@@mfb3042 If people are trading silver for food I don't think they are going to care what country issued them, silver is silver at that point. I do think the security features of the Britannia or Maple would be nice.
My first coin buy was a 1879 Morgan AU I got for $3. I was so proud when I showed my dad that I was "investing" rather than blowing it on candy. My dad blew up in a rage, calling me a moron, telling me he always knew I was an idiot. His point: "It's a D-O-L-L-A-R!!! ONE DOLLAR, and you paid three for it!? What an idiot!!!" He assumed it was worth one dollar, period. This was 1966 BTW. After working on him, by 1968 he was helping me get rolls of dimes and quarters to search for the stray silver. Gladly it didn't take long to turn him around to the reality that his his trusted government was debasing his currency and not being too honest about it. I sold all my pre-1980 collection when spot was high and started collecting again after the prices tanked. I have very few numismatic holdings, mostly junk and bars/rounds. Nothing is as satisfying as pouring out a heap of silver and running your hands through it, making that beautiful ringing sound only silver can do... Thanks for posting the vids, I enjoy them. Great info, I encourage you to keep it up.
Thats an incredible story! I am glad he turned around too, many people don't! They refuse to! Let's hope they catch on sooner than later haha. I appreciate you sharing with me, and that was a great strategy, well done!
I've been the local evangelist for collecting pre-1982 pennies, too. Everywhere I go I check my pennies in change in front of the cashier (and any other customers) explaining the change to zinc in 1982. I have gotten a proprietor of a store I frequent collecting them himself. In 1982 when the change was announced I got a huge, 25 gallon glass bottle, the kind some caustic chemical was transported in, and began filling with every 1981 and earlier penny I got my hands on. It's about 75 pounds of pennies now. I keep 1882 pennies separately, awaiting the day I get off my duff and get a scale to separate out the copper from the zinc. I also keep 1983s in yet another bottle, (an old milk bottle) to one day hopefully find that stray 83 that got struck on a copper planchet. One was found recently so I started saving them. I wish I had saved them along with the pre 81's since day one... I also keep every nickel I get in another bottle, I started that in 2004 when I read there's about 8 cents of metal in every nickel. I go out of my way to insure I'll get pennies and nickels in my change, eg I'll pump $19.95 worth of gas to get the nickel in change, or if the mood strikes I'll go for the 4 pennies pumping $19.96. I know for sure the one store owner saves pennies. I have a feeling there may be one or two others who've taken up the sport at my urging. It's a great conversation starter. And for general conversation on the nature of money I always carry a silver dollar, usually my trusty 1922 peace dollar. Some of the teens and twenty-somethings manning cash registers have been fascinated by the topic. Unfortunately they are a tiny minority. Most look at me like I have three heads, looking like they want to say "who cares!" but don't, probably because they are too lazy to make the effort to speak outside the dialogue of the business at hand. There's one more kit I have assembled for those days I'm feeling particularly motivated, it consisgts of huge denomination zinc German marks dated 1923, when their runaway inflation rendered billion mark notes worthless between 9 AM when they were printed and 5 PM when they were paid to workers as salary. It also has 1915 silver marks and a 1923 US peace dollar. The zinc Marks were never circulated as they were worthless the moment they rolled off the presses. They are large in size but light as paper, the denominations are 100 and 500 Marks. If time permits (and especially if I have an "audience" in line) I'll place the tiny silver 1 Mark (or the 1916 silver 1/2 Mark in the kit) and the zinc 500 Mark coion on the counter and ask which the clerk would take if i offered them. 99.999% pick the 500 Mark coin. Then I explain in 1916 the 1/2 Mark would get you a loaf of bread and you'd get change back. (pfennigs) But the 500 Mark coin was totally useless in 1923, from the very day it was stamped. I then whip out the billion and trillion Mark notes I have in the kit and a picture of people carrying heaps of them in wheelbarrows on their way to buy bread before the whole load of them becomes worthless. Nothing says "inflation" like a crisp 5 trillion Mark note in your hands. I explain wives would go to their husband's place of work several times a day to collect pay, which at the peak of the inflation was paid frequently throughout the day as larger and larger denominated notes hit circulation on just about an hourly basis. I end it all with the fact that the federal reserve is neither federal nor any reserve of anything of value. I also has a $2 federal reserve note and a $2 United States Note in my kit to bolster that topic. I never wear out my welcome, usually only getting a few choice tidbits to get folks thinking, though people always want to handle the coins and notes if they have the time. Of course a convenience store at 7 AM isn't an ideal place and time to bring this up, but in more leisurely venues I often get a full scale classroom going with the cashier and others shopping in the place. Good news is recently I find a lot more people are aware of things like the federal reserve and our money system being a dangerous joke. Many know the official story of the fed's 'failure' to prevent the "Great Depression," despite this being the ONE TASK it had on it's plate, is bogus. Many are aware the story that the fed was created to prevent monetary mayhem is a lie. I even encounter young folks, in their early twenties, who know intricate facts of history such as the fed actually makes it possible to inflate or deflate the money supply at will for political purposes, and that world wars, cold wars, the whole 'military-industrial complex' couldn't exist without a money-from-thin-air factory that is the federal reserve. I've been an evangelist for honest money for decades. I appreciate your videos, they're a great tool I can point people to to fill them in and get them motivated to learn more about silver.or filling in some pertinent facts about where this honest money stands these days. Keep 'em coming!
You'd be surprised, many people had already hoarded them by '66. We did find a few, but the mints flooded the market with the clads and in bank rolls that's just about all you got. It was more likely to find silver in rolls people had rolled up themselves and brought to the bank. We tried to get as many of those as we could. Of course Kennedy halves were 40% silver so we stockpiled a few rolls of them.
I was collecting in 1966 and you could get silver in your change every purchase and up to 1972 the banks still had solid rolls of silver and that is how I ended up with so much because I was hoarding it big time. Maybe it was different where catworld lived but here in california the silver was everywhere.
it's called junk because it's sold by silver content, when silver prices go up drastically there is a increase in refining and melting scrap and junk... historically it's the reason many coins are so rare, because they were worth so much more as scrap at some point in history they were melting down by the 100,000s
roggie77777 no where in the constitution does it state all money must be made of gold and silver. That’s completely false. It says the government has the ability to issue its own currency whether it be gold silver or debt free notes(aka fiat money).
The only folks worth bartering with (at first) will be folks who are already knowledgeable about 90%. That knowledge will inevitably spread as the unprepared begin looking to the prepared for guidance.
As someone who know nothing about silver coins or silver bars, I would be more likely to believe a tired, used, old coin having silver in it than some shiny new thing I had never seen before. Fool's gold is all I think of when I see something that "says" how much silver is in it. I know some coins used to have silver in them and I don't think it would take me or others long to get up to speed on what dates are real.
Junk silver is much more trustworthy than silver bars. Junk silver also has it Face Value. and people are Quick learners . Additionally everyone is not going to be carrying aroung gold,and silver testing kits with them 24-7 . Junk silver is King!!.
I guess my argument is that my daughters were able to figure this all out at a really young age. If it is out of necessity the math will be quickly figured out by those that need to. Also to make things a lot easier just go with Mercs and Walkers, no need to worry about pre/post, silver vs clad with the same design or 40% vs. 90% etc. You hand someone a Merc or a Walker and it will be a lot more convincing than a broken off piece of some completely unknown fractional. A HUGE plus is the premiums that cyclically hit the junk market, over 45% mark up a few years ago. Load up when no premium, sell when the spread gets right...Mercs are the first to go! Mercs 4 Life!
If you plan to barter, you need to buy a precious metals detector (I own a Sigma Metalytics). If you think it will be hard to convince someone that an old half dollar is real silver, how will you convince them that a shiny 1 oz bar from some company they never heard of is truly made of silver? The market has too much fake silver. Luckily, I haven't bought any so far.
