Junk silver coins

jim4silver

Silver Member
Apr 15, 2008
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Hi guys just wondering how you guys sell those if they're legal to melt

Did you mean illegal to melt? Anyway, junk silver coins have been legal to melt for decades. There was a short period of time in the late 60's where they could not be legally melted, but that didn't last too long.

On the other hand, US pennies and nickels are not legal to melt right now, nor can you export out of the country over a certain amount.

Jim
 

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Offshore2

Tenderfoot
Jan 22, 2013
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jim4silver said:
Did you mean illegal to melt? Anyway, junk silver coins have been legal to melt for decades. There was a short period of time in the late 60's where they could not be legally melted, but that didn't last too long.

On the other hand, US pennies and nickels are not legal to melt right now, nor can you export out of the country over a certain amount.

Jim

Yea thats what i meant, how do you sell those do you have to melt them yourself? Boy do i have alot to learn
 

Bigheed

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Apr 11, 2011
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Yea thats what i meant, how do you sell those do you have to melt them yourself? Boy do i have alot to learn

Theres really no incentive to melt down junk 90% and 40% because they are commonly bought and sold with known silver quantities. The government already covered the minting and refining costs over 50 years ago.

If you actaully took a bunch of them to a refiner and asked them to melt them down and cast you some bars or coins you'd probably end up paying more than just selling them in bulk to a LCS or big buyer for 93-100% of melt depending on the market you live in and your negotiating skills :-)

You'd also need to make sure that you trusted the shop and make sure you were really getting back the oz. you put in minus the costs.

Overall I would say just stick with buying/selling the junk or finding it via CRHing like many of us do and deal with it that way because they are all known quantities.

Hope that helps a little!
Bigheed
 

GrizLeeBear

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After pulling key dates for separate sale, I have rolled them and sold them on eBay. In coin form they are a known quantity. Melted down they are just a glob of metal that you have to prove what it is. Also, when you melt them down does the silver easily separate from the alloy metals? Right now I am holding some silver coins as a hedge against the doom and gloom I see in the financial news.
 

Bigheed

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Apr 11, 2011
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you could separate the slag by boiling point to a certain purity, i'm not sure, I would guess in the 93-97% range depending on the equipment you have, but to get it into bullion grade from the alloy metals would require some acid or other such fancy/dangerous setup.
 

Kaynos

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Sep 13, 2012
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I dunno i buy junk silver on ebay often (when the price is right). The competition is ferocious at time, so i'm saying ebay is a good place to sell. It's probably not "THE BEST" place because of the fees though.
 

Diggin-N-Dumps

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After pulling key dates for separate sale, I have rolled them and sold them on eBay. In coin form they are a known quantity. Melted down they are just a glob of metal that you have to prove what it is. Also, when you melt them down does the silver easily separate from the alloy metals? Right now I am holding some silver coins as a hedge against the doom and gloom I see in the financial news.

I agree, I think keeping them in Coin Form is the best, I dont see what the benifit of melting them down really is, Coins dont take up any more space than if they were melted. I could be wrong, But I would much rather buy Junk Silver coins, than a shiny silver bar, that I hope is what it really is. These days, there are so many fakes out there, its hard to trust anyone selling Silver.

Plus, in my own opinion, I love to see old Silver coins, and hearing about them being melted is Odd for me. But Im a coin lover more than a "Silver" lover i guess
 

jim4silver

Silver Member
Apr 15, 2008
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The only junk silver that gets melted are damaged coins or "slicks" (coins worn down so much they are almost smooth). Coin dealers are smart enough to know that they will make much more money reselling junk silver coins retail, or they can wholesale them out.

If you send junk coins to melt, you will get nowhere near spot. Look at what they pay for sterling silver which is more pure than 90% junk, simply because it all gets melted unlike US junk silver coins. Most coin dealers are paying several dollars behind spot for sterling silver.

Jim
 

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