My Silver Investment

Like most coin collectors I view the majority of my collection as an investment. There are some coins that I'll probably end up with for the remainder of my coin collecting years, but there are others that could appreciate and be worth selling at some point. Like most coin collectors I collect silver coins.

Pictured above are some of the silver coins I could sell at any time. At some point most, if not all, of them will likely be worth more for the silver than the numismatic value. And at that point I'll sell them for a nice chunk of change. Silver enjoyed a very high premium in 2011, and prices took a couple years to really settle down. Recently the spot price has been climbing. Well within the yearly averages from past "normal" years. But still, who knows what the future holds. Maybe it keeps climbing and has the highest yearly close since 2012. Or maybe prices fall again and I continue buying.

Anyway, There are some German 10 Mark coins from the 1972 Munich Olympics in there, as well as some walking Liberty Half Dollars and Franklin Half Dollars, a 1966 Mexican Peso (which is only 10% silver despite how big it is), A US Dime, a couple Florins from the UK, Some bullion from China and Austria, A Venezuelan Bolivar, a Netherlands Antilles quarter (which is just tiny), A Swedish Krona, A Czech 5 Korun coin, and a few others that are hard to see. These are all fairly loose. Not pictured is my book of silver US dimes, and a couple of coins in cardboard holders. The rest of my silver besides that would probably stay with me unless silver passes $50 per ounce. 

1945 (P) and D Walking Liberty Half Dollars!

Look at these majestic beauties. Anything with the walking liberty design counts as beautiful in my book. But the original use of the design is probably the most beautiful. These half dollars were minted from 1916 to 1947 when the Franklin Half Dollar took over. The two specimens shown here have obviously seen better days, but being as old as they are and considering they were gifted to me, I can't complain. With silver prices on the rise, the melt value of one of these 90% silver coins is about $7.15. Most numismatic sites have these two coins valued at anywhere from melt value to $14 in the condition they are in. 

Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 (1893 Columbian Exposition Half Dollar)!

This is one of the few coins I have that is this old and in such fine shape and of course it's American. I used to have a less desirable one, but with this there's no need. It was struck in 1893 for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.  Some were sold at a premium at the fair, others were thrown into circulation, and the rest were melted. Not many survived in perfect condition making the near-perfect specimens worth $1,000+. Unfortunately my coin is AU which means it's worth $17.00.

Croatia 1993 50 Lipa!

In the age before the internet, this coin would require some digging. Nowhere on the coin does it say "Croatia" which makes it hard to identify. However, a quick Google search reveals that it is indeed Croatian. This coin is 50 Lipa, or cents, which is also half of a Kuna. It is worth $0.09 in exchange value which makes 1 Kuna $0.18. This coin is worth about 2 Kuna or $0.40.

1947 Turkish 50 Kurus!

My one and only silver Turkish coin and I got it for a steal. It's metal value is worth over 3 times what I bought it for. Sadly it is only worth metal value in this shape and if silver continues to drop, it may only be worth the $0.50 I bought it for. It's from the time before Turkey's economy was plagued with inflation and practically destroyed, but even then it was a small coin with not a lot of silver. It's not a lot of design either and I can't help but feel the coin was rushed or no one really cared. Anyway it's got a nice 7 in the date and it was an OK bargain.

1945 Indian Half Rupee!

Not bad for my second Indian coin. My first was also a half rupee, but a more modern and less valuable one. This coin is American Quarter-sized and .500 silver so from that I can say that it's exchange value was probably around 12 and 1/2 cents. This may be entirely inaccurate but it seems logical enough. I especially love the condition which I found out makes it worth $20.00. I only paid $15.00 so I'd call it a bargain.

1956-Mo Cincuenta Cenatvos!

Here's awesome half dollar. It's big and heavy like a coin should be and made of the beautifully inexpensive metal: bronze. Two of these coins put together made the also inexpensive Peso, which was only 10% silver and a tad bigger than this coin. I still wonder why they didn't reduce the size of the Peso or make it Copper-Nickel as both would have saved money, but the past is the past and they eventually did make it copper nickel. Just not before they made it the lowest purity of silver ever recorded in history. Anyway this coin is relatively cheap at $0.75 and has been demonetized so it's no longer legal tender.

1772 Mexican 1/2 Real! (Flea Market Finds #5)

This is my favorite of my flea market finds. It's 90.3% silver and was struck at the Mexico City mint which is still operating today! It features King Charles (Carolus) III and the Latin phrase "DEI GRATIA" or "BY THE GRACE OF GOD" which is still on British coins. Oddly enough, Charles advocated for a decline in the power of the Church and advancement in science during his lifetime. That's the kind of king I wouldn't mind living under.

 

Now, you can tell this coin is from Mexico City and isn't a full Real by simply knowing your Mexican Colonial Coins. Since I know relatively little, it took me a little detective work. I bought it marked as a Spanish Real but the Numista catalog said otherwise. The Spanish Real has no Mexico City mint mark and has the denomination marked as 1R. So I went to Mexico in the catalog and the Real had the right mint mark but still had that pesky denomination. I then started going down the list and after about ten seconds I found it. It's worth about $10.00 in this grade which is $3.00 over what I paid for it! Not my best deal but I am finally dipping into the world of 1700's colonial coins.

1907 Barber Half Dollar!

Another flea market silver value coin. This is typical of these coins, though, since they were the $20.00 bills of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Yes it's true the $20.00 coin was a $300.00 coin by today's standards which is why gold and silver were useable. Now a half dollar is two quarters and we all know what that'll buy you- almost nothing. This coin has a value of $12.07 because of its silver content.

