What would a dealer pay for average circulated silver?

Hi all,

Perhaps you (the collective you) can help me and a friend out here.

He has an old collection he wants to get rid of, and he wants to give me first dibs. He brought it over, and I've been looking at in in my spare time over the past week. The best way I can describe it is: average unremarkable well circulated silver (it's all pre-1965). He's got no key dates, most stuff is in G to F condition (newer stuff in F/XF), etc.

He's got:
- Merc dimes
- Roosies
- Walking Liberty Halves
- Franklin Halves
- Morgans
- Peace $1's

(no quarters . . . odd)

Now, he wants to give it to me as low as possible because we're good friends. Because I'm a friend, I don't want to pay him too low -- on the other hand, he's got a lot of stuff, and I have a low budget, so I don't want to break my own budget.

His first suggestion (looking for a low price) was: what would a dealer pay for them?

So . . . what would a dealer pay him? Melt value? 10.5 x face value? Is the answer different for the Roosies and the Walkers? What about the Morgans?

(Again: let's just assume, for the time being, that there is nothing special about the coins, except for the fact that they are silver. Typical example: 1934 Mercury in G to VG, or 1955-P Roosie, F/XF)

Any thoughts?

 

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melt value.

 

WHY do you want it? You don't say

 

Have you asked a dealer ? I'm only guessing, but I think these sort of things go for 10x face or so.

 

Just looking to fill holes in my collection. I collect too many types (I collect: Indian Head cents, Lincolns, Jeff nickels, Merc Dimes, Roosies, Wash Quarters, Walking Liberty/Franklin/JFK halves, Sac/Pres $1's -- and looking to get a start in Morgans and Peace $1's) to "go for the best grade available". I don't really have much of a coin budget. So, I'm mostly looking for hole fillers, and here's a great opportunity for me to fill a whole mess of holes fairly inexpensively.

As for the person above who said "melt value" -- is that also true for Morgans? (Melt value for Morgans on Friday was $11.35) For the other stuff, it's 10.6 x face . . . which means, say, $5.31 for a Walking Liberty Half.

 

I would just go ask a couple dealers. See what offers you get on the coins...then offer your friend the same.

 

In the shop I work at we are currently paying 8x face for the majority of walk ins. The boss will go higher for larger quantities at times or for regulars that have dealt with him for years.
Morgan and Peace Dollars we start at $10 each and go up from there.

We sell at 12x face in smaller quantities but he'll go lower for larger quantities.

Take that as you will. If he's a good friend you may want to give him a bit more. I would'nt go higher than 10x as of right now.

 

The only dealers I know are on CT!

 

Check in the phone book or even google it, I'm sure you have one nearby who would make an offer.

 

Just count the coins, plug the numbers into coinflation and write him a check and move along.
It's red herring if you spend to much time worrying about it.

http://www.coinflation.com/coins/silver_coin_calculator.html

 

If that's what dealers do, I can do that. I just didn't know if that's what dealers did or not -- which is why I asked the question.

I value his friendship, and he mine, and so I do worry a bit about it.

 

I personally doubt that a dealer would give the full melt value. Since they could probably only sell the coins for melt, I would expect them to give a percentage of melt (say...80% for so). I don't know for sure, but that wouldn't surprise me. So, I think the coinflation prices might be more than a dealer would pay.

 

Right -- that's what clembo said above -- that his shop generally paid 8x face.

 

You could check jewelers also, a lot of them will buy scrap and coins too.

 

My dealer buys dimes for $.80, quarters for $1.50, halves for $3.50, and morgans and peace dollars for $8-11 depending on condition/date.

 

8 x face

6 x face

7 x face

8-11 x face.

Except for common date silver dollars I've never run across a dealer with that kind of differentials. Every dealer I've talked to (mostly at shows) quotes a specific multiple of face for all US junk silver except dollars. Those who buy world junk silver generally pay the same percentage of melt (usually 80-90%) as their US price.

 

Nor have I Hontoai except on the world junk. We tend to pay much less for it as there are so many different compositions. The vast majority of it goes into a bucket for the refiners.

 

Yep, that looked odd to me as well. Some ideas flashed through my mind... buying lots of quarters, "making change" into dimes... heck, that's 33% profit !

 

8 to 10 x has been fair for a couple of years. sounds like you are a classic hobby collector. From the the Max Mehle era to the early 70's you could make silver collection from circulation at face value.. sounds like you lucked ito one of those collections.

haven't seen any dollars out her this year for less than about $14.00. the reason that they seem to be more money in the books is that so many high grade came on the market in the 60's to 90's. the stuff like your friend has has been getting melted untll it is hard for a person to put together a face value collection.

10X would seem fair, or you can pay between blue book and red book. half a dozen of one , 6 of the other.

Since '80 seems that the investors have convinced everyone to "dis" any collection that doen't make a dealer a lot of money.

To be fair, the dealer has to make a living. 30% markup would be about minimum on low price stuff. He has to clear a few hundred a day to pay costs. It can come at a 1% markup on a great coin, 100% to 300% on common forein or US stuff, or 4000 % on buying rolls and cherrypicking. But it takes a lot of picking.

My local dealers make about 2-5% on bullion.

Pawn shops would pay 3-4x face and melt the coins.

 

Excellent post!

I don't totally agree with the markups but you're in the range. People don't realize that when one buys a dime at 80 cents and sells at $1.20 they have to sell a lot to pay the daily costs.

Common and especially World coins require a huge markup. Why? it basically just sits there and takes up space.

Pawn shops? Way low. When they get strapped for cash we buy from them for a quick profit on both ends.