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r/Silverbugs•
Silver302

Junk silver - rip off?

A little bit of click bait in the title but I just got my first order of junk and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Obviously it's worn, dirty, and ugly but that doesn't bother me. What bugs me is the lack of consistency with each coin.

I got a bunch of Washington's, a couple Standing Liberty's, and a Barber. The amount of wear on each is obviously different but some are really slick and weigh at least a gram less than what they should. I understand that's probably normal but still has me thinking...

So my question...what's the appeal of junk silver if you're getting less silver for your money and it's considered ok? Is it just because it's a lower cost fractional? Because it's easily recognized and easy to sell? Because of the age and cool factor of having a 100 year old coin? All of the above and then some?

Posted Jul 13, 2017, 1:34 AM UTC

931
hammong•

I don't buy Barbers or SLQ, specifically because I don't like slicks and the loss of weight that represents. For me, junk is usually Washington, Kennedy, Franklin, Roosevelt, and a few better grade walking liberty halves mixed in.

I think the appeal is just what you highlighted -- universally recognized and cost effective fractional sizes and historical affinity.

10% of my stack is junk.

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magenta_placenta•

For me, junk is usually Washington, Kennedy, Franklin, Roosevelt

This, with the addition of Mercury dimes. Barbers and SLQ tend to be too much slicks unless you can cherry pick them, in which case, get them.

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RDV_SAL•

If youre concerned about getting as much weight as possible from your junk i would stick to Washington quarters. They made billions of them in the last couple years of production so you can find plenty of near uncirculated coins from the 60s for the same price as ones from the 40s and 30s. SLQs and especially barbers are almost always going to be heavily worn due go their age and any that are better looking will cost significantly more than your average washington quarter. Ive sold my junk silver to a buddy of mine plenty of times and made money on them when i needed extra cash or wanted to free up funds and it was easy to move no problem to a fellow collector. Some people prefer to have a little over a lot to diversify their holdings, i just pick it up when i can find it cheap or get a good deal for a group buy of it.

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CannedRoo•

I buy them because they go for around melt (or at least they should - my LCS is a ripoff to buy from), and they'd be easier to use in small transactions than 1 oz silver rounds. If SHTF and I need to trade them, nobody needs to concern themselves with the nuances of coin collecting as long as they can figure out what the silver content is and what the value of silver is (generally speaking - I know numismatic value can be higher depending on mintage and condition).

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TotallynotBobSaget•

I think people will always be buying them.

From a melting standpoint, yea it's not best option.

But I might be biased because of how much I love US silver dimes

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Rocksteady2R•

I have a pretty strict budget, and most of it goes to rounds and bars. but it has to be spent, so the balance out of the budget goes to junk. This means taht i get to pick and choose my junk - the cream of the crop of whatever my guy has on the counter. And I like it. I started as a kid years and years ago collecting coins, because coins were fun. I don't do so much numismatics now, but I still have the infatuation. There's something really neat about peace dollars and Ben Franklin halves.

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RedditPoster05•

My biggest thing is that there are so much slicks on it. Like does that affect silver content? idk I dont think its worth it in bulk or unless you can get it at spot. I do like Peace dollars and coins that arent made anymore but things like Quarters and rosie dimes arent that interesting to me. I will likely buy some eventually but the bore me and their condition is what gets me the most.

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HarlanGrandison•

I think the point of junk silver is the (typically) lower premium and the ability to divide it up more easily to sell or trade as you wish. But I think your other answers are true for some people as well.

I think if you buy junk silver in the future, stick to Franklin Halves and Kennedy halves if you are concerned about the slicks. Washington quarters and Roosevelt dimes are pretty safe usually as well but I've seen slicks before.

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ayysilver•

In Canada buying junk silver isn't worth it IMO, (unless you're buying from a private seller) because it is subject to tax, whereas .999+ bullion is exempt. Also, the premiums on Canadian junk silver are quite high compared to that of US coins.

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Stoney751•

One of the appealing things about junk is that there is never going to make anymore. When silver spiked in the 80's and during the great recession a lot of junk probably got melted down. There is less available and that is part of the reason I love junk, that and the history.

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goldandsilver123•

If your worried about worn, get like some others said........franklin half dollars or kennedies......those usually aren't as slick as other denoms. If your LCS will let you pick, then pick the best of all denoms , I had a lcs that let me do that and I picked up all bu dimes, quarters, etc that I could!

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ryanmercerMaster of First Dates•

So my question...what's the appeal of junk silver if you're getting less silver for your money and it's considered ok?

Easily identifiable, while it is readily counterfeited only key dates are done because it's currently cheaper to buy regular random junk silver than it is to buy counterfeit random junk silver, nostalgia, more pieces to play with.

