Collecting Old United States Coins: The Hobby That Pays You Back!

The 1999 Silver Proof Set: Buy Now As Prices Drop To Half The All Time High!

drew3604 — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:19:55 +0000

There was a time when you could not get a whiff at a 1999 Silver Proof Set for under $400. As the last proof set of the 20th century and the first year to contain the State Quarter series, demand for the 1999 Silver Proof Set was astronomical.

These were bought up by dealers and other vendors like The Home Shopping Network in anticipation of the demand this set would command. And they were not disappointed as prices skyrocketed along with the high demand for this date.

But over the last year or so prices on the 1999 silver proof set have been coming back down to earth. Why this is happening is a matter of speculation. Maybe a lot of folks have been selling because of the economic conditions. Just like the stock market, when the number of sellers exceeds the number of buyers for an item the price drops.

The 1999 Silver Proof Set has a mintage of about 804,000 sets which is the lowest of the State Quarter Series. This means that it will probably continue to cost more than the rest of the sets in the series, but recent eBay auctions at the time of this post have been ending in the $180 to $240 range. Whether the price will continue to drop, stabilize, or head back up is anyone's guess. But if you have been holding out for a better price on the 1999 Silver Proof Set, now may be a better time than ever for you to fill that hole in your set.

1999 Silver Proof State Quarter Set 5 Coins 1999
US $89.88

1999 SILVER PROOF SET WITH STATE QUARTERS AND BOX COA
US $170.28

1999 SILVER UNITED STATES MINT PROOF SET
US $199.99

1999 S SILVER PROOF SET 9 COINS US MINT OGP COA NR
US $203.50

1999 Silver Proof State Quarter Set 5 Coins Box COA
US $219.50

1999 Silver Proof Set Free Shipping
US $239.00

The Silver Quarter Roll: A Great Way To Buy Physical Silver Without Going Broke!

drew3604 — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:40:33 +0000

The silver quarter roll is a great & fun way to buy physical silver, collect coins, & hedge against inflation, all at the same time. A silver quarter roll is any roll of 40 ($10 face)pre-1964 silver quarters.

Most will be Washington Quarters although you may find some rolls that have Standing Liberty Quarters that have the dates wore off. You will very rarely find a Barber Quarter in a roll of this type. A roll of this type will contain 7.2 ounces of pure silver & will be worth the current price of silver times 7.2. These rolls are available in quantity on eBay & many times are offered with free shipping!

Buying junk silver coins is a great way to hedge against inflation & protect yourself from a government that will not quit printing & spending money. The problem is that a junk silver bag of coins is a minimum of $100 face value, putting the price in the $1300 range time of this post. This means they are out of the price range of the average US family. The silver quarter roll solves this problem by offering the average Joe a $10 face value investment in 90% silver coins. This may be just the size to allow an average family a chance to invest in physical silver in a price range that they can afford.

Be sure to check out the auctions at eBay for the silver quarter roll. These coins are beautiful, valuable, & provide protection from runaway inflation. As our politicians continue to print & spend money with reckless abandon, protection from inflation will be a necessity in the near future.

1958 Silver Washington Quarter From BU Roll Better Date
US $8.00

1955 D Silver Washington Quarter From BU Roll Key Date
US $11.00

Digital COIN SCALE w FREE S H Silver Quarter Dime roll
US $24.99

3 rolls silver quarters Standing Lib Washington Barber
US $51.00

Complete Set Silver Washington Quarter Coin Roll 1932 D
US $73.01

Unsearched roll 40 coins Washington silver quarters
US $91.00

Buying Bulk Silver Coins: Hedge Yourself Against The Impending Inflation!

drew3604 — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 17:42:05 +0000

The US government has spent more money in the first 100 days of the Obama Administration than in the previous 8 years combined. The Obama & Bush Administrations combined have spent more than ALL the other presidencies in the history of the country! This is hardly a recipe for economic solvency & massive inflation is the only result possible.

The Federal Reserve has has the US Mint's presses running non-stop to fund this massive glut of deficit spending. As we know, a huge increase in the money supply without a corresponding increase in durable goods & hard assets can only lead to runaway inflation, probably in the very near future. It is the only result possible. Investing in US bulk silver coins is another good way to protect your savings from the wealth eating effects of inflation.

US bulk silver coins consist of any pre 1964 dime, quarter, half dollar, or silver dollar that does not have numismatic value beyond its intrinsic 90% silver content. This includes the vast majority of dimes & quarters in this category as well as a significant portion of the halves. This would also include bulk silver dollars that are culls or well circulated.