“In the beginning phases“… That line made me smile. When the Fiat game comes to an abrupt end, there will be no warning… It will happen overnight and markets will crash around the world… The United States is the last great haven for investors… We are not in negative interest territory yet… Although interest rates are low we are better than the rest of the world. As the Chinese begin to lose manufacturing back to individual countries who decide to mechanize and use robotics in order to return production work back home, they will not be the formidable force they appear to be. The reality of Fiat currency is that they all eventually fail. We have seen individual countries fail but we have never seen the entire globe go down at once… This will be triggered by the United States… Could be 10 years… Could be 100 years. The truth is, there won’t be any warning signs other than the ones you currently see. It is a game of shifting numbers and eventually all options are exhausted and there was a worldwide debt reset and the game starts anew. You only need enough to survive a short period of time while the economies are reformed and the banking engine gets restarted… Gold, silver, Rolex, and Ass. Those are the four things you will be able to sell in a down economy to meet your immediate needs. It won’t matter if it’s dirty silver clean silver… It will barter well.
I agree and silver rounds and silver bars are already counterfeited when silver is cheap so it is logical to expect that counterfeiting will dramatically increase when the demand for silver increases. "Constitutional" / "junk" silver is harder to counterfeit and has a stiffer penalty than silver rounds or bards. Junk silver is also more recognizable to the average American than the hundreds or thousands of silver rounds / bars that currently exist.
Thats awesome KickingGeese! What a smart girl! But what about British coins? They had years of 92.5%, 50%, and some years with 0%! These are dates that are much harder to learn!
pre 1920 canadian silver were .925 also. actually canadian junk silver has 3 purities . 1858-1919 .925 1920-1967 .800 1967-1968 .500(dimes and quarters only)
Silver Future That’s why people should only care about their country’s coins as a stacker. If you want to get smart with British coins, only buy sovereigns. They are gold and will always be gold.
It sure would be easier to learn, recognize, and trust a pre-1965 coin that rings rather than the multitudes of bars, rounds and trinkets that may look like some state fair bauble with a picture of a stage coach, skull, or naked girl just because it says it is a certain weight silver. I would take the "junk" silver coins myself much, much, much more readily as a form of payment than your piece of bar and I would guess the others would do the same.
This is why I'm rather picky with my silver bullion. I dont buy any of that trash. Stick to junk (mercs and half dollars for easy silver recognition rather than coins where dates must be checked), Eagles, Maples, and Sunshine Mint silver bars and rounds with the SI mintmark decoder lens. Gotta think about making a noob feel secure that it's really silver
@TheStefaner Agreed (especially on the Mercs and non-Kennedy halves--an important piece that I believe truly matters even if there is more wear). I disagree on avoiding paper contracts though. Combine. I enjoy buying low and shorting with my ETFs. A "precious metals basket" (mixed % portfolio) is a great hedge and can be used for easy and quick manipulation. That being said, I think you are brilliant for buying the Mercs and non-Kennedy halves. These "junk" pieces are (IMHO) going to be worth more than the newer pre 1965 coins for their antiquity and instant silver identity. Your comment made my day!
I love my War Nickels. Have a huge stack of'em and they are the smallest fractional, silver content-wise. I think people would catch on pretty quick if we ever needed to barter/trade with silver/gold but probably the 1964 or earlier Nickels would trick many people before they realized only the War Nickels are silver.
Back when gasoline was four dollars a gallon I recall the local gas station accepting junk silver for payment...forgot the silver price they advertised, something like $.75 or a dollar in junk silver
Thats crazy! Someone was telling me today he used to go to the bank and swap out nickels for hours - trying to find the dates he wanted (war nickels)! What a clever man.
This video came up in my feed and it was my introduction to your channel. Great argument for the "junk" coins. I'm very much looking forward to your future videos, and am now a subscriber. Thank you, and excuse me while I binge watch your previous vids! 👍
That is one of the advantages of living in Australia. Our coins lost their silver content when we switched to decimal currency. So that means all silver coloured coins in the old denominations like shillings and pence are 50 or 92.5% I think that because they are significantly different to current coins and no one has in mind a set buying power of 2 shillings then they will accept the higher melt value more easily. In the US you will have more resistance because in an ordinary persons mind they know the very limited buying power of a dime. It's going to be hard to swallow that a junk silver dime is worth so much more.
You have a good point teatowel - we never really changed the names, in fact most people here don't even know the difference in metal content between a 2017 and a 1963 dime - because they look the same (aside from the silver of course)
I had a yard sale. An illegal Mexican immigrant, habla no ingles woman bought a toy ceramic cowboy boot trinket for 3.00. She poured 12 silver quarters in my hand and ran away. Gracias mi muchachita! Arriba Arriba!!
