, they lose "thickness" faster than they lose mass, because the high points wear down first. Here's a post I made (and never followed up on, sorry) where I weighed and measured stacks of quarters in various states of wear: http://www.cointalk.com/t154492/#post1125075 I really need to follow up -- I've got some remarkably slick Barbers now that would make a good comparison point, and I need to do dimes and halves as well. (Quickly, too; I've been preferentially selling off slicks whenever people are buying by face value. If you get the same price for all silver coins of a given denomination, might as well keep the ones with more silver, and sell the ones with less, after checking for keys of course. Gresham's Law doesn't just apply to circulation.)
