No, I don’t mean “junk silver” as in Sanford and Son, but junk silver as in non-numismatic silver. What exactly is “non-numismatic” silver? Ordinary coins that aren’t collectible except for their silver content. The 1916 D “Mercury Dime” is an example of a numismatic silver dime. It has collector value beyond the silver content of the coin itself.
In fact, the 16D is the King of the Mercuries since it is the most rare of the circulation strikes for that series. A 1916 D Mercury dime in “junk” condition routinely garners for itself a selling price of nearly $1,000! on internet and auction house auctions. A thousand dollars for a single dime! By the way, treasure hunters, the 1916 D Mercury Dime pictured here was dug by Richard Gaboury in 2005. They CAN be found, but things like this are once in a lifetime finds.
But what exactly about “junk silver”, and what about it is on the rise?
A few years ago, when gold was in the $200 an ounce range and silver was around $7.00 an ounce, silver coins, especially silver dollars and silver half dollars, that were of inferior collector value were often tossed into a box on the coin dealers counter and sold at bullion value.
You see, to make money the coin dealer usually buys coins and coin collections in bulk and must wade through all the common pieces in those collections to find the coins of high numismatic value in terms of rarity (like the 16D above) or are of uncommon condition. All the rest from those piles and piles of coins wind up in the “junk” box, hence we get the broader term “junk silver”.
But “junk silver” is getting to be less and less like “junk” because the spot price of silver has gone up riding along with the escalating price of gold. Junk boxes are less and less populated with silver pieces and more and more “world” coins are taking their place. Not a bad situation for the collector who enjoys coins from all over the world. But for the person looking to purchase coins with intrinsic value, that is, value apart from the denomination stamped on the piece of metal itself, the junk box is a source that is drying up.
Bulk dealers in gold and silver are making inroads into the coin after market, especially today with increased interest in having precious metals already in legal tender form rather than as ingots or bullion. Companies who offer $1,000 face value “junk silver” bags at spot silver price easily replace the coin dealer “junk box” because, let’s face it, junk silver isn’t “junk” anymore.
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