If you’re a coin collector or an investor in silver coins and bullion, you may be wondering how to buy junk silver in Atlanta. While on the surface, it appears as though this is an easy question to answer, that’s not necessarily the case, so we wanted to discuss junk silver coins in further detail so that you’re well prepared for your purchase.
First and foremost, there’s some misunderstanding as to what constitutes junk silver, so we wanted to begin with a definition. Junk silver consists of any government issued currency that contains silver, and that is primarily sold for the silver content of the coins. This means that U.S. silver war nickels, 40% silver Kennedy half dollars, and common date 90% silver dimes, quarters, and half dollars can all be considered junk silver coins.
Silver war nickels (1942 – 1945) and 40% silver Kennedy half dollars (1965 – 1970) have a lower silver content than their 90% silver counterparts, and as such, you should expect to pay less for these coins. While it’s fairly easy to determine how many coins are in a troy ounce of silver, a higher quantity is needed with lower purity coins, and therefore, these coins should be available for less. A good rule of thumb is to never pay more than the melt value of these coins. When buying silver war nickels or 40% silver halves in bulk, you may be able to pick them up at a discount to their melt value.
The most common junk silver coins available in the marketplace are 90% silver coins. These consist of dimes, quarters, and half dollars minted in 1964 or earlier. Older variety dimes, quarters, and half dollars, such as Seated Liberty, Capped Bust, Draped Bust, and Flowing Hair silver coins are considered to be rare coins, and sell at a premium, so we’re primarily referring to Mercury and Roosevelt dimes, Standing Liberty & Washington quarters, and Walking Liberty, Franklin, and Kennedy half dollars when referring to junk silver coins.
When buying 90% silver coins, you shouldn’t pay more than a 5% premium over the melt value of the coins, as these are common date silver coins and should be primarily bought and sold for their silver content. Any premium that exceeds 5% is probably not worth paying, unless of course the coins are low mintage/rare coins, or are in uncirculated condition. Considering that there are a number of coin dealers in Atlanta, you should be able to find someone who is willing to charge a reasonable price for these coins.
Coins that are heavily worn and that have partial or no dates shouldn’t be purchased by the coin, but rather by weight. These coins are commonly referred to as “cull” silver coins. Reason being is that a substantial amount of the silver content has been eroded due to heavy use and circulation, so if you buy these coins on an individual basis, you could find yourself paying up to twice the silver content of the coins! While you shouldn’t expect junk silver coins to be in pristine condition, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect coins that are in average circulated condition.
Lastly, when buying junk silver coins, you can expect to purchase them by the bag, according to the face value of the coins, or by the tube. The most common silver coin bag denominations available are $50, $100, $250, $500, and $1,000. Coin tubes generally consist of 50 dimes ($5 face value), 40 quarters ($10 face value) and 20 half dollars ($10 face value). Average circulated condition silver dollars are also sometimes referred to as junk silver coins, and are typically sold in tubes of 20 coins ($20 face value).
We hope that you found the above information on how to buy junk silver coins in Atlanta helpful, and hope that for your next purchase, you’ll consider Atlanta Gold & Coin Buyers. We typically have a large inventory of junk silver coins from which to choose and sell junk silver coins at some of the lowest prices in the industry. We look forward to hearing from you and earning your business!
