precious metals – Page 2 – American Coin Stash

Are Stash Cans Better Than A Safe For Storing Silver And Gold?

Stash cans are hollowed out cans meant to resemble household products. The idea is that a burglar is unlikely to check a can for a false bottom, so your stuff will be safer in a diversion stash can than in an actual safe.

Yes, a diversion stash canister can be safer than a safe box in the right conditions.

For example, the first safe I ever bought was a small SentrySafe:

While a SentrySafe may be good for organization or keeping my coins safe from small fires, if a thief saw this safe, they could easily pick it up and walk away with it! If anything, a small safe like this only draws attention to the fast that there are valuables inside.

There are other small safes with cords that can be attached to the wall, but a prepared burglar could easily cut through the cord.

The best part about a diversion can is that a thief is unlikely to check all the cans in your house for fakes. If you are smart enough to store your diversion can with real cans, it is unlikely to be found. Most burglars are only in a house for a few minutes looking for easy to grab valuables like TV’s and jewelry.

Best Diversion Cans for Storing Gold and Silver:

The two most important things to look for in a diversion can for gold and silver storage is how accurately it resembles the product it is meant to emulate, and if it can hold 1oz coins.

Below are my top picks of diversion safes. All have their strengths and drawbacks, but fit the criteria of looking accurate and being large enough for one ounce rounds of silver or gold.

Peanut Butter Stash Safe:

Fake Peanut Butter Secret Safe Diversion

I like this Peanut Butter stash safe for its size and because it is weighted. This safe would be great for storing gold and silver because it could hold more than the average hollowed out Coke can.

The best part of this safe is the wide lid. You could fit your entire hand in this safe and easily get all of your gold, silver, and coins.

I wish it had a more recognizable brand, but it does look like a peanut butter jar from a discount store. The label even includes nutrition facts!

I think the size and quality of this safe are quite good. Someone scanning your pantry is unlikely to pick this out as a safe. Although, it may not be good for hiding valuables from anyone looking for a midnight snack 😉

Water Bottle Diversion Safe:

Diversion Bottle Safe Secret Container Dasani Bottled Water

This Dasani Water Bottle Diversion Safe has some of the best reviews on Amazon.

It is wide enough to hold several 1oz rounds, but it is fairly short since most of it is filled with water. You could hold at least 5 or 6 single ounce rounds of silver in this can.

This canister definitely is the most realistic out of any of the diversion safes I found, unfortunately it is not very large. Luckily, you could purchase several of these Dasani water bottle diversion cans and it would create an even more realistic illusion.

The Classic Book Safe:

Real Paper Transfer Book Safe (Les Miserables-Combination)

The book safe is a bit overdone, but can be effective. The problem with most book safes is that it is that many of them are poorly made. The best part about these book safes is that they use real paper instead of plastic. If someone quickly checked the sides of this book it would not be easy to tell it was fake.

Get a book for the cover that is usually large. The dictionary and Bible are too commonly hollowed out, so I would stay away from those for storage. I like the Les Mis option with this brand since Les Miserables is already a very large book.

You can also pick Pride and Prejudice or Alice in Wonderland, but since neither of those books are usually very large it may make the diversion safe stand out more than it should.

A Fake Vent Safe:

Diversion Safe Stash – With RFID Hidden Compartment

The fake vent certainly beats all the other safes in terms of size. This could store all your silver and gold and likely much more.

This safe does require installation, so make sure you have a spot in your house between two studs where this can fit. It may also be beneficial to put it behind a small shelf or nightstand to make it less visible.

Someone may be able to realize this vent is fake if they are looking closely enough, but since it requires a RFID card to open, they will be unable to open it without removing it from the wall or likely making a lot of noise.

The Corn Can Stash Safe:

Del Monte Can Diversion Safe Stash Box

This one is great cause you could easily grab 2 or 3 and keep them in the back of your pantry with some other corn cans and no one would ever know.

It is not weighted, but if you are storing heavy items like gold and silver, that is likely not an issue for you. You can put cloth or packing peanuts around your coins to prevent them from rattling in the can when lifted.

Unlike hollowed out Coke and Pringles cans, the corn can is easier to get your hand inside.

I hope this article was helpful! Leave a comment and vote in our poll below!

I am an Amazon Affiliate, so I earn a commission on sales made through my links. This does not increase the price of any item linked through my site. My main goal is to inform. Thank you for supporting my website!

