Are they melting 90% now? Hey Joe Jeweler

[southfork]

Any one hear anything on if they are melting 90% now, Joe used to give us some good updates on the silver workings but I haven't seen him on the new GIM.

[TomD]

Didn't see Joe for some time before the GIM change either.

[Goldhedge]

This might be him

http://www.yellowpages.com/philadelp...weler-10702510

[techguy2]

Stopped by Houston Numismatic Exchange Tuesday to help a relative sell a bunch of 90% (I Know, I KNOW! I TRIED, I BEGGED, I PLEADED, but he wanted to sell).

They said they had 30 5gal buckets of silver of all types to send to the refiner. They respect nothing bullion there, if it is silver, it goes in the bucket. (there is a lesson there)

I did rescue a few tubes of morgans and liberty dollars from the fire though. I just didnt have enough milk money to save the dimes. I ended up with a good deal, I offered to buy them for silver spot content, he insisted I give him dealer buy price.

[Irons]

Everything gets tossed into the melt buckets, remember that next time you are tempted to pay a premium on some bullion.

[TomD]

Melt bucket? Screw that, bury me with my coins!

[Dude]

Stopped by Houston Numismatic Exchange Tuesday to help a relative sell a bunch of 90% (I Know, I KNOW! I TRIED, I BEGGED, I PLEADED, but he wanted to sell).

They said they had 30 5gal buckets of silver of all types to send to the refiner. They respect nothing bullion there, if it is silver, it goes in the bucket. (there is a lesson there)

I did rescue a few tubes of morgans and liberty dollars from the fire though. I just didnt have enough milk money to save the dimes. I ended up with a good deal, I offered to buy them for silver spot content, he insisted I give him dealer buy price.

What was their "dealer buy price"?

[Irons]

Melt bucket? Screw that, bury me with my coins!

Britannias don't count, you really have to go out of your way to get them so right off a Britannia buyer is smarter than the average bear.

That, and I think you can actually go to hell for melting one.~

[Eat Beef]

You should ask Cubed, he's the only pusher left who's active on the board...

[techguy2]

What was their "dealer buy price"?

They gave us 16x face. Not great, but not horrible.

We used the apmex prices for the dollars since they didnt make it to the store.

[Hystckndle]

Would be good to see Joe back around here.

[KGMe]

A little off topic, but I have fallen in love with those Brittanias. Can anyone recommend the best place to pick some up? There don't really seem to be any coin/bullion places near me (DC), and the only place online that seems to have any is APMEX.

TIA

[Irons]

A little off topic, but I have fallen in love with those Brittanias. Can anyone recommend the best place to pick some up? There don't really seem to be any coin/bullion places near me (DC), and the only place online that seems to have any is APMEX.

TIA

I have never seen one at a coin shop, either gold or silver. I got the few I have off ebay.

Now my coin guy called me Tue and he has a 1988 4 coin gold proof set and I'm trying to work out a trade with him for gold American eagles, I'm willing to go an extra 1/10 to get the Britannias!~

[TomD]

A little off topic, but I have fallen in love with those Brittanias. Can anyone recommend the best place to pick some up? There don't really seem to be any coin/bullion places near me (DC), and the only place online that seems to have any is APMEX.

TIA

Most of mine too were picked up on Ebay several years ago before they went nuts in price. A couple years back, another GIM member and I found ourselves bidding against each other so we colluded in a non-compete pact. One deal he agreed to lay off was a complete set of silver Britannias to 2007 in a leather album. I got it for $225!

[KGMe]

Man those things are gorgeous. I guess I'm just going to have to go pay some APMEX premiums. I can't stand eBay, so I don't have an account.

[MrDonkey]

A little off topic, but I have fallen in love with those Brittanias. Can anyone recommend the best place to pick some up? There don't really seem to be any coin/bullion places near me (DC), and the only place online that seems to have any is APMEX.

