HELLO AND WELCOME TO THIS BLOG I AM SELLING OFF A FEW SILVER COINS FROM MY COLECTION AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE COOL TO START A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE COULD TALK ABOUT COLLECTING SILVER COINS AND SUCH
1936 Winged Liberty Head (Mercury) dimeAlthough most commonly referred to as the Mercury dime, the coin does not depict the Roman messenger god. The obverse figure is a depiction of the mythological goddess Liberty wearing a Phrygian cap, a classic symbol of liberty and freedom, with its wings intended to symbolize freedom of thought. Designed by noted sculptor Adolph A. Weinman, the Winged Liberty Head dime is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful U.S. coin designs ever produced.[5] The composition (90 percent silver, 10 percent copper) and diameter (17.9 millimeters) of the Mercury dime was unchanged from the Barber dime.
Weinman (who had studied under Augustus Saint-Gaudens) won a 1915 competition against two other artists for the design job, and is thought to have modeled his version of Liberty on Elsie Kachel Stevens, wife of noted poet Wallace Stevens.[5] The reverse design, a fasces juxtaposed with an olive branch, was intended to symbolize America's readiness for war, combined with its desire for peace.
The 1916-D issue of only 264,000 coins is highly sought after, due largely to the fact that the overwhelming majority of the dimes struck at Denver in 1916 carried the pre-existing Barber design. Thus, the 1916-D is worth up to thousands of dollars if it is in relatively fine condition. However, many 1916 dimes have been altered with the "D" mintmark added, so buyers should be extremely careful.
Many coins in the Mercury series exhibit striking defects, most notably the fact that the line separating the two horizontal bands in the center of the fasces is often missing, in whole or in part; the 1945 issue of the Philadelphia Mint hardly ever appears with this line complete from left to right, and as a result, such coins are worth more than usual for uncirculated specimens. A valuable variety is an overdate, where 1942 was stamped over a 1941 die at the Philadelphia mint. A less obvious example from the same years is from the Denver mint.
Of particular interest to numismatists is the condition of the horizontal bands tying together the bundle on the fasces, on the coin's reverse. On well-struck examples, separation exists within the two sets of bands (known as Full Split Bands). Coins exhibiting this feature are typically valued higher than those without it.
Silver coins are possibly the oldest mass form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks. Their silver drachmas were popular trade coins.
Many factors determine the value of a silver coin, such as its rarity, demand, condition and the number originally minted. Silver coins coveted by collectors include the Denarius and Miliarense.
Other than collector's silver coins, silver bullion coins are popular among people who desire a "hedge" against currency inflation or store of value. Silver has an international currency symbol of XAG under ISO 4217.
Most common silver bullion coins, preceded by minimum guaranteed purity, and the year of introduction:
99.99% 1988 Canadian Silver Maple Leaf 99.90% 1982 Mexican Silver Libertad 99.90% 1983 Chinese Silver Panda 99.90% 1986 American Silver Eagle 99.90% 1990 Australian Silver Kookaburra (minted by the Perth Mint) 99.90% 1993 Australian Silver Kangaroo (minted by the Royal Australian Mint) 99.90% 2008 Austrian Silver Vienna Philharmonic 95.80% 1997 British Silver Britannia (from 1997, proof version only. Public issue from 1998)
Privately minted silver coins are known as silver "rounds" and silver "bars", which usually have a set weight of 1 troy ounce of silver (31.103 grams of 99.9% silver). These carry all sorts of designs, from assayer/mine backed bullion to engravable gifts, automobiles, firearms, armed forces commemorative, holidays, etc.
A traditional way of investing in silver is by buying actual bullion bars. In some countries, like Switzerland and Liechtenstein, bullion bars can be bought or sold over the counter at major banks.
Physical silver, such as bars or coins, may be stored in a home safe, a safe deposit box at a bank, or placed in allocated (also known as non-fungible) or unallocated (fungible or pooled) storage with a bank or dealer.
Various sizes of silver bars:
1000 oz troy bars – These bars weigh about 68 pounds avoirdupois (31 kg) and vary about 10% as to weight, as bars range from 900 oz to about 1100 oz (28 to 34 kg). These are COMEX good delivery bars. 100 oz bars – These bars weigh 6.8 pounds (3.11 kg) and are among the most popular with retail investors. Popular brands are Engelhard and Johnson Matthey. Those brands cost a bit more, usually about 40-80 cents per ounce above the spot price, but that price may vary with market conditions. Odd weight retail bars – These bars cost less and generally have a wider spread, due to the extra work it takes to calculate their value and the extra risk due to the lack of a good brand name. 1 kilogram bars (32.15 oz) 10 oz bars and 1 oz bars (311 and 31.1 g)
Buying silver coins is another popular method of physically holding silver. One example is the 99.99% pure Canadian Silver Maple Leaf. Coins may be minted as either fine silver or junk silver, the latter being older coins with a smaller percentage of silver. U.S. coins 1964 and older (half dollars, dimes, and quarters) are 25 grams per dollar of face value and 90% silver (22½ g silver per dollar). (All 1965-1970 and one half of the 1975-1976 Bicentennial San Francisco proof and mint set Kennedy half dollars are "clad" in a silver alloy and contain just under one half of the silver in the pre-1965 issues.)
Junk silver coins are also available as sterling silver coins, which were officially minted until 1919 in the United Kingdom and Canada and 1945 in Australia. These coins are 92.5% silver and are in the form of (in decreasing weight) Crowns, Half-crowns, Florins, Shillings, Sixpences, and threepence. The tiny threepence weighs 1.41 grams, and the Crowns are 28.27 grams (1.54 grams heavier than a US $1). Canada produced silver coins with 80% silver content from 1920 to 1967.
