silver dollor

S

sasha

Joined
Feb 28, 2006
Messages
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I dont know if thats the right place to ask the Q. But here it goes, how do you know if you have a silver dollor??? I have a few dollor from the late
1800s and very early 1900s . When i hold them they dont fill very heavy.

Sasha
 
Silver isn't very heavy; it can feel almost aluminum like in its weight, depending on its density.

The silver dollars you have aren't likely 100% pure silver--the content of silver varies, especially from that time period when the price of silver was crazy. 100% silver would likely have tarnished black by now.

To determine their silver content and consequent value, take them to at least two coin dealers for a free evaluation.

You might also try posting in Gadgets and Gear, a level above this sub-forum. There's a big cross-section of people who can answer there... unfortunately, here in Wilderness and Survival, many of the guys here don't even use money. So I've heard, anyway.
 
If it they are from the US and pre-1964, as far as I know, they are "silver."

Like Watchful said, not pure silver. But what would be considered silver.

They are of little value. Send them to me immediately.;)
 
Marcinek i just looked at the coins and i would agree with you they are worth less.. If you want them i would send them to you for free all you need to do is pay for the shipping and handling.. About $75 a coin ,,, hey they are heavy what can i say lol.. I got about 30 of them at a yard sale from some guy. I collect stamps and he had some for sell when i were looking at the stamps, i seen the coins.. got them cheap I guess thats makes me one hell of a lucky guy.

Sasha
 
I figured it was worth a shot, sasha! Congrats on the buy! A bunch of these, I suppose?

morgan1892ccms63x.jpg
 
They are not mint all been in use and you can see it. I think 4 of them are from 1799 and it shows. I dont have the Morgen from 1892 but from 1888 and 1889. Been reading on the net about them. This weekend im going to see if the guy has a few more left cause he said he needs to look for the rest of them. One of the reasons i got them was that people said its the best coin to have if SHTF ever. I just hoped when i paid for them that they are the ones that are made of silver.. I guess they are *L^.

Sasha
 
marcinek said:
If it they are from the US and pre-1964, as far as I know, they are "silver."

Like Watchful said, not pure silver. But what would be considered silver.

They are of little value. Send them to me immediately.;)
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Marcinek was right on the mark with the dates. Your coins will be 90% silver. Look at the edges of the coins, they should either appear to be silver-colored for the entire width of the coin or a darker band in the middle.

I'll trade you all of my nice clean stamps from the '70's for a few of those dirty old coins :D
 
sasha said:
One of the reasons i got them was that people said its the best coin to have if SHTF ever.
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It's an intriguing thought. But basically, in the last 100 years or so, there's always been some sort of functioning economy. In all recent situations of war, disaster, famine, flood, etc., people have made do quite quickly without the use of silver or gold.

Even if we use Katrina as the standard for how fast things can fall apart here in the organized US, the paper dollar functioned without a glitch.

However, the last 100 years or so have seen relatively limited areas of total disruption...even in WWII, there was nothing on a continental scale that would kill an economy wholesale. It wouldn't be unimaginable to see economies collapse with a big enough trigger.
 
Don't sell them for the silver value when the SHTF!!! Sell them for the collector value now and use that money to buy current silver, gold, or whatever your "precious commodity when the SHTF" is (bullets, bearer bonds, condoms, generators, Chinese dictionaries,..)

Or go with the SHTF ain't gonna happen scenario, and keep them and watch their value increase!
 
To be honest i realy cant see a complete collapse or any economy. But the idea sounded like fun. I would keep the silver dollors more as a future investment. Random04 I got no idea how many stamps you got by my collection is more then likely around 80,000+. Never piss off your wife or your ex wife if you know what i mean.. I had a lady bring me about 20,000 stamps that her EX husband collected for over 40 years. When they broke up he forgot the stamps. When she found out that i collect them the next day i had them all... It happend to me twice already. Maybe i could exchange some stamps for knifes????

Sasha
 
Don,

I think it got moved here because there are more readers who can help him here than in W&S, based on his specific question.
 
If you are questioning their authenticity, first ID the coin. After you do such, find out what the what is supposed to be- most good books will list that, and what the ASW (Actual Silver Weight) is. If you are buying them from a pawn broker or a dealer, ask him to weigh the coin for you, and check it against the known total weight of the coin. If there is a discrepancy, and no damage that would explain it (ie. the coin was shaved, or drilled, or drilled and later filled) you may want to be suspect. The fact of the matter is, fakes were made then and now, in order to decieve merchants and later collectors like you and I. It happens to all of us- I collect Confederate banknotes and got taken once. I since learned what to look for. Be smart and use your head, don't be afraid to say "I'm not interested".

I also would be hesitant on buying investment silver right now, because the price on bullion is inflated at the present. It could stay elevated or even go up. But there is an excellent chance that it will drop again. That's what happened to the people who bought silver in the '80s.
 
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