Legal Tender - Silver Bullion Coins For the Collector Or Investor
December 19, 2008
This article will provide a General Description of Gold, Silver, & Platinum Bullion
A lot of people are familiar with bullion coins and bars, and you see them offered on TV or on websites, but the sheer number of these products may cause even the experienced investor to pause. They are similar in nature, they move up or down directly with the price of gold, silver, or platinum on a daily basis. And, their buy and sell prices are easy to comprehend.
They are precious metals and as such are measured by the Troy ounce, as compared to your bathroom or postal scale weight which is called Avoirdupois. For the record 14.58 troy ounces = 16 postal scale ounces. The Troy ounce is approximately 10% heavier than the Avoirdupois weight. These bullion products move directly with the New York Commodity Exchange, which opens for trading at 5:30 AM and closes at 10:30 AM California time. After the Comex (Commodity Exchange) closes the price of these coins usually remain fized until the beginning of the next trading day. However there is an aftermarket which may cause quote changes.
A definition of bullion coin: one in which there is little premium above the content or weight value of the coin. You are buying only the commodity itself. Coins like this will increase in value if world markets go up and will decrease in value if world markets go down. This happens because bullion manufacturers produce large numbers of them each year, and eliminates the idea of these coins being rare in any sense, this is not the same for government issue bullion coins.
Coin Collecting - Avoid Worthless Silver Coins
October 30, 2008
A worthless silver coin for collecting purposes is any circulated silver coin that is only in fair condition and has value to collectors beyond the value of the silver bullion it contains.
This is an unofficial term used in the United States and Canada. Junk silver is not scrap silver. These coins can still be spent in the US and Canadian markets for the value stamped on the coin. However, coin collectors call them “junk” because they have little numismatic, or trading, value.
The Mercury and Roosevelt dimes, the Washington quarters, and the Franklin and Kennedy half dollars are the most popular US coins collected for junk silver. These coins, minted before 1964, contain 90% silver composition, with 0.7 troy ounces of silver per each dollar of face value. Kennedy half-dollars minted from 1965 to 1970 contain 40% silver composition, so they are collected but are not as popular. The Peace Dollar (minted from 1921 to 1928, then again in 1934 and 1935) is also collected for its silver value, which is high at a little over 90%. However, these are more rare and may have collectible value beyond the value of the silver.
