A question for the gold/silver guys

[47thGARBB]

A few weeks ago my dad and I were at an estate sale in which he bought two 1oz silver coins for $3 a piece. The guy was in a hurry to sell everything and didn't know what they were. One was a walking liberty and the other was a commemorative coin in a presentation case with the mettalurgy information marked on the coin and case.

My dad decided to hold onto the liberty for his personal collection and sell the commemorative for some easy pocket money. I sell a lot of junk on ebay, so it's been for sale on my page since then.

I offered to sell it to a guy on here who put up a WTB for silver and gold. He told me my price was too high, and then said he would only buy it at his named price, which was well below the current price per ounce, and only after I had it professionally verified with some machine that costs over a thousand dollars.

So my question here is what are people actually paying for silver right now? I know very little about the precious metal trade, and am just trying to help my dad sell this thing. I understand that silver is supposed to be at an all-time high, so how does that impact peoples' buying? If someone could cure my ignorance on the matter, I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Rougarou]

Find a dealer or pawn shop that deals with silver they will let you know if it's real or not, spot price is current value you can expect to pay $3 above spot from a dealer but selling is a little tricky selling it at spot can sometimes be a challenge I would say a fair price would be around $3 under spot as long as it is real.

 

[47thGARBB]

Find a dealer or pawn shop that deals with silver they will let you know if it's real or not, spot price is current value you can expect to pay $3 above spot from a dealer but selling is a little tricky selling it at spot can sometimes be a challenge I would say a fair price would be around $3 under spot as long as it is real.

Does the fact that it is minted as a coin do anything to inflate the value? As someone who knows nothing about the market, I would assume a minted coin would have a little more value over a standard bullion round just for the sake that it has been manufactured more finely. Or does it make no difference?

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

I sold some foreign coins to Silver Dollar pawn shop in Roswell.

They were paying closest to Spot price-- I believe when Spot was $37 an ounce they were giving me $32 or $33 /oz for melt value.

Other coin dealers were only paying 75% of the current Spot price.

They visually inspected every coin BUT the only times they ever put one on the diagnostic machine to verify that it was silver was when their internet research told them that coins that look exactly like this --same year, same mint, same images front and rear same size, were made both in a copper nickel blend and a silver version.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

Does the fact that it is minted as a coin do anything to inflate the value? As someone who knows nothing about the market, I would assume a minted coin would have a little more value over a standard bullion round just for the sake that it has been manufactured more finely. Or does it make no difference?

I can tell you that beautifully crafted coins made by private mints such as the Franklin Mint or even the Royal Mint of London, under contract to some country that authorizes special silver coins to be minted and called "legal tender" in that nation but not really intended for circulation, they're just intended for collectors....

...These usually have no value beyond their weight in silver .
Regardless of the beauty of their design and skillful craftsmanship.
Regardless of how they have been carefully preserved for decades by prior owners who never handled them never let them get scratched kept them in protective plastic sleeves and not rattling around with other coins loose in a bag or box where they would get nicked...

Everybody tells me that such foreign non-circulating coinage (commemorative coins made for collectors) are pretty much worthless except for their weight in silver.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

 

[47thGARBB]

Wow that's really a shame that the silver market is like that. Doesn't seem to show much appreciation there for the craftsmanship and only for the composition. You wouldn't pay the same for a beautifully cut gemstone vs. the rock that was just pulled out of the ground... that's tough to comprehend for me at least. But it is what it is, I suppose.

 

[Spas-12 Owner]

Wow that's really a shame that the silver market is like that. Doesn't seem to show much appreciation there for the craftsmanship and only for the composition. You wouldn't pay the same for a beautifully cut gemstone vs. the rock that was just pulled out of the ground... that's tough to comprehend for me at least. But it is what it is, I suppose.

Silver coins can have 2 values. The collector market and the bullion market. Depending on the coin as to what brings the most.

Most commonly though, the silver value not collector value wins out.

Current spot is just under $39 and OZ and is volatile right now.

I'd expect to see $35 an OZ if pure silver going to a dealer. Might get closer to spot to individual on ODT but it's been a tuff market.

Also, a lot and I mean a lot of fakes out there. I've had ODT members try and sell me fake silver before. I don't think they did it in purpose but still.

Take your item to a buy gold and silver place, have them make you an offer and confirm that it's real.

 

[steviesterno]

Buying at ~10% over spot and selling at 15% under spot made me realize that I’d need silver to go up 25% to break even. That’s a **** “investment” and I’ve been out of that side of the PM game ever since.

 

[isuolympic]

The "machine" in question is a Signa Metalytics. I have one and use it on every purchase of gold, platinum, palladium, and silver.
It has paid for itself.
A scale and caliper are good tools also.