Dang, I always hear about these "cha-ching" moments - I had a buddy who found a bunch of standers in a roll of quarters for laundry, my day will come soon =P
I used to work in a bank and an old lady came in with $10 in silver dimes. I felt bad and asked if she was sure she wanted to swap it out and she was like, "honey I'm not getting any younger." I ended up buying it out at the end of my shift and that started my collection.
You made some great points. .999 vs junk silver. Additionally I would say junk silver would require more work refining it for industrial use, which in turn will lower its value. Stick with .999 or higher silver ;)
Understand where your coming from but I'd have to disagree as gold 14k 18k 24k krugerands are sold by weight of pm content regardless of alloy. Don't over look cheap junk if you see good deals man. The cost of separating the alloyed metals is low and would be negligible if it gets to them buying our investment grade for industrial use like whats going on w catalytic converters. Just my opinion good stacking
Great video! Long time prepper, but new to the silver game. I appreciated your insight. Do you recommend any other videos for on the subject of common sense stacking for the average Joe prepper?
Where did you hear junk silver wasnt taxable as a capitol gain if sold at a profit???? ive been involved in this about 15 yrs and never heard of it.I read & watch vids endlessly.Dying to know...its no trivial matter.
Where do I go to purchase "junk" silver? So far, I have 10, plastic sealed, 10 oz silver bars and 12 sealed 1 ounce silver rounds. I bought some estate silver lots with uncirculated pre 1965 silver dimes and quarters that are sealed in white cardboard/plastic window cases. But I don't have anything I can actually touch directly. So I'd like to start getting my hands on this "junk" silver, but idk where to get it.
I diversify into all areas..I have several ounces of gold and over 100 oz silver and collect junk. I grew up with "junk" and lived on it for years as a youth. I liked what you had to say so keep up the comments and your experiences.
Article 1, section 10, U.S. Constitution: "No state shall make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debt." It's not only history, it's the law!
The problem with silver bars is counterfieting. US coins say a lot compared to a private mint bar or round which people may or may not trust. That's why I only have junk and no private mint silver.
I did trade silver and collect as an armature . Watching economic conditions is raising alarm bells and I went down to a local shop that I frequented years ago and found they hang onto it now and do not sell any over there counter any longer . I asked if they would consider trading and yes but only high value collectable with you on the low side of any trade . I expect that to change with any paper problems going forward . Good Luck All
you make a good point of having stamped bars. the problem is it is easy to stamp your own metal bar, much more difficult to forge coinage after shtf. there will be many people who will not take payment other than barter for goods or labor.
Junk, constitutional, whatever, .... it’s silver and has value to those who value it just like everything else in this world. In economic prosperity or economic collapse you will only be able to barter with someone who values what you have to trade and that is based on the individual you are trying to barter with....how are you going to predict that?
You cannot predict anything but it is not unreasonable tot think that the dollar could crash. The USA keeps adding $2 trillion to debt EVERY year and the government keeps printing paper money with nothing to back it but "In God we trust" then how will people trade or barter? All forms of paper money were backed by gold until the "gold standard" disappeared in the 20th century (1971). Reverting back to coins is the most logical and historical prediction. Coins have been around for thousands of years. Silver has industrial and medical uses plus it is not recycled or reclaimed as gold or some other metals so there could be a time when silver will be more rare than gold.
During the Louisiana purchase, one ounce of silver purchased 45 acres of land. When the dollar collapses, it has been said that it may go back to or around to 38 or 39 acres.
I won't be able to change your mind, but you definitely gave me something to think about. Wasn't even aware of the "divisible" .999 bullion. Very cool. Going to start adding that to my junk stackage.
Very good points. I've thought myself during crunsh time how you would convince someone this is silver when it is nowhere marked on the coin. And the dollar has collapsed.
For me, I feel that junk silver is a billion dealer’s way of moving crappy conditioned coins that no one would want. As a numismatic guy, I’ve never cared about they silver content as I collected three cent nickels because of the history. Yes, silver is shiny, but that is an added bonus to the coin. However, if you gave me a 1971 half I would not take it because it is clad.