January 29, 2021February 1, 2021

Coreen2 Comments

WallStreetBets Redditors Set Their Sights on Silver For The Next Short Squeeze

I’m a big fan of Reddit and very active on r/Coins and r/Silverbugs. Occasionally, I like to hop over to r/WallStreetBets to see what the gambling addicts over there are up to.

Much to my surprise, WallStreetBets and Silverbugs have begun to merge. Coming off the high of the great gains of Gamestop (GME), redditors have been looking for more stocks to make gains from (or teach WallStreet a lesson).

Some Redditors are looking to Blackberry, AMC, or Nokia, but another subsection has begun to eye silver as an undervalued asset worth pumping.

A 1964 Silver Quarter, currently worth about 3$

As a coin-collector, I also dabble in collecting precious metals. Silver has beaten stock market returns before, but over most long time periods, silver mostly keeps up with inflation. As much as I like silver, I don’t expect to get rich off of it.

I am a little annoyed to see the mentality around silver stacking changing over the past few hours. A lot of silver stackers liked to watch their stack grow and felt some security in it. Lately, many people are entering the hobby with thoughts of market manipulation and greed.

Here is a screenshot of the post by u/RocketBoomGo on silver prices that began trending and motivating a lot of the current excitement about silver.

Here is another Reddit post by u/TheHappyHawaiian that motivated more of the hype around silver. I am not a fan of technical analysis because I very much doubt it’s efficacy, so I won’t delve into whether or not the prices are possible.

A lot of the posts about increasing the price of silver seem to be looking at a price target of $1,000. (Is this probable? I have no idea.)

Let’s talk about the pros and cons of silver reaching $1000 per troy ounce.

Pros:

If silver reaches $1,000 an ounce, coin collectors and silver stackers who already own a lot of silver will make an amazing profit should they decide to sell. A silver quarter, currently worth about $3 would be worth almost $200!

It might get more people interested in precious metals. I would definitely like to have more of my friends and family interested in silver. (Although I would prefer if they were interested in investing first.)

Cons:

It would make owning a coin collection or silver a much greater liability. If silver went up to $1000 an ounce, I personally would sell some because I would be uncomfortable having that much money in my house unprotected.

If silver went up to $1000 an ounce, the value of silver would begin to greatly outweigh the numismatic value of silver coins. That increases the likelihood that silver coins would be melted down for the silver content since lots of silver collectors prefer pure bars. 😦

Most importantly it would make coin collecting an insanely expensive hobby! My friends already think I’m crazy for spending $20 on an old quarter; imagine if I told them I was now spending hundreds per quarter!

Obviously, I’m glad more people are looking at silver, but I am worried about how the culture around silver purchasing may begin to change. Currently, it’s been mostly motivated by interest in it as a material and a community. Using silver as a store of value feels more like a hobby than investing.

WallStreetBets Redditors are more interested in increasing the price in the short term. When someone asks advice of stock purchasing over on WSB it is almost always met with a strong encouraging and pressuring to buy. Silverbugs has been a much more calm, “buy what you can afford and dollar cost average.” I would hate to lose that in the community.

Silver Dimes in a Pile — A pile of silver dimes.

Anyway, that’s enough of my ranting for now! I logged onto r/Silverbugs a few hours ago and decided to write an article here about how I’m feeling about a silver pump.

If you want to learn more about what U.S. coins contain silver click here!

Here is a quote to ponder on for the day, as applicable to stocks as it is for silver.

“In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run it is a weighing machine.”
Benjamin Graham

Edit 2/2/2021: A lot of WSB redditors are now trying to distance themselves from the silver pump. There’s a lot of conspiracy theories that the silver pump was manufactured by Citadel.

The silver price has risen a lot in the last week, premiums pushed silver prices to over $32 an ounce. Today, silver has fallen slightly from its highs from yesterday.

I’ve been checking online retailers like SDBullion, and they seem to be running out of almost all their silver in stock.

Share a comment below and vote in our poll!

January 28, 2021February 7, 2021

CoreenLeave a comment

Do Women Collect Coins and Precious Metals?

If you have been to online forums for coin collectors you will probably notice a lack of women. Why does it seem like only men collect coins and precious metals?

First off, I will say that women do collect coins, and I feel very qualified to say that as a woman who collects coins!

I’m going to be talking about why it may feel like there are almost no female numismatists, and how more women could be attracted to the hobby.

Why does it seem like there are so few female numismatists?

