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. 

1960 U.S. Dime (and more)!

It's nice to see that this little old blog of mine still gets thousand of views even after my three year absence. It has been a tough ride and I'm just now starting to see the end of it. Things are finally coming together. I've grown and changed so much, it's hard to believe there was a time that this blog was something of a religion to me. I'm happy I could share my passion with all the people that have stopped by, Even if this blog never got 'famous', the joy of spreading knowledge and being able to express my passion was worth it. I can't say I'll be back anytime soon, but I can say that I had fun and that I'm excited for the future.

Now, this dime is nothing too special. They made many millions of them back in the day and this particular specimen has seen better days. Currently the melt value of a silver dime is about $1.25, which is probably what I'd pay for one. This one came in change, though so I got it for $0.10. Not too bad. 

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.

1943 Indian 1/4 Rupee!

This U.S. Cent-sized, .500 (50%) silver coin is a quarter? Yes, it is. Four of these would have made an Indian Rupee and now it takes quite a few Indian Rupees to make one of these. The silver value alone is $54.02 Rupees ($0.90). I got it for $0.25 which was, at the time, a much better deal. Now that silver has dropped it doesn't seem like much profit. Except for the fact that it's worth $8.00! Numismatic value dominates silver in this case and the coin is actually a great bargain. I'm glad I noticed it and picked it up when I did or else someone else could be blogging about a great find.

1826 British Shilling!

A shilling, 12 pence, 5 cents they all mean the same thing. That's right, this U.S. Quarter-sized, 92.5% pure silver coin was to Britain what a nickel is to Americans. 20 of these coins would make a big gold 1 Pound coin just like 20 U.S. nickels would make a tiny gold 1 Dollar coin. I got this coin at the flea market for only $4.00! It's pretty worn, but much better than my 1927 Shilling. It's also worth about $15.00! Not bad for $4.00.

1928-M Mexican 20 Centavos!

I've been wanting one of these since January (2013)! Five months later, I get one for a steal. It's 72% silver and is worth $1.69 just in silver. I got it for a mere $0.20. This is the most beautiful coin I bought last Sunday and by far my favorite. For some reason I just find old silver Mexican coins highly appealing. I especially love the eagle on the reverse. It's much better than the design used on modern Mexican coins. It's worth about $3.00, a price I would have gladly paid had I not been fortunate enough to find this one.

1875-S 20 Cents!

Here's a rare and hard-to-get coin. Although, that isn't true. They're all over eBay and elsewhere, just with very high prices. I got this coin from the flea market for $50.00 and in this shape, it's probably worth that. If you haven't noticed, it's a little bit bent and very worn so I'd put it at AG. It's worth about $100.00 in G. So, since I'm going by the unofficial rule that says half of the last known value = the value of the coin one grade lower, this coin is worth $50.00. It's a nice first 20 Cent coin, and I'm glad I waited to buy it because I got a whole $30.00 knocked off of it. Now that's a good bargain.

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.

1948 Guatemala 5 Centavos!

What's this? A silver coin from Guatemala? I thought it was a poor country! Well, it is and they haven't issued silver for circulation in a while. Like many countries today, their currency has declined over the years and this coin is worth $0.0064 USD in exchange value. Metal value is different, however, and this coin contains $0.92 of silver. Numismatic value is even better at $7.00. It's made of 72% silver as is stated on the coin. I like the color it has attained; slight rainbow but also just plain silver with a little darkness. I also like the design, but from what I've seen, the die work does vary. Glad I got a good one- I hope.

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.

¡Viva la Revolución!

One of my three coins from Cuba. Two are common, base metal coins and this one is 90% silver. It was made back when America and Cuba were allies after America "freed" them from Spain and the Cuban Peso and USD were made at par with each other. Does the "VEINTE" on the reverse ring a bell? It's close to the Starbucks size "VENTI" and both mean twenty. So this is a twenty centavo, or cent, coin. 1/5 dollars are more prevalent in Europe which, combined with tradition, is the reason for the denomination. This is still very evident in Europe with the Euro using 20 Cent coins and the Pound having 20 Pence coins rather than quarters. Tradition carries on in Cuba, despite the Communist takeover, and 20 Cent coins are still used. They are still made at par with the USD for accounting reasons, but in reality are worth less. This coin is worth about $9.00.

1914-A German Mark!

Look at those biceps! Who couldn't love Germany with an eagle like that? Well, apparently lots of people. This coin was minted the same year The Great War, or WWI, started. It was also the year Germany suspended the Gold Standard to finance the war. This suspension caused the hyperinflation Germany was notorious for in the early 1920's. Then Germany stabilized, Hitler came into power, Germany became poor again, Germany re-stabilized, and now they use the Euro, though some want the Mark back. Back to the coin. It was minted in Berlin as can be seen from the A mint mark, or should I say mint marks. The eagle has a smaller eagle on it and on the more worn coins it can leave the unfamiliar mind wondering how many eagles are on other eagles. In Mint State like this coin, we can see that there are just two eagles. And now that I've use the word eagle way too many times, I'll finish by saying that this coin is worth about $18.00.