I am both a numismatic guy and a junk silver stacker. If the SHTF who are you going to sell your numismatic coins to? Also, insuring numismatic coins and especially large collections is nightmare because most insurance companies are clueless about coin collecting and how to appraise your collection. Junk silver is a liquid asset. A rare or "cool" coin collection is not a liquid asset even in the best of times. Selling a few coins is not the same as trying to sell all or a major part of your collection. The "premium" for numismatic coins can be 100%, 200%, or higher whereas the premium for junk silver is very low.
Hey man what you're calling junk silver in my opinion is a bunch of numismatic jewels to some people! I see some really nice Kennedy's and Mercury's that most guys that collect coins would gladly pay a premium for!! But I understand that you had to call it something so that people would understand you're not talking about bullion coins. Great video by the way, very informative.
No. They are commonly known the world over as "junk silver". Any circulated silver coin, with little to no numismatic value, is called "junk silver". They have been called that for over 30 years.
Jeff Green The reason it’s called junk is because of the bullion dealers. They sell the worst looking coins to stackers who only care about the premiums in the silver. Try calling pre-33 junk gold.
I have never heard or seen anyone in the business who genuinely cares about the fact that Junk Silver is 90% vs pure. In short, I've never had anyone see that as any kind of genuine impediment to its being owned. Also with regard to the perspectives of people today regarding junk silver vs. the perspectives of people in a post-collapse environment toward Silver is comparing apples & oranges. Lots of things are learned in a hurry during difficult times. Do you think that just because people don't generally know how to grow their own food today, gardening just won't take off during difficult times because it's too much to learn in too little time? Come on...really? The best idea is to have a diversified stack that is not reliant upon any one category of Silver. So have junk, 1oz. generic bullion rounds, bars, and government minted coins. Even include jewelry. This isn't rocket science. I think your arguments are quite weak actually. I think it will be the giant 1oz and above pure Silver rounds & coins that are the most likely to be faked and distrusted, but I wouldn't argue not to stack them on that basis. People that are buying 5, 10, and 100 oz. bars of Silver are the people that are going to have to endure extra scrutiny. I would stick with 1oz. being the largest Silver I owned unless it were some kind of poured art piece. And I would have a diverse stack like I talked about that also included 1/10 and 1/4 oz. coins and rounds of Gold. Those can be sown into pants, belts, shoes, and almost anything else to preserve wealth in a small space. There are weaknesses to everything. This is why you want diversification and redundancy. Debt free, cash stockpile, diversified Silver & Gold stockpile, and a prepared home with food, water, medical supplies, and a way to minimally protect all of it.
Funny, but a lot of people who stack silver also have emergency food and water, know how to raise a garden and/or hunt, and also stack things like ammunition and guns. In an SHTF scenario, all those things are going to be valuable.
So you prefer to coin roll hunt? Or to buy from LCS or online dealer? Personally i prefer to CRH, i also stack 1¢ copper coins. Its cheaper but does take a lot longer.
I think hunting would be a ton of fun! I just haven't really given it a shot yet - I hope to soon. What's the best size to start with you think? (I think the copper thing is really smart, but I'd rather try silver first!)
Silver Future halves quarters or dimes are what most people do, but that also means they are the hardest to find. in a $500 box of quarters you can maybe find 2-5 same with dimes and halves. And you can turn right around and take all the change back to the bank. Same deal with the pennies, just have to look for pre-1982 US Lincoln cents. Also not as popular to coin roll hunt are the 1942-1945 war nickels but they do contain 35% silver be aware some of the 1942 are not made of silver. But if it does have a large mint mark above the dome it is silver. Since these are not as popular to hunt there are a ridiculous amount out there. They sit at just under $1 in silver content.
I agree with all the points you made. I like junk but prefer 1 oz rounds and coins. If we ever go to a barter mode I'm sure there'll be lots of people making change for my 1 oz coins and then I'll have all I need.
I agree.... but do you know what year British junk went to 50%? Or when Mexico went to 72%? What about the sterling coins - and the 90%s or 40%s? I agree it's easy for us - because we know it! But what about the first two weeks when people are still figuring it out, how many people will be taken advantage of?
I view junk silver as an educational opportunity. Example: I give my grandsons a junk silver coin for their birthdays, Christmas and important benchmarks. Each grandchild is asked to do some research on the person on the coin or the years the coin was minted etc. So far it has been a success.