Think about everyone you have talked to online about coins, on Instagram, CoinWorld, Reddit. Do you know-with 100% certainty- that everyone you messaged with was male?

Of course not! Some people may have their name set to “Steve” or photos uploaded with clearly masculine hands, but most people opt to stay relatively anonymous online. It’s likely you have talked to a female coin collector and not realized it.

I’m not making the argument that you need to treat anyone differently online, or even stop assuming anons online are male. Even I assume most people on coin and precious metal forums are male!

One of the best parts about coin-collecting is that it brings groups of people together to talk about a hobby they love. Conversations rarely delve into political or social debates. Two people can meet to talk about coins and not realize that they may have radically different views on what the world is or what it should be, they will just talk about coins.

There are many less female coin collectors than males, and that should not be understated. Hopefully, that will begin to change. There are several reasons why I think there are currently less female than make coin collectors.

1.) Coin collecting was started by men and then passed down.
Boys, on average, have a tendency to emulate their fathers while girls emulate their mothers. A man who collects coins who has a son and a daughter was probably more likely to notice his son developing an interest in coins and therefore pass it on to him.

This doesn’t mean that the father wouldn’t have also given the collection to his daughter if she was interested. Kids pickup on small social cues, so a young daughter may see a father collecting coins and the mother not collecting coins and put coin collecting in the “male” category.

Of course, not everyone has a son, and not all sons are interested in coins more than daughters. However, I think after generations this effect tips the scales to generationally favor more male coin collectors than females.

2.) Precious metals and coins are also considered investments.
I would say it’s only been in the last 50 years that women in the US have gained more of a footing in higher-level positions in banking and investing. There is still a lingering idea that women handle the day to day budgeting while men handle the investments.

Precious metals can be a decent hedge against inflation. Before most people invest in gold and silver, they usually buy stocks and bonds. If women are only in the past few decades becoming interested and knowledgeable about investing, then it will take longer for them to begin looking at hedging inflation with precious metals.

Plus, with women earning less money than men. They have less to spend on piles of gold and silver. People can prioritize collecting precious metals at any income level, but it doesn’t make financial sense for most people. (Unless you are worried about a complete collapse of the US Dollar which some precious metal collectors are.)

3.) Coin collecting feels like a man’s hobby.
This section is more about perceptions than what may actually be experienced in reality.

I have never felt talked down to by a man about coin collecting because he knew I was a woman, but have I worried about men perceiving me as less knowledgeable because I am a woman? Absolutely.

Even in these modern times when women are gaining more respect in business and finance, there is still a sense that women know less than men. Sometimes, these fears are unjustified but sometimes they do ring true. Women often feel like they need to prove themselves to be seen as equals to men.

I think a lot of men would love to have more women interested in coin collecting. I see men trying to get their female friends, girlfriends, and wives involved in their hobby.

How to get more women interested in coin collecting?

First off, we need more real women on US coins. Lady Liberty is a great symbol of freedom that women may relate to, but she is not a real woman.

Off the top of my head, I can think of two circulated coins that feature real women: the Susan B. Anthony Dollar Coin and the Sacagawea Dollar Coin.

The Susan B. Anthony coin is a real mess of a coin. The US Mint rushed to get this coin out before it was ready. The back of the coin depicts the moon landing which has no direct ties to Susan B. Anthony.

If anything, this coin feels a bit insulting. It feels like the U.S. Mint was pressured to put a woman on a coin, but put very little thought into the design after that. The Susan B. Anthony Dollar Coin is one of my favorite coins for the history around what made the design so poorly thought out, but this coin is not empowering.

Women keep getting put on dollar coins, which is a good start, but the Mint could do more to get women included on commonly circulated coins. Most people do not see dollar coins in their day-to-day lives. How will a woman know that women are featured on dollar coins if she never sees one?

If you want to get a friend or wife or girlfriend interested in coins here is my advice:

She may not be interested in collecting coins for the same reason you are interested in coins. Figure out something she is interested in and find a way to incorporate coins.

For example:
Does she like jewelry?
There are many kinds of beautiful coin jewelry handmade online! Mercury dime necklaces have a light, feminine appeal. State Quarter rings also make a great gift. (If you want to see my recommended jewelry, see #8 on “Top 10 Gifts for Coin Collectors”.)

Does she like history?
She may be interested in older coins. Maybe give her some tokens that commemorate a historical event. Coins and tokens are great pieces of history.