TIA

Golden Eagle Coins in Laurel, MD has them in stock. Can order from them online or pick them up at the shop, about 35 minutes from DC.

[ToBeSelfEvident]

There's no way my Crown Mint Holiday Beauties will ever see a melt bucket.

[Bocephus]

Stopped by Houston Numismatic Exchange Tuesday to help a relative sell a bunch of 90% (I Know, I KNOW! I TRIED, I BEGGED, I PLEADED, but he wanted to sell).

They said they had 30 5gal buckets of silver of all types to send to the refiner. They respect nothing bullion there, if it is silver, it goes in the bucket. (there is a lesson there)

I did rescue a few tubes of morgans and liberty dollars from the fire though. I just didnt have enough milk money to save the dimes. I ended up with a good deal, I offered to buy them for silver spot content, he insisted I give him dealer buy price.

I was just in there last week. Some guy was trying to sell some 90% and told the guy helping him he had some rare ones that were worth more than 16x face. He didn't know what to say when he was told they had 100's of that date in the bucket and it was only worth melt. Also, I though congress passed a law a few years ago making it a crime to melt US coins, this was due to the copper penny I recall.

[KGMe]

Golden Eagle Coins in Laurel, MD has them in stock. Can order from them online or pick them up at the shop, about 35 minutes from DC.

Awesome, thanks!

[techguy2]

I was just in there last week. Some guy was trying to sell some 90% and told the guy helping him he had some rare ones that were worth more than 16x face. He didn't know what to say when he was told they had 100's of that date in the bucket and it was only worth melt. Also, I though congress passed a law a few years ago making it a crime to melt US coins, this was due to the copper penny I recall.

How is your XP with them? They seem ok to me, a little impersonal because they are always so busy. Prices seem fair, not great, not bad, just ok.

[Sindgefallen]

Also, I though congress passed a law a few years ago making it a crime to melt US coins, this was due to the copper penny I recall.

From what I recall of that, when they passed it many were pissed but the language I remember only barred melting the nickel and penny from some specific criteria. If I remember correctly ARDENT LISTENER has a heavy knowledge in this area.

[Bocephus]

How is your XP with them? They seem ok to me, a little impersonal because they are always so busy. Prices seem fair, not great, not bad, just ok.

That was my first time in there. I was over at MD Anderson and want to just check them out while I was over that way. They had some 1/10 ounce gold coins, when I ask how much, he said $169. I told him that was an awful lot over spot and he said they still sell, there was a high demand from the SHTF folks.

[bulloncoins]

That was my first time in there. I was over at MD Anderson and want to just check them out while I was over that way. They had some 1/10 ounce gold coins, when I ask how much, he said $169. I told him that was an awful lot over spot and he said they still sell, there was a high demand from the SHTF folks.

I went there today and sold some fractional gold. I needed to raise a small amount of money and did not want to part with anymore than I had to, And was not wanting to part with any silver at the current prices.

I put 1 1/10 oz AGE and 2 grams in assay cards on the counter and he gave me about $7.00 over what I was looking for.

They were nice to me, he even did me a favor and looked over some Morgans I purchased a long time ago and told me what they were worth.

I did notice he has a lot of silver there...buckets full...

He also had an armed HPD policeman standing guard an watching over everything.

Parking can be difficult in the Village area where they are located, but if you go mid-mornig, you should have no problems.

My first time there. And I will more than likely return at some point to purchase ASEs there in the future, when I need them for gifts for my family.

No one came close to the price he gave me. Pawn shops and gold buyers really try to lowball you if you want to sell fractional gold.
Sell that stuff here at GIM first if you have the time...but to a good coinshop if you need fast cash.

I had a good experience with Houston Numismatic Exchange.

Even in the gold buying frenzy...they are on every street corner here in Houston with "WE BUY GOLD" signs...if you have fractionals...take them to a coin store.

Now ...granted, I did not sell at the best time, but it was gold that I paid less for than what I sold it for...I had it for a few years maybe...I forget...

so if you are trying to sell something you bought when gold was at $1900.00 spot then you may not be as happy as I was.

But I wouldn't paint these folks with a bad reputation. They were fair with me, and I don't ask for more.

[southfork]

Dang it I'd still like to know more about how much 90 is really getting melted and not resold, I talked to a guy from Silvertowne in Jan at the fun show I think it was, he told me they were melting an average of $3,000 in face daily to make 999 bars, would love to know how widespread this is, could make a good argument for 90 over 999 since I can get at melt or under most times. I think what's going on today in the world is going to make more aware of old coinage and possibly spur an increase in collecting which natrurally would make way for more appreciation in numis down the road.

[curmudgeonista]

Dang it I'd still like to know more about how much 90 is really getting melted and not resold, I talked to a guy from Silvertowne in Jan at the fun show I think it was, he told me they were melting an average of $3,000 in face daily to make 999 bars, would love to know how widespread this is, could make a good argument for 90 over 999 since I can get at melt or under most times. I think what's going on today in the world is going to make more aware of old coinage and possibly spur an increase in collecting which natrurally would make way for more appreciation in numis down the road.

No matter how much 90% they're melting I seriously doubt any of it's even remotely close to having any numismatic value.

[cpthnsolo]

No matter how much 90% they're melting I seriously doubt any of it's even remotely close to having any numismatic value.

While I have no doubt that 99.X% of the coins that are melted aren't significant, there are definitely numi coins hitting the fire. About two years ago a friend's mother found out I was into coins and let me look through her silver before she sold it to a local "we buy gold" place. I saved roughly a half dozen nice coins from what could have been certain death so don't think for a second that good coins don't get melted. Just say'n

[phideaux]

No matter how much 90% they're melting I seriously doubt any of it's even remotely close to having any numismatic value.

I don't remember if it was Joe or somebody else, but some old timer (somebody older than me ) was in the business in 1980, and when silver hit $35, tons of quality Morgans and virgin 90% mint rolls and proofs got thrown into the melting pot along with the crap worn beyond recognition

[southfork]

While I have no doubt that 99.X% of the coins that are melted aren't significant, there are definitely numi coins hitting the fire. About two years ago a friend's mother found out I was into coins and let me look through her silver before she sold it to a local "we buy gold" place. I saved roughly a half dozen nice coins from what could have been certain death so don't think for a second that good coins don't get melted. Just say'n

Agreed, I was at the LCS a few weeks back, a woman came in with what she said were junk morgan dollars and dealer gave her melt for them, later when he looked thru them he found several morgan CC, so many have no idea of what they have and no doubt the smelters can't look at every coin for dates when they get them in.

[cpthnsolo]

I've been meaning to pick this book up one of these days. Can anyone here comment on it?

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Silver-Mel.../dp/0025843605

[Zilver]

I don't remember if it was Joe or somebody else, but some old timer (somebody older than me ) was in the business in 1980, and when silver hit $35, tons of quality Morgans and virgin 90% mint rolls and proofs got thrown into the melting pot along with the crap worn beyond recognition

pfft; Joe is not old,
I met him 5 or so years ago while in the shop to sell a stamp collection to the stamp guy
Joe is the only Gimmer I have ever met in person (as far as I know)

[fasTTcar]

Melting of coins happens daily guys.

I personally sent 3 5 gallon buckets of scrap silver to the refiner today and it included a bunch of coins, primarily foreign and Canadian 67's and 68's, but they will not see the light of day ever again.

I am sure that in my time I have missed a couple great dates and sent them to a fiery death, but that is part of the game.

If we do get a big sustained rise in price, more will get melted including better stuff. There has always been a theory that if prices do go up and stay up, we get to a point where common date coins may become rarer than key dates, as they are never kept separate where key dates are stored and hoarded.

[phideaux]

FasTT,

What is your ballpark guess as to how much of the billions of US 90% silver that was minted from 1918 to 1964, still survives?

Thanks.

[needler]

I've been meaning to pick this book up one of these days. Can anyone here comment on it?

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Silver-Mel.../dp/0025843605

Yeah looks like a interesting read.

[fasTTcar]

FasTT,

What is your ballpark guess as to how much of the billions of US 90% silver that was minted from 1918 to 1964, still survives?

Thanks.

Not even a clue.

All I can say is that as each day goes by, more is going to the furnace.

[TheSilverGuy]

I've heard of bagloads getting melted down and turned into fine silver. But not in the last week. Premiums on 90% silver have shot up big time.

http://cornerstonebullion.com/silverbags/ - these guys had a special on 90% coins for 50 cents under spot 2 weeks ago, but now they are having to sell over spot since most of the supply got bought out in the last two weeks after the big dip.

[fasTTcar]

I've heard of bagloads getting melted down and turned into fine silver. But not in the last week. Premiums on 90% silver have shot up big time.

http://cornerstonebullion.com/silverbags/ - these guys had a special on 90% coins for 50 cents under spot 2 weeks ago, but now they are having to sell over spot since most of the supply got bought out in the last two weeks after the big dip.

I can give an anecdotal piece.

Since I am in Canada, we do not get near the amount of 90% we would get if I was in the US. We get Canadian 80% silver in daily, but only small amounts of 90%.

In the last week, I have sold ALL of my 90% via forums at spot and could sell another bag or 2 if I had it.

But I still have a couple bags of 80% that is just sitting, even the dollars.

[Mr. Shiny]

I've been meaning to pick this book up one of these days. Can anyone here comment on it?

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Silver-Mel.../dp/0025843605

In addition to this book, try 'The Great Change Robbery: The Numismatic Nightmare' Charles Diggins

Also used at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Great-Change-R.../dp/B000DT91O4

and there is one on Ebay with a BIN of $2.12

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BOOK-Diggins...#ht_1425wt_802

[latemetal]

And it is SNAGGED, mucho thanks.

In addition to this book, try 'The Great Change Robbery: The Numismatic Nightmare' Charles Diggins

Also used at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Great-Change-R.../dp/B000DT91O4

and there is one on Ebay with a BIN of $2.12

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BOOK-Diggins...#ht_1425wt_802

[southfork]

Stopped by LCS today, he told me his refiners have related that they have been melting large amounts of 90 to make 999.

[phideaux]

Stopped by LCS today, he told me his refiners have related that they have been melting large amounts of 90 to make 999.

See if your man at LCS knows, or if he can ask his refiner: Of all the tens of millions of 90% coins minted from 1916 to 1964, how much has been melted and how much still remains as coin.

I've been asking this question for at least 5 years, and no one I've talked to has a clue of an answer.

In fact, this question is what lead me to GIM in the first place.

[southfork]

See if your man at LCS knows, or if he can ask his refiner: Of all the tens of millions of 90% coins issued from 1916 to 1964, how much has been melted and how much still remains as coin.

I've been asking this question for at least 5 years, and no one I've talked to has a clue of an answer.

In fact, this question is what lead me to GIM in the first place.

Asked that already and havent a clue, I've been searching that answer myself and have also emailed several refineries with no avial other than they are melting a lot of it, I also spoke with a guy that works for Silvertwone some time ago and was told on average they had been melting at least 3k of face a day for well over two years and they dont cherry pick it to pull things out.

[Jangles]

I've been meaning to pick this book up one of these days. Can anyone here comment on it?

http://www.amazon.com/Big-Silver-Mel.../dp/0025843605

All the numbers about how much was melted and how skewed the mint numbers are because of it got a bit boring but the info on how they used to get away w/ it all was very entertaining IMO.

Might want to save yourself $75 & rent it from the library, that's what I did.