1967 Kennedy Half Dollar!

(Obviously) Bought this at the flea market and got a pretty good deal for it. It was marked for $7.00 and I only paid $5.00. Based on today's silver price I paid $0.96 more than the silver price which is an awesome deal. This coin is worth around $4.00 based on silver (it is worth less than silver in the book).

1992-S American Proof Set!

Oooooooo shiny. Here's yet another gift. I'm not sure how it got to be like this but it is. I hope to get some 2x2 holders for them but for now they'll have to sit in my coin box. Maybe I'll get some holders next week at the flea market but for now these coins are unprotected. The whole set is worth $6.00 but this is probably less with no plastic covering, case, or certificate of authenticity.

1965 Special Mint Set! (Part Five)

This is the fifth and final coin in the 1965 Special Mint Set. It is the half dollar and is the only coin made of silver. Well 40% silver anyway. It is worth about $3.50.

Happy Fourth of July!



United States Bicentennial Silver Uncirculated Set
1776-1976
I believe this set is worth around $30.00 .

Obverses to the coins in the set.

Reverses to the coins in the set.

Obverse of the 1976 Kennedy Half Dollar. The date was modified to have the 1776-1976 dual date instead of the usual single date.

The reverse of the 1976 Half Dollar designed by Seth G. Huntington.

Dual dated dollar. I love alliteration.

Reverse of the 1976 Dollar was designed by Dennis R. Williams.

Dual date on the quarter as well.

The reverse to this coin is more commonly seen in circulation since Ike Dollars and Half Dollars are rarely seen in circulation.

All of these coins feature an S mint mark on the obverse near the head/bust of the former president/national hero that is on the coin. They are all made of 40% silver. Also Happy 4th Everyone!

June, 1917

Back in 1917 that pile of change was hard earned and every cent counted. Today, many countries such as Canada are discontinuing (or have discontinued) the cent because it has too little buying power. I suppose that's what happens when you mix aging infrastructure, careless spending, and trillions of dollars of debt and that's only in America. Anyway the picture above is some coins that are all dated before 1917 on top of a June, 1917 issue of the National Geographic Magazine shown in the video below. Most of them have been posted about and the ones that haven't are listed below.
1916-S Dime Worth: about $2.30 for updated price visit here.1900-(P) Cent Worth: about $2.00
1910-(P) Nickel Worth: about $2.00

Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty!

This is a 1986-S Half Dollar issued for the 100th birthday of the Statue of Liberty. The obverse shows the Statue of Liberty, a rising sun, the ocean with a ship in it, and the motto. The reverse depicts a family on a pier with their luggage, the city in the background, United States of America, and E Pluribus Unum. This coin and its Denver struck uncirculated counterpart are worth about $6.50 each for the conditions MS-67 for the Denver and PR-67 for this one (San Fransisco). This is in the Official Government packaging and comes with an information sheet that doubles as a Certificate of Authenticity.

Santa Half Dollar!

I was going through some new arrivals on Govmint.com which is a site I used to buy from but now refuse to because of the extremely high prices. I saw a Canadian Half Dollar with Santa Claus on it and clicked on it. It costs about $35.00 plus shipping and handling which brings it to around $40.00. I would not recommend shopping here to anyone except for rich people trying to waste spend excess money or people who want a specific item that can't be found anywhere else. I wouldn't normally do a post like this, but I have seen at least 100 ads for Govmint on sites like Youtube and other popular sites. Some good places for buying coins are eBay, Craigslist, a local flea market, or straight from the mint. For precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium a good place is  Independent Living Bullion.

The Coin Born From an Assasination!

The story of this 1964 Half dollar is far from ordinary. Within months of President Kennedy's assasination this coin had already been approved for striking dies were being made. This coin is plentiful for two reasons: collectors wanted the new coin with the recently deceased president on it and because the general public was hoarding silver because of its rising value. Many were saved and they go for about $8.50 in MS-63 redardless of the mint where it was made.

America's first Commemorative coin!

Back in 1893 the World's Fair was being held in Chicago and the U.S. Mint made two different coins to commemorate it. First was the 1892-1893 Columbian Half Dollar (above) and the 1893 Isabella Quarter. The 1892 is worth a little more because it had a lower mintage. The Isabella Quarter is worth $550.00 in AU while the Columbian Half Dollar is worth $19.00 (1892) and $17.00 (1893) in AU. Since many people thought it was crazy to buy a half dollar for one dollar many were put into circulation and are worth more in unciculated condition. It is a good coin to have because it is inexpensive and is made of silver which is soaring in value so you can stock up and not pay too much.  

Eh, What's up Doc?

Eh, What's up Doc? The question heard by millions of people in the last century and asked for one year only by Ben Franklin. This 1955 half dollar is an error caused by a die crack in the teeth giving Ben the appearance of Bugs Bunny. It is pretty common and goes for about $30.00 in uncirculated depending on the grade.

Low Mintage Coin For Cheap!

 The 1914(P) Half Dollar had a very low mintage of 124,230 minted. The 1914-S had 992,000 an amazing 867,770 more! This mintage makes the 1914(P) Half dollar $160 in G-4! The 1914-S is also a low mintage compared to previous years like 1908-O that had over 5 Million but only $15 in G-4  which is what mine is ): It is still a cool coin to have.