These bulk silver coins are a great way to hedge against inflation because precious metals historically increase in value as inflation drives the dollar down. And in the case of silver, more is used industrially each year than what is newly mined, meaning that demand is going to be higher than supply. Best of all, you can buy a roll or 2 a paycheck on a tight budget & still be hedging against inflation. An average worker could pick up a roll of silver dimes on eBay each paycheck for $50 or $60 bucks a roll & have a good hedge against inflation over the course of the year. More affluent folks can invest in halves, quarters, or bulk silver dollars. All are readily available on eBay & given the current economic state, you can expect silver prices to remain steady or increase.

The current economic bust has devalued an overvalued stock market by trillions of dollars in the last year because that wealth was created on a bad foundation. For years the Federal Reserve enticed people into the stock market by keeping interest rates artificially low. People who were living on interest income from bonds, CD's, & the like were forced into stocks & mutual funds to get a good rate of return. Economic laws are not to be fooled & this wealth was created on paper only. More than half the value of the Dow disappeared almost overnight. If you hold your wealth in tangible goods with intrinsic value you are hedged on the downside because precious metals like silver & gold will always hold value.

That is what makes bulk silver coins a desirable & wise investment. They are readily available on ebay & every family should own some. I've included eBay auctions sorted by dimes, quarters, halves, & silver dollars for your convenience.

Bulk Silver Dimes

SILVER MERCURY DIMES 50 coinsfull roll NO CULLS NR
US $34.00

One Roll of 50 Silver Proof Dimes
US $34.00

1 ROLL OF 50 BU 1958 D DIMES 90 COIN SILVER
US $51.00

1 ROLL OF 50 BU 1962 D DIMES 90 COIN SILVER
US $51.00

1 ROLL OF 50 BU 1960 D DIMES 90 COIN SILVER
US $53.04

1 ROLL OF 50 BU 1963 D DIMES 90 COIN SILVER
US $55.00

Bulk Silver Quarters

1958 Silver Washington Quarter From BU Roll Better Date
US $8.00

1955 D Silver Washington Quarter From BU Roll Key Date
US $11.00

Digital COIN SCALE w FREE S H Silver Quarter Dime roll
US $24.99

3 rolls silver quarters Standing Lib Washington Barber
US $51.00

Complete Set Silver Washington Quarter Coin Roll 1932 D
US $73.01

Unsearched roll 40 coins Washington silver quarters
US $91.00

Bulk Silver Halves

Roll 20 Coins VG XF Franklin Silver Halves
US $158.00

Roll 20 Coins G better Walking Liberty Silver Halves
US $168.00

1 roll of BU 1963 P Halves 90 pure coin silver NICE
US $199.99

1 roll of BU 1963 D Halves 90 pure coin silver NICE
US $199.99

Bulk Silver Dollars

20 PEACE SILVER DOLLARS 1 ROLL 90 SILVER
US $.99

Roll of 20 1921 Morgan silver dollars all P mint
US $9.99

5 Morgan Silver Dollars 1 4 Roll Mixed Dates
US $89.95

1 2 Roll 10 Coins Morgan Silver Dollars Pre 21 VG F
US $114.50

1 2 Roll 10 Coins Silver Peace Dollars VF to AU
US $124.50

Roll 20 Coins Morgan Silver Dollars Pre 21 VF XF
US $244.50

Credit Suisse Gold Bars: Another Great Hedge Against The Coming Inflation

drew3604 — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:34:41 +0000

Given the astronomical increase in out of control government spending since the beginning of the Obama administration, we can expect to see massive inflation coming in the near future.

As always, gold is a great hedge against inflation & can guard your earnings from its creeping effects as the government increases in the amount of fiat money in circulation. See my post on the American Buffalo Gold Coin for more information.

Credit Suisse Gold Bars are another 99.9% pure gold investment that can help protect your savings from inflation. For added peace of mind the pure gold content of these bars is fully guaranteed & backed by the renowned Credit Suisse Bank Of Switzerland. The bars come in sizes ranging from 1 gram to 10 ounces & are thus affordable to almost every type of investor: a blue collar worker can shelter a portion of his savings in the smaller denominations just as easily as the more affluent can in the higher weight denominations. Demand for these bars is high & they are sold out through many venues. There are a small amount available on eBay & I have provided listings in ounce & gram denominations. Make sure you set aside at least a small amount of your earnings to hold in physical gold purchases. Inflation is a foregone conclusion at this point & you won't be disappointed when it comes.

1 Ounce Credit Suisse Gold Bars

1 oz CREDIT SUISSE 24kt Gold Bar Ingot 9999 Fine Gold
US $202.50

1 Oz Credit Suisse 9999 24K Gold Bar Bullion Sealed
US $698.00

1 oz CREDIT SUISSE 24k FINE GOLD BAR Bing Cashback 8
US $1,265.00

1 OZ CREDIT SUISSE GOLD BAR BULLION COIN PURE 9999
US $1,329.99

Credit Suisse gold Bars In Gram Denominations

Credit Suisse 10g 9999 Gold Bar Original Certificate
US $9.99

CREDIT SUISSE FINE GOLD STATUE OF LIBERTY
US $48.16

999 Fine Gold 1 Gram Credit Suisse Bar Coinhut1905
US $65.00

1gr 1g 1gram CREDIT SUISSE PLATINUM BAR Not gold 1 GRAM
US $90.00

999 Fine Credit Suisse Gold Bullion
US $120.00

25 Gram Credit Suisse and Pamp Gold Bullion Bars
US $169.00

Collecting The 1928 Silver Dollar|1928 Silver Dollar

drew3604 — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:21:10 +0000

The 1928 Silver Dollar is the big key date of the Peace Dollar series with a mintage of 360,649 coins. This low mintage is a result of an interesting piece of legislation called The Pittman Act.

At the time of the legislation, demand for the Silver Dollar was low & millions of Morgan Silver Dollars were sitting in bank vaults unused. No new silver dollars had been minted since 1904. As mentioned in the post on the 1922 silver dollar there was desire for a new coin commemorating World Peace. The Pittman act was used to create demand for this coin. Enacted on April 23rd, 1919 the law allowed Congress to convert up to 350,000,000 Morgan Silver dollars into bullion for resale or mintage of subsidiary silver coinage. Under the act, 270,232,722 existing dollars were melted & converted to bullion. Between 1920 & 1933, the government purchased the same amount of silver from US mines at a fixed cost of $1 an ounce, which was above the market rate for silver & acted as a federal subsidy to the silver industry. This silver was to be minted into a like number of silver dollars & after 86 million 1921 Morgan Dollars were struck, the Peace Dollar went into production.

By 1928, the requirements of the Pittman Act were satisfied & production ceased on the 1928 silver dollar, resulting in the low output on the 1928 date. The design was briefly re-introduced in 1934 & 1935, after which circulation production was ended.

A presidential order by Lyndon Johnson allowed for production of 316,078 ZPeace Dollars dated 1964, but Congress overrode the order & ceased production. These coins were ordered to be melted. Rumors of surviving examples exist, but owning one would be illegal, making it extremely unlikely that they would ever come forth. No dollar coin containing 90% silver has been minted since.

Value on the 1928 silver dollar ranges from $350 in VG condition to $535 in MS60. The price jumps into the $100 plus range in MS63 & above.

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1928 P PEACE SILVER DOLLAR RARE AU COIN
US $.99

1928 KEY DATE Peace Dollar $1 ANACS MS 60 Details 454
US $5.50

1928 P Key Date Peace Silver Dollar NGC MS62 PQ
US $9.99

1928 PEACE DOLLAR {RARE KEY DATE} FREE SHIPPING
US $59.99

1928 Peace Dollar CHOICE UNCIRCULATED RARE KEY DATE
US $125.95

1928 P silver peace dollar key date
US $250.00

Collecting the 1881 Silver Dollar| 1881 CC Silver Dollar

drew3604 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:08:19 +0000

The 1881 silver dollar was also minted in Carson City, Nevada & these coins carry the CC mint mark. The Carson City Morgan Dollars are legendary because they are a tangible link to the Old West.

When holding a circulated Carson City silver dollar, your imagination can run wild. Could the coin have been part of a poker pot in a hand played by Wild Bill Hickok, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, or Doc Holliday? Could it have been spent in a saloon by the likes of Billy The Kid or Jesse James? These silver dollars were a mainstay in the economies of towns like Dodge City, Tombstone, & Deadwood & are a fascinating link to the fabled past of the Old West.

The 1881 CC silver dollar had a mintage of 296,000 coins & this coin geberally has an excellent strike. It is sometimes considered to be the best struck & highest quality Morgan Dollar from the Carson City mint. In circulated grades it value ranges from $375-$460, while in MS60 to MS64 uncirculated it ranges from $555 to $680. Look for coins with deep frosty luster & you will have made a good investment. The popularity of these coins will not diminish any time soon. Couple that with their limited strikes & you have the recipe for a good investment.