I don't like to hear it called "Junk" silver, however, I understand these coins got this unfortunate name because their value is in the material they are made of and not numismatic value, being circulated and thus worn. When you buy a bag of this silver coinage, it's highly unlikely that you will find a rare or highly valued coin in the lot. Well done video. Well thought out and presented.
You have some great points! I only stack 90% percent constitutional junk silver but not for the end times. I have rental homes and apartments for that. I do it for the same reason many do. For some reason, I hate the look of bars, bullion, generic rounds, eagles, pandas, Maple leafs,etc.
Yah, that is a really nice, fresh POV- thank you! Moral of the story- I'm gonna have to have both constitutional and rounds/bars in a barter with everyone situation.
Hate is what's wrong with this world. Thanks for the info. I'm now going to adjust my stack (a little). It does make sense to a degree. If you have the means to stack both, what could it hurt. If we don't come to the shtf situation, then coin shops etc. should recognize them??
The problem is they do have a numismatic value - people collect these. The "value" happens to be lower than the melt value. However, people will buy these for their collections due to rarity.
Some stackers want the Merc dimes and Barber halves, but if you're buying strictly for weight - Roosie dimes and JFK 1964 halves all day. Just stack 10 Merc dimes and 10 1964 90% dimes - it's evident that there's more of the good stuff in the later dimes. One thing I like about junk is that I need not worry about getting the fugazi.
All good points on your video. One thing that troubles me with junk silver, is that as many states are instituting laws that say Gold and Silver can be used as real money (although we know that it's the only real money out there), when buying and selling silver, everyone will know what an ounce of silver is going for. With junk silver, even if someone will accept it, how much value do they put on it. Between the years of 90%, 40%, and none, the difference denominations, thus weight, and the wear which means you have to have not only a scale but a calculator to determine the value, in a long line of people waiting to buy something, no vendor is going to deal with that. A bank might, but the pizza place, the convenience store, or your hair cutter are not going to know how to deal with it, and are not going to learn it from a person trying to give it to them.
Kennedy halves may be confusing as there are two different silver contents depending on year, but all Walker and Franklin halves are all 90% silver ... very easy for anyone to learn what they look like. As for quarters, again some confusion about silver content but at least they are easily divided between the 90 % pre65 and the 0% 65 and newer... the same as with the Roosevelt dimes, date being the key to separate the silver from the clad. But with dimes, the Mercury dimes need no such date distinction as all Mercs are 90% just like the Walker and Franklin halves. Not that complicated and people will catch on rather quickly.
People will learn quickly about the weight and fineness of various coins when the need arises. $1.40 face in pre-1965 dimes, quarters and halves is an ounce of silver. How complicated is that?
It is a personal preference. I suggest a good mix of dimes, quarters, and half dollars. Half dollars sometimes have a higher "premium" on them so you need to consider that.
Coin or bar it still comes down to the weight. Minted coins cannot be easily adulterated, BARS CAN BE AND ARE. AND TESTING A BAR IS A GUESS AT BEST, despite any markings.
I love Junk silver too, but pricing out a bag of $100 face value = 71.5 oz. and adding the tax worked out at $28.43 per oz cdn with free shipping , the Silver Maples in Canada were $25.per oz with no tax and free delivery with a $500 order. Our spot price now is $21.00. cdn.
Thanks for the video, I have been wondering the same thing, how will 90% coin fair in the future ? You touch on it but not as in-depth as I would of hoped, is there a place where you can melt them down now and turn them into .999 silver ?
Unfortunately it is illegal to melt down legal tender- and since these coins are still considered legal tender (although removed from circulation), they cannot be melted down - Sometimes, through an act of congress basically, they will take a large amount of these and melt them down for various projects, and those go through the treasury and the mint (I believe). In a world where a collapse has occurred though, I'd imagine people will melt whatever they want to melt though, 90%, generic, 50% all of those will be thrown into crucibles I'm sure. 90% may see a fair amount of hand swapping though - as people may recognize them and trust them to be silver!
thanks for your perspective. I'm starting to get into fractionals for the reasons you mention and have been equally "iffy" about junk. At the same time, it seems like a smart hedge just in case it is understood by a significant percent of the population. We can only speculate at this point anyway.