Does she like adventure?
Get her a metal detector! This is a great way to go exploring and maybe find some coins. Although her main goal may not be to find coins at first, she may become more interested when she learns the value and history of her own finds. (If you want to see my recommended metal detector, see #6 on “Top 10 Gifts for Coin Collectors”.)

Does she like treasure hunting?
Get her to try coin roll hunting! Coin roll hunting is a treasure hunt for valuable coins in everyday change. (If you want to learn more check out “What is Coin Roll Hunting”.)

Final Thoughts

There have been no studies done on this, so this post was almost entirely speculation on my part. My opinions could very well be skewed by the fact that I know very few other female coin collectors and that most of my dealings with other coin collectors happens online.

If you have any thoughts on this I would love to hear from you and start a discussion. Leave a comment below, or reach out through my Contact Page.

January 5, 2021January 29, 2021

Coreen1 Comment

Toning a Silver Round with Liver of Sulphur Gel

After sharing my article, How to Artificially Tone Silver Coins?, I received lots of great feedback!

First, I didn’t actually need to put my silver coin IN the egg to tone it… whoops.

Second, I could buy Liver of Sulphur Gel online to get a much more even toning! I purchased it immediately, and now I’m going to share how well it worked.

I am an Amazon Affiliate, so I do make a commission off of any products purchased from my Amazon Links. This commission does not increase the price of products purchased through my links. Thank you for the support!

I am using the same silver Buffalo Round I used for “How to Artificially Tone Silver Coins?” which I am using because it had the least amount of toning.

You can view the original SilverTowne Buffalo Round on SDBullion by clicking this link.

Silver Round with Liver of Sulfur Extended Life Gel.

I purchased the Liver of Sulfur Gel on Amazon. It has more than enough gel for the experiment. Plus, it came with instructions on how to tone coins, jewelry and silverware!

Step 1.) Wash the Coin

I wore gloves and cleaned it with Dawn Dish Soap. Make sure to wear gloves while handling the coin from here on out, as oils on your hand could effect the evenness of the artificial toning.

2.) Prep Your Neutralizing Solution

Once your coin reaches the desired level of toning, you will want to submerge it in water and baking soda IMMEDIATELY. This neutralizes the sulfur so your coin stops processing.

Step 3.) Combine 4-8 Drops of Liver of Sulfur with Warm Water

First, remember to take the plastic seal off of your Liver of Sulfur. Wear gloves when taking the seal off. I had to use a toothpick to remove the seal as it did not all come off in one go.

I used 8 drops of Liver of Sulfur with 1.5 cups of warm tap water.

Surprisingly, the sulfur was smelly, but not as smell as I was expecting. I did this on a stove with the fan on medium, but did not feel the need to open the doors and windows to avoid the smell. In fact, it reminded me of making Easter eggs as a kid!

The sulfur and warm water… looks a lot like urine.

I used warm, but not hot tap water for my first try. So the silver did not change colors as fact as the instructions led me to believe.

Step 4: Submerge the Coin

The instructions said to use wire or tongs to submerge the coin, but I was lazy so I just used my gloved hand, remembering to rotate the coin every few second so the sulfur could work evenly.

Here is the front and back after about 45 seconds in the mixture. I would lift the coin out every 10 seconds to check the color.

Obverse (left) and reverse (right) after 30 seconds in Liver of Sulfur Gel.

Step 5: Neutralize the Sulfur

Once it reached a fairly toned level I took the coin out and submerged it in the neutralizing baking soda solution.

Silver in Baking Soda after first round of toning.

Here is what both sides of the silver bullion looked like after being neutralized and drying on a paper towel.

After the first round of liver and sulfur.

This turned out so much better than my other attempts at toning! The color was fairly even, and had many of the blue tones I was looking for.

Even though this looked better than before, I decided to do another round, to see just how far I could tone it. This time I decided to use hot water, hoping it would make the toning happen faster.

Round 2:

8 Droplets of Liver of Sulfur in a plastic container.

This time instead of using warm tap water, I put 1 cup of tap water into a mug and microwaved it for 45 seconds. Then I poured the water into the plastic container so I could dip my coin.

What I did NOT think about was that I would now have to submerge my hand in hot water. Thankfully, I did not heat the water any longer because it was pretty uncomfortable to keep even my fingers in. DO NOT USE BOILING WATER.

The hot water worked a LOT faster. I barely had time to take photos before I was ready to take the silver out.

Again, move the coin into a neutralizing bath of baking soda and water.

Wow, this worked great. The color was much more blue and very even on both sides.