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1881 Carson City Morgan Dollars

1881 CC Morgan Silver Dollar GSA Hoard
US $10.50

1881 CC MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR CARSON CITY NGC MS63 WHITE
US $152.50

1881 CC MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR AU BU RARE KEY DATE
US $306.00

1881 O Rare Non CC GSA Soft Pack Morgan Dollar NGC MS63
US $375.00

1881 CC Morgan Dollar Nice Key Date
US $379.00

1881 CC MORGAN DOLLAR | NGC VF 30
US $399.00

Collecting The 1881 Silver Dollar| 1881 Silver Dollar

drew3604 — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:25:08 +0000

The 1881 Silver Dollar had a mintage of 9,163,000 coins, one of the higher mintages of the Morgan Dollar series. As a result. this coin is very affordable in both circulated & uncirculated grades.

They were minted at the Philadelphia mint & are generally well struck coins with good definition. When purchasing uncirculated coins, look for lustrous, frosty coins rather than grainy, greasy lustered coins. This coin is 90% silver & contains over 3/4 of an ounce of silver, making it an excellent way to store value & hedge against inflation. 1881 silver dollar value ranges from $13-$20 in circulated grades to $28-$150 in MS60-MS64 uncirculated grades. MS64 uncirculated is the optimum collecting grade for this coin.

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1881 Morgan Dollars

1881 MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR B3
US $.99

1881 Morgan Silver Dollar Coin
US $.99

1881 MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR UNC
US $.99

1881 P MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR GOOD STRIKE VF COIN
US $.99

1881 MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR B1
US $1.04

1881 MORGAN SILVER DOLLAR B2
US $1.25

American Gold Buffalo Coin| Gold American Buffalo Coin: US Mint Suspends Production!

drew3604 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:28:15 +0000

As of September 26, 2008, the US Mint has halted production of the $50 Gold American Buffalo Coin. The official word is that they cannot keep up with the demand for this coin. Amidst the current economic recession, investors crave the security of an investment with intrinsic value. Gold is the historically proven store of value in times of economic distress.

This coin was first made available in June & July of 2006, & was designed because American Investors were seeking Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coins & other foreign coins with a 99.99%, 24 karat bullion content, rather than the 91.67% bullion content if the American Gold Eagle coins. The coin has a $50 denomination & contains 1 full ounce of 99.99% pure 24 karat gold. In 2008, the coin was also minted in $5, $10, & $25 denominations with 1/10, 1/4, or 1/2 an ounce of gold in each coin.

The design is based on the Buffalo Nickel design created for the mint by James Earl Fraser in 1913. This design is widely considered as the most beautiful coin in the mint's history & this has translated very favorably when struck in gold as a huge 1 ounce coin. The coins are beautiful as well as valuable, & the stability of gold in the midst of economic turbulence has made these coins nearly impossible to find through traditional channels. When you can find them, you must purchase a minimum number of coins at a price 4-5% above the spot price of gold. This puts currently puts the American Buffalo Gold coin out of the reach of the average American investor at the time they could most benefit from owning them.

Why would the US Mint discontinue a gold bullion coin that would provide a shield to the economic losses currently experienced by so many? The official reason is an inability to keep up with demand, but see my post on 1964 Silver quarters & Gresham's Law to see what I feel is the real reason. Good money drives out bad, & the Federal Reserve needs you to continue spending their worthless fiat currency & investing in the stock market to keep our debt based economy running.

The good news is there are always a small number of these coins available on eBay & this may be the only way to purchase them at this time. Like the coins featured in previous posts, these coins will let you shelter an even larger chunk of money in a VERY small space. Links to the current auctions are included & they update in real time. The eBay feed that imports these auctions has been sorted to remove auctions for gold plated junk that can confuse the unwary. By buying only the slabbed coins graded by a reputable grading service you should be safe from counterfeit coins. Bookmark this page & check back often for more & more Gold American Buffalo Coin auctions.

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2009 Gold Buffalo 1 oz Pure Gold Coin 24K 9999 US Mint
US $.99

2009 BUFFALO G$50 GOLD EARLY RELEASES NGC MS70
US $.99

2006 $50 GOLD Buffalo PERFECT MS70 by NGC FIRST STRIKES
US $1.00

2006 Gold Buffalo $50 One Ounce NGC 69 9999 Fine
US $5.50

Buffalo GOLD E P air tite YES WE CAN REFCO
US $15.99

2006 W PROOF $50 GOLD BUFFALO 1 OUNCE RARE MINT BOX
US $20.95

Collecting The 1922 Silver Dollar| 1922 Peace Silver Dollar

drew3604 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:17:47 +0000

After the end of WWI in 1918, there was a desire to produce a circulating coin to commemorate world peace. Since silver dollar production was being resumed in 1921, this coin was chosen as the denomination. The Peace dollar was designed by Anthony DeFrancisci, who had made his reputation as a designer of medals.

