The public and media have been keenly aware of rising bullion prices, with a particular focus on silver and its recent 30-year highs.
Silver often stands out as its the "poor man's gold." In other words, more people can easily afford several ounces of the metal versus the steeper price of owning even a single ounce gold.
Also, American coins struck before 1965 contain 90% silver, and it can be surprising how many people own more then a few of them. Often, many are old "junk silver coins," which means they are so worn that they have little to no extra value to collectors or numismatists. Still, they are worth a pretty penny to everyone because of their soaring melt values. And that fact has brought extra attention to old pocket change that may be sitting around at home.
A recent news segment on WSYR-TV in Syracuse recently posed the question: Want 10 times the face-value of your coins?
In it, Chris Fernandez, who is the owner of the Pawn King chain, is quoted as saying:
"Silver coins 1964 and older, quarters, dimes, half dollars, silver dollars... you're going to get 10x face value on them. So for 50-cents, you'll get five dollars," he said. "Most people don't realize that and they're pretty surprised when I tell them."
Depending on where silver is at in price, values can actually run substantially higher for pre-1965 junk silver coins.
For example, on November 8, 2010, silver was priced at $26.80 an ounce. At that time, a 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar had a melt value of $9.69 -- much more than 10x face value. One day later, silver soared as high as $29.34 an ounce, making that same 50-cent piece worth $10.61.
Of course, coin dealers and pawn shops will always pay less than the current going price for silver within old coins. They must make a profit to stay in business, and they must also take the risk -- especially during times when silver prices have jumped so quickly and have been volatile.
The above embedded video of the 9 WSYR-TV segment is the one referenced earlier in the article.
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Circulating U.S. Silver Coin Melt ValuesUS Circulating Silver Coin ValuesTagged as: Silver Coins
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