Junk Silver: Best Junk Silver Coins to Buy

Junk silver is incredibly popular for investors right now because of the rising price of gold, the lower value of the dollar and the possibility of inflation. However, there are many junk silver coin purchase options and it is critical buyers make the right choices.

Junk silver coins are any US silver dime, quarter or halve minted before 1965 and which have 90% of their weight in real silver. Coins minted after this date are called clads and have either very little or no silver content and are primarily comprised of copper, zinc and other metals.

For many, junk silver investment can include older US coins like Morgan silver dollars, Franklin halves, Barber and Mercury head dimes. However, new investors might do well to limit their purchases to newer US junk silver coins. Here's why.

Newer junk silver coins, those minted between 1960-1964, have 90% silver content, but many were circulated less than the older coins listed above. Thus, they may have most of their silver content and less loss due to circulation.

Further, Barber and Morgan coins are highly sought by coin collectors making the bid price sometimes higher than than the silver value.

1960-1964 silver coins include the Roosevelt dime and the Washington quarter (both still in use today) and the Kennedy halve (1964 only). Franklin halves, minted from 1948 to 1963, are 90% silver, but often desired by collectors unlike the "plain" Kennedy halve.

Interestly, when the government announced that coins would have less or no silver content, thousands of American quickly scooped up all the common coins, Roosevelt, Washington and Kennedy, and put them away. So they have less wear and retain most of the silver content.

New investors might want to limit their junk silver purchases to these coins as they are still common, have less numistatic interest and possibly have most of their silver content due to less circulation.

Junk Silver: US Silver Eagle vs Junk Silver

Silver prices are going through the roof. Yesterday's price nearly touched $22 an ounce. That is leading many investors to consider purchasing silver to add to their portfolio.

For new investors, there are a number of options for first time silver investors - bullion, coins and junk silver.

Bullion is best described as silver ingots. Bars of silver minted and priced by weight.

Coins can be minted or common date, but let's consider coins to be government minted such as the US Silver Eagle. These are beautiful coins in one ounce denominations with a one dollar face value but are priced according to the latest spot silver prices.

Junk silver is common date US quarters, dimes and halves minted 1964 and earlier. Junk silver is priced by silver weight (90% of total weight) and listed as "face value". So ten dollars face value junk silver quarters would be 40 US quarters and priced at the 90% per ounce of the going spot silver price.

So which is preferrable? In my opinion, and I am not a professional investment councelor, but merely a collector, I would put my money on junk silver. Why?

- Junk silver has face value to the holder and the receiver. Everyone knows what a quarter or a dime is and what it is worth.

- Junk silver is portable. It is difficult to make change with a silver ingot.

- Junk silver is money even if silver prices drop. A junk silver quarter will always be worth twenty five cents at minimum.

- Junk silver will attract less attention. A Silver Eagle or bar might get the notice of the the wrong people; an old dime is an old dime.

- Junk silver is historic.

I love Silver Eagles. They are beautiful coins worthy of any investor or collector. Ingots are suitable for the safety deposit box or safe. But junk silver is my favorite for the practical and possibly, cash short investor, to get started with.

Junk Silver: The Big Silver Secret

Silver prices have been steadily climbing over the past decade but especially, the past year. Why?

Economically, the dollar is in trouble as are most stocks. The housing bubble brought about the largest loss of wealth since the Great Depression. IRA's, 401K's, mutual funds and stocks took a beating and lost billions of dollars. Then it got worse. The stock market lost 4000 points. Big name companies started closing their doors. The US watched ONE TRILLION dollars in accumulated wealth disappear seemingly overnight.

As the economy goes, so goes the value of the U.S. dollar. Considered the backbone of the world economy, the dollar was already beaten up, then the Federal Government started basically printing more of them to stave off larger economic problems such as propping up failing businesses and buying failed companies. The dollar grew weaker.

Now it gets more interesting. Silver, long used as the basis for real money, had been gradually adopted for industrial applications which resulted in most silver mined over the past 200 years converted to uses other than currency. This left a shortage of silver and the value, naturally has climbed.

Things developed into a perfect storm as investors wanted to move away from the dollar and found silver in short supply.

So can a savvy investor do?

First, as always, diversify. Next, they should consider adding junk silver to their portfolio. Junk silver means common date pre-1965 U.S. silver coins, namely, quarters, dimes and halves. There are still millions available, but many are now in investors hands and not available for sale.

A coin or jewelry exchange should have bags of junk silver dimes, quarters and halves available for sale. There are also reputable online retailers. An investment can be as simple as a roll of Mercury head dimes or a $1000.00 face value bag of quarters or halves.

Regardless of the type, junk silver coins are real money and becoming more rare every day. It might be worth your time to consider investing in junk silver today.

Junk Silver: Gold and Silver prices up

Gold prices have surged over the $1000.00 per ounce mark in international news. Expect to see more Cash 4 Gold commercials on TV anytime now. But with the good news for gold, we have similar good news for silver.

A little over a year ago, silver was sitting around $9.00 an ounce. Today, it is nearly double that price at $17.10 the last time I checked. That was a great investment if you purchased silver bullion, rounds or my personal favorite, junk silver. Junk silver is anything but junk. As you know, those are pre-1965 U.S. quarters, dimes and halves which contain 90% real silver content.

Where can one get their hands on some junk silver right now? Your best bet will be the local coin shop, jewelry store or "gold and silver exchange" retail outlet in their town. The exchanges advertise heavily and usually feature gold, diamond and silver jewelry, used Rolex's, gold and silver bullion in small amounts and plenty of junk silver coins.

Generally, most exchange shops will buy silver coins for a price below premium or for "melt value". However, they often keep a stash of coins on hand for investors to purchase. A good starter investment for junk silver could be a single roll of dimes or quarters. Pick up a couple of dime rolls and keep them in a safe place at home (piggy bank is a bad idea). Make sure little hands and curious eyes don't find those junk silver coins as they are legal tender for candy, sodas and cigarettes and all too often find their way to the 7-11 and spent by mistake.

Gold is a great investment, but at $1K an ounce, is out of range of many of us. Junk silver is a low cost and safe way to invest in precious metals for anyone.