He designed the coin with a depiction of Liberty that differed markedly from those of the past. She faces to the left & has a crown of rays, & the reverse features a standing eagle perched on a mound with the word PEACE incorporated into the mound. The dies for the 1921 date were designed in a high relief, to produce a coin similar in look to a medal, but in subsequent years the dies were changed & the coins had lower relief.

The 1922 Peace Silver Dollar was struck at the Philadelphia, Denver, & San Francisco Mints & had a total mintage of 84,275,000 coins, making it the most common Peace Dollar. Of these, 15,063,000 have the D mint mark, & 17,475,000 have the S mint mark. It is 90% silver & contains .7734 ounces of silver per coin. It is an inexpensive coin in circulated grades, easily attainable, & like the 1964 silver quarter in the previous post, they are an easy way to store & concentrate wealth in a small amount of space. The intrinsic value of the silver is likely to protect your investment from inflation caused by the government printing of more & more fiat money. These coins are easily attainable on eBay & are an attractive , easy, & affordable way to improve your collection & protect part of your earnings from the wealth eating effects of inflation.

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25 PEACE SILVER DOLLARS ALL 1922 AND 1923 GRADING VF AU
US $.01

1922 US Silver Dollar Coin for Collection Free USA mail
US $.60

1922 US Silver Peace Dollar NICE COIN
US $.99

5 Peace Silver Dollars 1922 1922S 1923S 1924 1925 NICE
US $.99

1922 Peace Dollar BU Uncirculated UNC FREE MAILING
US $.99

1922 US Silver Peace Dollar AWESOME COIN
US $.99

Collecting The 1964 Silver Quarter| 1964 Silver Quarter

drew3604 — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:10:27 +0000

1964 was the last year that US dimes, quarters, & half dollars would be minted in 90% silver composition. Dimes & quarters became copper clad in 1965, while half dollars continued to have a lowered 40% silver content from 1965 through 1970. The reasoning was that the amount of silver in the coins at this time was worth more than the coin's face value. The change from silver coinage that had the intrinsic worth of its silver content to clad coinage with no intrinsic value put some interesting economic laws into affect that continues to this day.

The Philadelphia mint struck 564,341,347 1964 silver quarters & the Denver mint struck 704,135,528 1964 D silver quarters. This is roughly 5-7 times more quarters than minted in any other year for the Washington quarter. The following year, the base metal clad coinage had no value beyond the force of the government's decree that it should be accepted as payment. This type of money is called fiat money because its only value is that forced on the bearer by government decree. Nearly 2 billion 1965 quarters were minted & an interesting monetary phenomenon called Gresham's Law was put into affect.

Gresham's law states that bad money drives out good money. In practice, this means that when given a choice, people will save money that has intrinsic value & spend fiat money on their debts. This is exactly what began to happen. As a result of this change to base metal coins, the 1964 & earlier silver coinage began to rapidly disappear from circulation. A great quantity of these coins were most likely melted down in the 1980's silver boom, but they are still available, & as a result of Gresham's Law, most of the surviving 1964 silver quarter's will show little to no signs of circulation.

The current economic downturn has been created & exacerbated by the fact that our money supply is backed by debt & not tangible assets like silver & gold. Our money no longer has any intrinsic value. The stock market has lost over 50% of its value because our government no longer practices a sound fiscal policy.

One way to protect yourself is to invest in some old silver or gold coins. 1964 silver quarters are a good way to park your savings in a tangible asset. More silver is required for industrial uses than is currently mined, so its value is likely to remain stable or rise with time. Since they did not spend a long time in circulation, 1964 silver quarters will also have much more eye appeal than earlier, well worn coins. These coins contain .1808 ounces of silver each & are a easy way to store a fair amount of wealth in a relatively small place like a safety deposit box. They are currently worth around 2 bucks apiece circulated & 5 or six bucks uncirculated. They are easy to buy on eBay & this is my favorite way to buy or sell coins. Registration & purchases are easy with the following links. Please bookmark this page & check back often as new auctions are listed!

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1941 and 1964 silver george washington quarters
US $.50

1964 P Washingtons Silver Gem Proof BU
US $.99

Washington Quarters 1964 1958 D Silver
US $.99

1964 D WASHINGTON QUARTER
US $.99

1964 Washington Quarter 90 SILVER
US $2.00

LOT OF 3 WASHINGTON SILVER QUARTERS 1944S 1963 1964
US $2.99