What happens to the old silver coins that are still in circulation that don't make their way into the hads of a collector? Does the mint take them back and melt them down, or do they just stay in circulation until eventually they're either destroyed naturally (worn out, etc.) or collected?
Usually the mint will cull the old coins out and it will be sent to a refinery for a meltdown. Otherwise, collectors might find them first and keep them in their collection. Alternatively, sometimes when silver coins do circulate from time to time, this might be a result of someone who just recently deposited their silver coins in the banks and the banks have not "filtered" them out yet. What still amazes me is that you can still find silver coins in the US, which is almost uncommon in the rest of the world.
just last week i got 11 walking liberty halves and 2 franklins from the bank. 3months ago i got a 1922 peace dollar. there is still plenty of silver out there.
Hi, Actually, coins that are "uncurrent" or mutilated are turned in to the Federal Reserve Banks. The Federal Reserve then forwards them to the Mint for "disposition". In the case of Silver coinage, it is considered "uncurrent". and is sent out to private concerns to be melted and returned to the mint. The Mint doesn't cull the coins from circulatyion, there is a system in place that involves "regular" Banks and the Federal Reserve Banking System. Have Fun, Bill
The only time that the mint gets involved is when damaged conis are returned to them. Then they melt them. Otherwise, they continue to circulate.
The mint doesn't sort coins but does store them. The FED is responsible for sorting coins but hasn't removed silver since 1969. There is not any silver in circulation to remove. A coin can't circulate when almost every individual who comes into possession of it will set it aside. Silver in "circulation" is almost invariably coin that has been pulled out of circulation and then rereleased because the owner thought it was more trouble than it was worth or it was inadvertantly spend through error or mishap. The FED itself barely handes coin at all anymore and contracts most of this work to Brinks, Purolator, and the like. Uncurrent coin can be returned to a New York address and is redeemed by weight. A lot of this isn't worth the shipping cost for small amounts and ends up in the garbage stream. Virtually none of it will be silver because no one in his right mind would sell silver to the mint at face value. Old cents and nickels would not be removed from circulation. Most of the old coins are removed by collectors and the general public. There are some huge generators of uncurrent coin. The Nashville Dump is said to ship truckloads of damaged cents each year that are "mined" from their incinerators. People don't consider these coins worth the effort to pick up and many people just toss change right in the garbage.
You can send mutilated coins directly to the US Mint for redemption, there is no need to go through the Federal Reserve system. You can do this in person or by mail. There are minimum weight requirements however. Those weights for all denominations, addresses, phone numbers etc can be found - Right Here Silver coins however do have to be redeemed at a Federal Reserve bank and they will only redeem them for face value.
Ok... If anyone here is considering this idea... give me a call. I'll give you double what the FRB pays. :whistle:
