Sunday, July 17, 2011

Silver Investing - What Your Silver Coins Are Really Worth

People that have silver coins in their possession are naturally curious as to what they are worth. The purpose of this post is to give you a general idea of what your silver coins are worth if you were to bring them in to a coin dealer (or jewelry store accepting gold/silver). I am not recommending you sell your coins - that day will come but, in my humble opinion, that day is a ways off.

Let's start with the Morgan (1878-1904, 1921) and Peace (1921-1935) Silver Dollars. With spot silver at $39.27 and these silver dollars considered to contain .7650 in circulated condition, their "spot" value is $30.04. The price range you can expect to get will vary from approximately $24 to $29 depending on condition. These are for common date circulated coins. There are a number of exceptions and if you aren't sure if your coins are common date, see your coin dealer and/or visit my silver sites at Silver Investing Guide or Silver Investing Simplified.

Next, let's look at half dollars - the 1964 Kennedys, the Franklins (1948-1963) and the Walking Libertys (1916-1947). Again, with spot silver at $39.27 these silver half-dollars are considered to contain .3575 in circulated condition with their "spot" value being $14.04. The price you can expect to get will average about $12.55 for common date circulated coins. Here again there are exceptions, especially with the Walkers that have key dates and mint marks. More information can be found at Walking Liberty Half-Dollar.

For silver quarters, I'll cover the Washington (1932-1964) Quarters only. If you have Barber Quarters (1892-1916), you should consult with a trusted coin dealer since condition and a few key dates/mint marks can result in a tidy sum. With spot silver at $39.27 and these quarters containing .1788 in circulated condition, their "spot" value is $7.02. The price you can expect to get will average $6.25. Maybe a little more if in great condition. Key dates/mint marks worth much more are the 1932D and 1932S quarters.

Last are the silver dimes - the Roosevelt (1946-1964) and Mercury (1916-1945) Dimes. With spot silver at $39.27 and these silver dimes containing .0715 in circulated condition, their "spot" value is $2.80. The price you can expect to get will average $2.50 for common date circulated coins. There are some key dates/mint marks with the Mercury Dimes with the 1916D being the "super dime". See Mercury Dime for more details.

For Canadian Silver Coins, a general price guide is about 20 times the face value of 80% silver coins and 10 times face value of 50% silver coins. You can find more details at Silver Canadian Coins.

If you take your silver coins in and aren't quoted similar prices to those above, try another dealer. If you are an eBay Seller, it is possible you can get more for your silver coins as some outrageous prices are being bid for some of these silver coins.

One last item before I close is an interesting article I came across titled "11 Mentality Shifts of Silver Investors". I don't necessarily agree with all the details but it is an interesting read. You can find it here.

Thanks for reading.