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Friendship_Fries•

'64 Kennedy halves are your best bet, they were taken out of circulation quickly and you'll get XF-40s or better. Franklins are the next best, I'll rarely get one that's too bad in a roll.

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darkflash26potato•

Oh no my 120 year old coins arent brand new and shiny!

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Silver302OP•

Hi. I'm not sure if you're unable to read or chose not to, but that wasn't at all what I said. Please have someone read it to you and feel free to use the edit button after that.

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darkflash26potato•

Maybe you could read the first part of the term "junk silver" then feel free to use the delete button for this ridiculous post. The name clearly indicates the condition of the item you are buying. To compare it to unc coins is utter nonsense

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Silver302OP•

Can you point me to the definition where junk means "weighs less than advertised"? While you're at it, you can also show me where anyone compared them to uncirculated.

My post was meant to start intelligent dialogue which clearly you're unable to take part in.

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spockdadLive long and win Ante Up!•

Darkflash was a little harsh in the way they worded the response, but it is a good point to make.
No one ever said junk silver means 'weighs less than advertised', but the fact that they were used in circulation and silver is a soft metal, some deviations from normal wear and tear are to be expected. It is common knowledge that junk silver is circulated, and those of us who collect it are perfectly fine with that.
For me, the premium on junk silver is awesome because you can have a ton of fractional silver for much less than buying fractional 3rd party mint fine silver. Even with some weighing less than they came from the mint, the savings is much better than most fractional fine silver pieces.
Also, it is much more easily recognizable, and backed by the government.

If you aren't a fan of silver that's weight is a little off, junk might not be for you, but for those who see the value in it, a half dollar being a gram off because of wear isn't going to make us loose any sleep.

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darkflash26potato•

was it advertised as weight, or by face value? if fv, then your basis is weaker than newt gingrich's marriages. if i sell "junk tires" you would not reasonably assume the tires have all their tread would you?

If they said they were selling 5 ounces of x coin, and you only got 4.7 ounces, then you got ripped off. if they said they were selling x value of coin and you got x value of coin, you got what you paid for.

on sites like jm buillion and apmex you can pick out what kind of quality you want in your bulk coinage, from avg cdirculated which is what we would call junk, to unc. i suggest if you want all your coins nonslick, to buy those, but they are at a pretty steep premium. if you go to an lcs, you can pick out whichever ones you like, but the owner might think youre a prick if you spend an hour digging around for 5 bucks in dimes.

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StinkyLebinowitz•

PMs are worth spot. Any amount over that and you are getting ripped off. Seeing how not getting ripped off, using this definition, is about impossible, in this hobby it's "how do you prefer to be ripped off?" Or "what do you prefer to be ripped off for?". When you look at it that way and come to grips with it, everything about PMs starts to make so much more sense. :-)

-1†
Energy_TurtleJenga your stack!•

Why is paying more than spot getting ripped off? Spot isn't pricing 1 ozt rounds, US coins, or any processes silver product. Spot is a guideline but the market is much more complex.

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metallicsecurity•

If your goal is merely ozt of silver, premiums are a waste and to be avoided.

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Energy_TurtleJenga your stack!•

Well yeah that's pretty common sense. That wasn't what the previous statement said though.

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spockdadLive long and win Ante Up!•

I think that was stinkylebowski's point. If you consider a little less weight for 90% that is slicked a rip off, you will nearly never get FS exactly at spot either. So the point was you are either going to get 'ripped off' with FS premiums, or by slicks. It just depends on which you feel is less of a rip off.

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StinkyLebinowitz•

You didn't read my second and third sentences where I state buying at spot is near impossible and in PMs we all "pick our poison". The OP thinks Junk is a rip off, others swear by junk. I think Englehardts are a rip off, along with slabbed coins and kooks. Just because one of us thinks the other is nuts, doesn't necessarily mean we are, or maybe aren't. :-)

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Energy_TurtleJenga your stack!•

I think we are all a little nuts but I don't think people are getting ripped off when they pay premiums I wouldn't. You only get ripped off if you pay considerably more than the market dictates for that item, and that happens to newbies and uneducated people most I think.

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StinkyLebinowitz•

Well said......about the nuts part I mean. :-)

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CrazyRusFW•

You are forgetting about production costs. Reasonable premiums are to be expected and are normal.

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StinkyLebinowitz•

No I said in the following sentences than buying at spot is near impossible. But premiums have little to do with production costs and a lot to do with "how much will the market bear". That's where we all "pick our poison" because to each of us, what we paid for premium for our own latest purchase of XYZ in our minds was "worth it" and in our minds "makes complete and total sense". Just because we may get buyer's remorse as the OP appears to have, doesn't make the premium, paid by the rest of the community for that commodity, a rip off to anyone else.

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