What are some large foreign silver coins that can be bought at or a bit over melt value? I have a German empire 5 mark, a south Africa 5 shilling, and a Venezuela 5 Bolivar, and looking for something around the same size for around $30 or less.
I get this stuff all the time. Lots of larger silver coins can be purchased for around melt - most will be modern commemoratives. The countries that I see a lot of are German, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Philippines, Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Thailand, Mexico, & Israel. Some regular issue coins are French 10F, Canadian dollars,Greece 30D, & Panama Balboas. Lots of the Franklin Mint stuff was selling for melt and a ton of it was melted, so it is much scarcer now, but occasionally I'll still get some in. I've got a box of about 20 lbs of "melt value silver" that's going to the smelter soon. If you're interested in anything in particular, I can see if it's in the box.
I like a lot of the modern silver but don't ignore the old stuff either. It's getting melted just like the modern stuff and some of these aren't more common. I especially like oddball stuff like Indian states or Romanian. Most dealers will have buckets of stuff getting ready for the selters. Frequently there will be buckets of .8oo fine, .925 fine, etc. They will only get a large percentage of melt value for these and are usually happy to let people pick through them if the premium is enough to warrant their time. Remember they're doing you a favor so stay out of the way and let them do business. If you can do little things like fix them by properly organizing them it helps as well because if there are many mismatches in the buckets the buyer will discount them all. You'd be surprised at what turns up in these buckets. The guy who pays the best premiums often gets first crack but some dealers have no interest in them. Keep a total of what you find and the dealer can just check it to make sure it's right and won't take up much of his time. It takes time tolearn what's good and what's common. Some of the moderns are just junk that might never have much value and the same applies to some of the older coins especially in low grade. Some coins have been melted enmass (like Spanish 100P) and are worth keeping. Buy an older Krause (2002) and try to learn which silver is which. This is how I started with the modern base metal. In the '70's it was all mixed up and I'd separate out the silver for a premium. But then I noticed that there are a lot of modern base metal that is never or rarely seen so I started paying attention to them, too. If these ever interest you get a later date (1901-2000) Krause. These prices will be way too low generally but it will get you started.
If you want older stuff, many of the common date French 5 francs, Italian 5 lire and Spanish 5 pesetas can be picked up for just a few dollars above melt in decent condition.
Gmarguli, I would be interested in anything the size of a half dollar, or larger. Shoot me prices on a a few randomnpieces if you would like. I would love to have them. I started collecting just for investing in silver but now more so for collecting than investing.
Gmarguli, I would be interested in anything the size of a half dollar, or larger. Shoot me prices on a a few randomnpieces if you would like. I would love to have them. I started collecting just for investing in silver but now more so for collecting than investing.
I realize you are new to these forums, and despite the fact that this thread is about 4 years old, solicitations are not allowed on the open forums. You must use the B/S/T forums once you have posted a minimum of 10 times. Chris
And the guy you are replying to hasn't been logged on since 2013. Click on his name and it will show you his profile. He's still selling on eBay (well, at least his eBay account is still active) so he's in business. Odd though, the tagging system doesn't appear to let him be tagged.
