OK, I have a bunch of "junk silver" quarters, dimes and 40% Kennedy's. I had a link to a website that contained a calculator of the silver value of all American silver coins...and I seem to have lost it (I recently built a new computer and some of my bookmarks got lost in the switch). Does anyone have a link to that site?
Has anyone ever considered that if all so called junk silver is automatically melted down, then eventually there won't be any silver coins available? What would be the situation if at the turn of the twentieth century (1900) silver coins were considered as junk and melted wholesale. I can tell you--only the wealthy today could even consider collecting what was left. I personally, and this is just my own opinion, don't think so-called junk silver should automatically be consigned to the smelters. Think of future collectors.
Silver coins did get melted down in the silver boom in the late 1970's and early 1980's. Damaged or very worn coins might still get melted down, but now the coins are a convenient form of bullion by themselves. Unless the coin is very heavily worn or damaged, you have a guarantee of the weight, plus a conveniently small sized tender if you wanted to use it in a transaction.
I agree. Coin silver is already certified as to weight and purity, and has a numismatic history. It should always be worth more than melt, but collectors still sell them for melt anyway.
Soemtimes people just need or want the money to purchase numismatic items with a more significant heritage or higher value. This is why a lot of "junk" silver hits the pot.
