Wednesday, March 01, 2006

Bag of Silver Coins

A popular way of buying silver is the Bag of Silver Coins.

Old US coins had a silver content prior to 1964 and these have suddenly rocketed in demand for their silver content.

These coins were once called ‘junk silver’ but are no longer considered ‘junk’ anymore. The silver content for each coin is around 40-90 percent so a bag of silver coins can be worth something!

By way of example, a $1.00 worth (face value) of silver dimes weighs the same as a $1.00 in silver quarters, and has the same silver content. Also weighs the same as $1.00 in silver half dollars. For example 10 dimes, 4 quarters, or 2 halves all have the same weight and are 90% pure silver composition. A typical dollar face value in US silver coins will contain about 71 % of a troy ounce of pure refined silver.

At a time when paper money is worth less and less, these coins are retaining their value and, with the increase in value of silver, increasing.

Remember, these coins are legal tender also and still have purchasing power!

Bags of silver coins, or junk silver, is also a good way of investing in silver. If the value of silver did drop, then the proportionate loss of value of the bag of silver would be less.

Many dealers sell bags of silver coins to a face value of $1000 per bag. However one can get smaller bags from various established and reputable dealers provided one does some due diligence

It is quite possible to get face value bags down to 200, 100 and even 50 dollars face value. A fifty dollar face value bag would cost you around 400 dollars and would have a mixed collection of pre 1964 silver coins with a silver content of around 90 plus percent.

For a collector that ‘knows his coins’, there might even be a valuable silver Morgan in the bag.

As well as a nice little investment, collecting bags of silver coins can also be a rewarding and fun activity and who knows, you might find that elusive coin worth thousands!

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