These were very close to what I wanted, but the instructions on the Liver of Sulfur Gel had a section for polishing the silver with dry baking soda using your fingers.

I decided to try it.

Using baking soda to polish the silver after using Liver of Sulfur Gel.

This was super easy, I simply put some baking soda on the coin and rubbed it gently with my fingers. Then, I turned the coin to do the same with the other side.

HOLY MOLY! This really improved the look of the silver rounds.

After polishing the silver with baking soda!

This was almost exactly the look I was hoping for. Polishing really made the finer details of the silver round stand out.

Here is a comparison of the silver round before and after. Slide the middle bar to compare:

Conclusion

I’m not sure if I like this look more than a perfect silver coin, but if you have a coin that is already developing some unattractive toning then I think this is a great thing to try.

Plus, it’s a lot of fun. If you have kids that are interested in silver this is a really easy activity for the two of you to do together.

What you need to try this at home:

If you want to try other fun experiments, check out the previous article “How to Artificially Tone Silver Coins?” where I try to achieve the same effect with household items!

January 1, 2021February 2, 2021

Coreen3 Comments

Which U.S. Coins Contain Silver?

If you know how to look for it, finding silver in US coins becomes second nature.

Not to say that finding silver is easy, it’s a numbers game. The more coins you look through, the greater your odds of finding silver.

By knowing how to quickly identify silver coins you may be able to find a few dollars worth of silver a year.

Why were coins silver? Wasn’t it expensive?

Nowadays, people trust the stability of U.S. currency simply because it is backed by the U.S. government, but this wasn’t always the case. You probably heard about how the United States used to be on the “Gold Standard” this meant that every dollar issued to the public corresponded to a fixed amount of gold.

The same idea applied to coins, so each coin consisted of an amount of precious metal roughly equal to its value.

Although a 1946 silver dime is worth over $1 today in silver content, it was worth less than 10 cents when it was made.

Due to an increase in production, silver demand has increased drastically in the last century. Silver is used in electrical switches, conductors, and fuses. Silver has many uses because it is the best thermal and electrical conductor of any metal.

Eventually, silver coins did become too expensive to produce. In 1965 the U.S. mint stopped minting silver quarters and dimes.

What coins have silver?

Pennies:

No pennies have silver. Pennies have been made of copper, zinc, and/or nickel since 1793.

If your penny looks silver it is probably a steel cent! These pennies were minted in 1943 and are made of steel with a zinc coating, giving the penny a silver appearance.

If you do find a silver penny, it was more than likely plated. There is however, a very small chance you found a very valuable penny that was minted with the wrong material.

Nickels:

There are silver nickels! These are called Silver Wartime Nickels and they were minted from 1942-1945.

Nickel was in high demand during WW2, so to save nickel to be used in military weapons and machinery, the mint used 35% silver instead of nickel. A silver Jefferson nickel has a weight in silver of 1.59 grams.

Not all nickels minted from 1942-1945 were silver. To know if your nickel is silver, check for a mintmark above the depiction of Monticello on the back of the coin. There will be with a large P, D, or S.

Dimes:

Roosevelt Dimes minted from 1946-1964 are 90% silver. They have a silver weight of 2.25 grams.

Another common silver dime is the Mercury Dime. These are also 90% silver with a weight of 2.25 grams. Mercury Dimes were minted from 1916-1945.

Less common 90% silver dimes: Barber Dimes, Seated Dimes, and Seated Half Dimes.

Dimes with 89% silver composition: Capped Bust Dimes, Draped Bust Dimes, Capped Bust Half Dimes, Draped Bust Half Dimes, and Flowing Hair Dimes.

Quarters:

Washington Quarters minted before between 1932-1964 are 90% silver. There is about 5.625 grams of silver per quarter. This is the most common silver quarter to find in circulation.

There are silver editions of the Bicentennial Quarter that are about 40% silver for a weight of 2.3 grams of silver. Not every Bicentennial Quarter is silver, finding a silver one is quite rare.

Other quarters with 90% silver composition: Standing Liberty Quarter, Barber Quarter, Seated Quarter, and the Twenty Cent Piece.

Quarters with 89% silver composition: Capped Bust Quarter and the Draped Bust Quarter

Half Dollars:

Kennedy Half Dollars from 1965-1970 are 40% silver, giving them a silver weight of 4.6 grams.

The first Kennedy Half Dollar from 1964 is 90% silver, with a silver weight of 11.25 grams.