Winged Liberty Head (Mercury) (1916–1945)
ReplyDelete1936 Winged Liberty Head (Mercury) dimeAlthough most commonly referred to as the Mercury dime, the coin does not depict the Roman messenger god. The obverse figure is a depiction of the mythological goddess Liberty wearing a Phrygian cap, a classic symbol of liberty and freedom, with its wings intended to symbolize freedom of thought. Designed by noted sculptor Adolph A. Weinman, the Winged Liberty Head dime is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful U.S. coin designs ever produced.[5] The composition (90 percent silver, 10 percent copper) and diameter (17.9 millimeters) of the Mercury dime was unchanged from the Barber dime.
Weinman (who had studied under Augustus Saint-Gaudens) won a 1915 competition against two other artists for the design job, and is thought to have modeled his version of Liberty on Elsie Kachel Stevens, wife of noted poet Wallace Stevens.[5] The reverse design, a fasces juxtaposed with an olive branch, was intended to symbolize America's readiness for war, combined with its desire for peace.
The 1916-D issue of only 264,000 coins is highly sought after, due largely to the fact that the overwhelming majority of the dimes struck at Denver in 1916 carried the pre-existing Barber design. Thus, the 1916-D is worth up to thousands of dollars if it is in relatively fine condition. However, many 1916 dimes have been altered with the "D" mintmark added, so buyers should be extremely careful.
Many coins in the Mercury series exhibit striking defects, most notably the fact that the line separating the two horizontal bands in the center of the fasces is often missing, in whole or in part; the 1945 issue of the Philadelphia Mint hardly ever appears with this line complete from left to right, and as a result, such coins are worth more than usual for uncirculated specimens. A valuable variety is an overdate, where 1942 was stamped over a 1941 die at the Philadelphia mint. A less obvious example from the same years is from the Denver mint.
Of particular interest to numismatists is the condition of the horizontal bands tying together the bundle on the fasces, on the coin's reverse. On well-struck examples, separation exists within the two sets of bands (known as Full Split Bands). Coins exhibiting this feature are typically valued higher than those without it.
Silver coins are possibly the oldest mass form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks. Their silver drachmas were popular trade coins.
ReplyDeleteMany factors determine the value of a silver coin, such as its rarity, demand, condition and the number originally minted. Silver coins coveted by collectors include the Denarius and Miliarense.
Other than collector's silver coins, silver bullion coins are popular among people who desire a "hedge" against currency inflation or store of value. Silver has an international currency symbol of XAG under ISO 4217.
Most common silver bullion coins, preceded by minimum guaranteed purity, and the year of introduction:
ReplyDelete99.99% 1988 Canadian Silver Maple Leaf
99.90% 1982 Mexican Silver Libertad
99.90% 1983 Chinese Silver Panda
99.90% 1986 American Silver Eagle
99.90% 1990 Australian Silver Kookaburra (minted by the Perth Mint)
99.90% 1993 Australian Silver Kangaroo (minted by the Royal Australian Mint)
99.90% 2008 Austrian Silver Vienna Philharmonic
95.80% 1997 British Silver Britannia (from 1997, proof version only. Public issue from 1998)
Privately minted silver coins are known as silver "rounds" and silver "bars", which usually have a set weight of 1 troy ounce of silver (31.103 grams of 99.9% silver). These carry all sorts of designs, from assayer/mine backed bullion to engravable gifts, automobiles, firearms, armed forces commemorative, holidays, etc.
ReplyDeleteA traditional way of investing in silver is by buying actual bullion bars. In some countries, like Switzerland and Liechtenstein, bullion bars can be bought or sold over the counter at major banks.
ReplyDeletePhysical silver, such as bars or coins, may be stored in a home safe, a safe deposit box at a bank, or placed in allocated (also known as non-fungible) or unallocated (fungible or pooled) storage with a bank or dealer.
Various sizes of silver bars:
1000 oz troy bars – These bars weigh about 68 pounds avoirdupois (31 kg) and vary about 10% as to weight, as bars range from 900 oz to about 1100 oz (28 to 34 kg). These are COMEX good delivery bars.
100 oz bars – These bars weigh 6.8 pounds (3.11 kg) and are among the most popular with retail investors. Popular brands are Engelhard and Johnson Matthey. Those brands cost a bit more, usually about 40-80 cents per ounce above the spot price, but that price may vary with market conditions.
Odd weight retail bars – These bars cost less and generally have a wider spread, due to the extra work it takes to calculate their value and the extra risk due to the lack of a good brand name.
1 kilogram bars (32.15 oz)
10 oz bars and 1 oz bars (311 and 31.1 g)
Buying silver coins is another popular method of physically holding silver. One example is the 99.99% pure Canadian Silver Maple Leaf. Coins may be minted as either fine silver or junk silver, the latter being older coins with a smaller percentage of silver. U.S. coins 1964 and older (half dollars, dimes, and quarters) are 25 grams per dollar of face value and 90% silver (22½ g silver per dollar). (All 1965-1970 and one half of the 1975-1976 Bicentennial San Francisco proof and mint set Kennedy half dollars are "clad" in a silver alloy and contain just under one half of the silver in the pre-1965 issues.)
ReplyDeleteJunk silver coins are also available as sterling silver coins, which were officially minted until 1919 in the United Kingdom and Canada and 1945 in Australia. These coins are 92.5% silver and are in the form of (in decreasing weight) Crowns, Half-crowns, Florins, Shillings, Sixpences, and threepence. The tiny threepence weighs 1.41 grams, and the Crowns are 28.27 grams (1.54 grams heavier than a US $1). Canada produced silver coins with 80% silver content from 1920 to 1967.