Also, sorry for the late post. I've been sick as of late and have mostly been on my phone which is almost impossible to post from.

1853 Half Dime!

Originally known as the "Half Disme" and now made of nickel, the half dime has been around forever. This is a terrible example of one, but it only cost me $5 and I can trade it back in if I ever get a better one. I started coming up with stories as to why it is in the condition it's in and the best one I came up with goes something like this:

  It was a dark, unforgiving night on the soon to be explosive battlefield. The young soldier pulled up his lucky half dime and whispered "Give us victory." His wish would not come true. Suddenly, the screams of his comrades charging and the gunshots of the enemy that expected the attack became almost deafening. He joined in screaming and shooting until he himself was shot twice in the chest. He fell, was trampled by horses, and once the battle was over, he was left to rot.

 His body lay untouched for nearly 150 years until a little boy, armed with his new found love for digging on his parent's land, dug a deep hole. What he found would both scar and intrigue him for the rest of his life. It was a skeleton. His dad helped him dig further and they eventually uncovered some bullets, a gun, a not-so-shiny belt buckle and a half dime. In the hard times, these were perfect items to sell to collectors willing to pay top dollar for their conditions. So off to the pawn shop they went where the half dime was sold for $1.00, the gun for $30.00, the bullets and buckle for $14.99, and the skeleton for $22.00. The family was never hungry again. At least, not in that week.

So the half dime basically rotted in the guy's hand for 150 years until a little kid dug him up and sold it for $1.00 if you want the short version. The coin is probably only worth $5.00 in this shape but in true VG, it would be worth around $20.00.

Also, let me know what you think of my story and write your own if you're feeling adventurous!

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.

1954 Netherlands Antilles 1/4 Gulden! (Flea Market Finds #4)

This is my second favorite of my flea market finds. It's got a rather small mintage of 200,000 and is worth around $8.00 which is 8x what I paid for it. Yes, it's true that I paid only $1.00 for it which is less than the $2.11 melt value as well. One of the reasons I like this coin so much is because the Netherlands didn't produce silver coins for circulation from the time Juliana took the crown except the 1 and 2-1/2 Gulden and even those were only for a short time. The Netherlands Antilles, however, produced silver coins from 10 cents to 2-1/2 Gulden until 1970. Sure, they're only 64% silver but silver is silver. I also find the portrait of Juliana quite attractive and the denomination 1/4 G rather than 25 Cent a nice change from traditional Dutch coins.

1892-O Barber Quarter! (Flea Market Finds #3)

 I bought this coin for $4.00 or $5.00 at the flea market. Notice the O under the Eagle. That means it was minted at the New Orleans Mint which has since closed. It also means this coin had a mintage of a little over 2 million which is nothing compared to its 6 million mintage Philly counterpart. It is from the first year of issue which is another plus and always a must have for those who collect every date and mint mark. Because of its small mntage and because it is so worn, it is worth about $10.00. Still, it is worth two times what I paid for it.

1930-(P) Standing Liberty Quarter! (Flea Market Finds #2)

Here's another of my bargains. I got it for $5.00 and it is worth about $12.00 which was a nice find. Somehow almost all of my bad numismatic luck was undone with good luck last Sunday. All right, before I spoil the other finds I should probably talk about this beautiful coin. It features the legends "IN GOD WE TRVST" and "E PLVRIBVS VNVM" in which the U is substituted with a V. It also features Lady Liberty who was bare breasted in the original version of the coin. Sadly, this coin is from the last year of the coin's production and that means she's fully covered. There's an eagle on the reverse that looks way more majestic in the less worn versions of this coin. It is surrounded by 13 stars which represent the 13 original colonies.

Odd how we always glorify the colonies but then supposedly hate the idea of colonization. Also odd how we still have thousands of troops in Japan and Germany and still own islands that we captured in WWII and before. Just some food for thought.

1943-P Wartime Jefferson Nickel! (Flea Market Finds #1)

I've shown about a million 1943-P wartime nickels before and I'll likely show a million more. The reason I'm showing it again is because it is not the exact same coin and and because it is one of my "bargains" from the flea market. I got it for $1.00 and it is worth $1.69 so that $0.69 is pure profit. If I were to sell it, that is. This is the lesser end of my bargains so stay tuned to see the better deals!

300th Post!

When doubled, this stack of silver coins would be about $300.00 USD just for silver content.

Boy have I, and for those of you that have been around a while, we, gone far. From pretty much nothing to over 14,000 views in a year and two months is an amazing thing in my eyes. I've featured old, new, weird, normal, damaged, near perfect, and almost everything in between. And you, the viewer, watched it all happen. All of you have directly or indirectly given me inspiration in one way or another. Whether it was by giving me the idea to even start a blog or giving me information on a coin I posted or just simply giving me that one precious pageview that I crave, you have inspired me. By reading these words right now you are inspiring me! So thanks to every single person who has ever visited this blog in its relatively short existence because you are what keeps me going on my lazy days and what keeps me super motivated to make posts as good as possible. Thank you.