Before the Kennedy Half Dollar there was the Franklin Half. These coins are 90% silver with a silver weight of 11.25 grams.

Another silver half dollar that can sometimes be found in circulation is the Walking Liberty Half. The Walking Liberty Half is also 90% silver with a weight in silver of 11.25 grams.

Other 90% silver half dollars include: Commemorative Halves from 1892–1954, Barber Halves, Seated Halves, and Capped Bust Halves.

Half Dollars with 89% silver composition: Capped Bust Half, Draped Bust Half, and the Flowing Hair Half Dollar.

Dollar Coins:

Peace Dollar and Morgan Dollars are the most common silver dollar coins to see in someone’s collection. These pieces are lots of fun yo own because they are BIG. Peace and Morgan Dollars are both 90% silver and have a silver weight of 24.057 grams!

A 1922 Peace Dollar (left) and a 1879 Morgan Dollar (right).

Unfortunately, these coins are rarely seen in circulation because they are highly sought after. It’s not unheard of for some to be dropped off at a local bank by someone liquidating a collection. So ask your local bank teller!

Other 90% silver dollars: Trade Dollars, Seated Dollars, and the Flowing Hair Dollar

Dollars with 89% silver: Draped Bust Dollars.

Two and Three Cent Pieces:

Did you know that the US minted two and three cent pieces?

The Three Cent Nickel was minted from 1865-1889 and contains no silver.

An 1881 Three Cent Nickel (no silver content)

The Three Cent Silver coin was minted from 1851-1873. From 1851-1853 they were 75% silver for a silver weight of .6 grams. Then from 1854-1873 they were 90% silver for a silver weight of .675 grams.

Proof Coins:

In 1992 the US mint began producing Proof Sets with silver coins. The dime, half dollar, and quarters in silver proof sets are all 90% silver.

My favorite proof set! The 2018S Silver Reverse Proof Set!

Not all proof coins you find are silver. Since you cannot tell a silver proof coin from the year or mint mark, your next step is to do the rim test.

What is the Rim Test?

The fastest way to check if a coin is 90% silver is to look at the rim. A 90% silver coin will have a rim that is all a gray silver color. A coin that is not 90% silver will have a silver-colored band and a copper/brownish band.

Silver Quarter (left) vs. Clad Quarter (right)

Be aware that this method ONLY works for 90% silver varieties. It will not help you identify silver wartime nickels or half dollars from 1965-1970.

If you check the rims and are still not sure if the coin is silver, checking the weight will give you a good estimate. If all else fails you can go to a coin store and have them test the composition for you.

Check the CoinStar

I have actually found most of my silver coins from CoinStars! CoinStars, or generic coin-counting machines, don’t accept silver coins as they are not the weight that the machine uses to verify a coin’s authenticity.

After using a CoinStar, many people leave the rejected coins in the reject tray or on the counter. Little do they know they might be leaving behind valuable silver!

Coinstar Labeled Coin hunting finding silver guide reject tray

I check the CoinStar every time I go grocery shopping. I’ve gotten my friends to check it to. Whenever my friends find foreign coins or silver I buy the coins off of them. We both leave happy!

For more on finding silver in CoinStar machines, go to: “How To Use A Coinstar To Find Rare Coins”!

Try Coin Roll Hunting

If you are looking to find silver, you should read up on coin roll hunting. Coin roll hunting gives you exposure to many coins, therefore increasing your odds of finding silver.

Too much work? You can also buy online!

Coin roll hunting is a lot of work. You have to go through hundreds of dollars in coins before you usually find any silver. I like coin roll hunting for the fun of it, but it is not a very profitable endeavour.

If you are looking to buy bulk circulated coins, you can try an online distributor. Money Metals exchange is an affiliate of American Coin Stash, so if you purchase from Money Metals Exchange, you are also supporting this site! Below is a link to Money Metals Exchange Junk Silver coins:

90% Silver Quarters, Silver Dimes Pre-1965 Junk Silver Coins
from: Money Metals Exchange

The term “junk silver” refers to silver from a coin. Usually, because silver in circulated coins has been touched a lot, it tends to be tarnished. Tarnishing does not lower the value of silver beyond the melt value. In fact, lot’s of collectors like tarnishing and prefer to call it “toning” when it is evenly spread across the surface of the coin. Toning can increase the value of a coin.

Did I miss anything? How do you find your silver coins? Vote in the poll and comment below!

December 31, 2020June 2, 2021

Coreen5 Comments