Spot Silver Price -> Coin Dealer Purchase Price

blueberra

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Has anyone tracked coin dealer purchase price for junk 90% / 40% silver to the current spot price?

I'm looking for an easy way to determine the value of my meager holdings as silver price fluctuates without having to find a coin dealer and asking for the current buy price.

For example, every month or so Covina Coin in California runs a full page buy ad in Coin World with buy prices for junk silver based upon a spot price.

The most recent ad I could find is from the July 29 issue which had $15.10 spot silver price resulting in a 9.3X buy price for 90% junk silver and a 3.5X buy price for 40% junk silver. The cost of shipping my stash to California would more that eat up any slight premium I'd absorb from my local dealer, so I'd be looking at bringing my coins in to the dealer myself.

Is there any kind of rule-of-thumb formula that, given the current spot price, I can be reasonably predict what the local coin dealer will pay for junk silver.

I suspect that many of you are regulars at your local coin shop and might have some kind of formula you use.

Note that I'm concerned about small amounts, not the quantities that Ampex and the other big boys deal in.

Also, since I'm from Massachusetts which taxes anything that think they can get away with, is there any sales tax ramifications I should be aware of. I wouldn't be buying anything, but you never know around here.
 

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BC1969

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Whatever you do.. don't sell your stack to a coin dealer unless your coins have value above their metal content.

Take your stack to the place those coin dealers take their stack.. straight to a refinery.
LNT in Novi Michigan is a great choice!

Mike
 

bigscores

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Whatever you do.. don't sell your stack to a coin dealer unless your coins have value above their metal content.

Take your stack to the place those coin dealers take their stack.. straight to a refinery.
LNT in Novi Michigan is a great choice!

Mike

Lol what? Most dealers will just bag/sell 90% as is.
 

Owassokie

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Not in my area they don't..not the people I know.
Why sell yourself short ?
That makes zero sense.

BC, What do you mean about "sell yourself short"? Was that a reference to the dealer or individual?

I haven't looked in the last couple years but it's common for people to pay more than melt value for 90% coinage on a regular basis. If you honestly know of dealers selling their coinage to a refinery, you might consider purchasing it...I'd be interested in 90% sold at less than melt value.

Edit: I just looked up Provident Metals, which is where I sell if I just want to get it done quick and simple. It looks like they are paying 95% of silver melt value which I assume is better than you'll do as an individual contacting a refinery. That said, TN and other websites have classified sections where you can take the middle man out and do even better. Both individuals win.
 

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blueberra

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BC, What do you mean about "sell yourself short"? Was that a reference to the dealer or individual?

I haven't looked in the last couple years but it's common for people to pay more than melt value for 90% coinage on a regular basis. If you honestly know of dealers selling their coinage to a refinery, you might consider purchasing it...I'd be interested in 90% sold at less than melt value.

Edit: I just looked up Provident Metals, which is where I sell if I just want to get it done quick and simple. It looks like they are paying 95% of silver melt value which I assume is better than you'll do as an individual contacting a refinery. That said, TN and other websites have classified sections where you can take the middle man out and do even better. Both individuals win.

I have a standing offer with a couple of my friends to buy their junk silver at the price that local dealers are offering.

But my question is whether the dealer buy price is based on face value or do they quote something like 'paying 95% of spot for 90% silver coins'. Now it's up to you to determine the actual silver content by weight / purity. Simple enough to determine face value -- it's not that big of a deal, but I always thought dealers used some kind of face value multiplier for junk silver purchase.

We're not talking about heavily worn coins -- just Kennedy and Franklin halves which have lost almost no silver due to wear.
 

Back-of-the-boat

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85% of spot is what I have been quoted.
 

Dozer D

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Guys, check out J M Bullion, they are Buying silver at about 3% below melt.
 

trdking

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My local Pawn Buys at 30% back of spot OUCH But if you are a regular you can buy 10% back of spot Cha Ching
 

FormerTeller

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Spot Silver Price -> Coin Dealer Purchase Price

My LCS buys silver for 90-95% of spot. Sells it from 105-110% over spot.

Not sure why OP doesn’t want to talk to Coin stores directly. Not that hard - just search online for coin stores near you, call them up and ask how much they pay for junk silver. Takes less time than it took for him to type out his original post...
 

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Owassokie

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My LCS buys silver for 90-95% of spot. Sells it from 105-110% over spot.

Not sure why OP doesn’t want to talk to Coin stores directly. Not that hard - just search online for coin stores near you, call them up and ask how much they pay for junk silver. Takes less time than it took for him to type out his original post...

Agree with FormerTeller. LCS's are all over the board...some are great and some...not so great. But you don't know if you don't ask!
 

ArkieBassMan

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I haven't checked in years, but the best sell price I could find in my area back when silver was in the mid-to-high $20's was 8x face for 90% and 1.5x for 40%

I personally think that for small amounts, unless you have a local individual willing to pay very near spot with cash, I think you'd do just about as well selling on ebay. You'll pay ~13% in fees, but junk silver typically brings a price over melt.
 

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RTH

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Probably your best bet is to list it on Ebay. Just compare to other similar listings. Multiply spot times .715 to determine silver value in 90% coins. Usually older series, mercury dimes, walking halves, and dollars usually command a slight premium. Just take into consideration your listing and shipping costs. Other than that, I am sure several folks on this site would be interested in purchasing at near spot price. I know I would.
 

Dozer D

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Well, this quick surge in silver price was SHORT LIVED. Tues it got up to $19.51, now on Fri afternoon, down already to$18.18
 

Treasure_Hunter

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Posts deleted. Only charter members can sell and blueberra is not a charter member.

 

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