Mercs 4 Life. I don't have a lot of junk silver but I do collect them when I find them. I do collect the more numismatic Mercury Dimes because I love them. Its great to have so many options for people to collect whatever tickles their fancy.
You found a piece of CANDY! +1 POINT! (I have seen your mercs, and I really do think those are on another level of beauty! I just buy the cheap ones because I'm cheap!)
I wish more people were on the bartering system. Everyone talks about how much they could buy with silver if the economy took a dive, but first you'd either have to find someone to accept it, or find someone to buy it. You brought up a good point about the distrust in junk silver, but what about the distrust once people start using fake China bars? If it ever got to that point, most people wont have the knowledge of the specific gravity test, know what a troy ounce weighs, or some other reason. Like you said, you cant teach all this in a day to most people.
I think when faced with the situation people will learn real quickly but I actually agree with everything you just said , I've been stacking Australian 1945-1966 junk coins ,they were dropped to 50% and most Aussies know it ,the pre '45 junk coins were 92% but they're all a bit thin like you say so they'd be down on weight and I think your right they'd be sold by the bucket and probably not actually used as currency just melt
One thing the author misses is the need to assay anything that isn't a recognizable coin. Do I have a bar that says 1 oz silver? How does the other party KNOW that? OTOH, I have some known and recognizable coins, there is no doubt that they are X amount of silver once you weigh the coins.
You made some excellent points but--I don't believe that junk silver, legal tender coins will lose any of their value. The argument that it is not cost effective to melt down coins for their industrial silver value is based on the presumption that the economy collapses--at which point the demand for silver bullion in industry will be suppressed due to economic conditions--while the value of legal coinage with any silver content will increase against paper currency or clad/non precious metal coinage.
Thanks for the video. I thought is was interesting as I enjoy junk silver for the same reason as you. A bartering tool. I also like to like to hold it as well. On the other hand, I also like the beautiful silver rounds that one cant touch and buying nice bars. In general, I cant get bored with silver & gold and I try to keep a balanced number of numerousermatic , junque $ rounds to keep myself happy
Junk silver does NOT include Constitutional silver/real money! Junk refers to silverware, old jewelry, silver platters, anything other than coins/money. Sterling silver. I do not know why people keep referring to it as junk. You cannot use a silver fork top pay for a meal (yet).
In a dooms day scenario people who have things to trade/sell will quickly become familiar with junk silver as it will be the most easily recognizable silver product. I some times worry about buying bullion form obscure mints, i.e. not the US mint, because not everyone will be able to test the silver them selves, and it's pretty easy to counterfeit products from unfamiliar mints, especially the bars that look like they were poured by high school students.
A copy of "The Red Book of United States Coins" by R.S. Yeoman for about $15, can be a reliable source to easily educate the novice on the composition of any silver or gold US coin. They update and print new editions every year.
For prepping purposes, I think Mercury dimes are one of the better *alternatives* to high-premium fractional or breakable silver (not better, but are cheaper). They don't look enough like modern coins and yet are the smallest fraction (no big deal to have five for a single transaction if needed, but half dollars aren't much better than 1oz bullion). Washington quarters, Roosevelt dimes, and Kennedy Half dollars are imaginably a tough sell to convince someone when it looks just like modern then-worthless coinage; if I were in their shoes I wouldn't trust it, so I don't stack it. To me, having a small amount of walking liberty half dollars would help the convincing of a mercury dime being silver, as walking liberty coins look enough like the golden eagles that people recognize from TV ads. Having some rolls of *standard* quarters is still a very good prepping item to go along with standard paper cash, as standard cash would likely be the most useful for most emergency situations. Remember that having more than $40 physical cash when electricity is down is a pretty rare thing. Standard quarters could easily buy small supplies, and larger cash amounts to pay someone's rent (which over 35% of americans do not own housing) for most situations, or even if it is a complete breakdown situation (which most SHTF situations are not), would likely be accepted in the first days to weeks of the event.
You have a point there, now im thinking more if its a potential to collect silver coins for the collapse. But I love collecting coins not for the economy collapse but a personal thing.
Silver bars would be less trusted than the coins because there is a lot of Gold and Silver Bars that are plated and are fake unless it comes from a very reputable company you can TRUST , you would run into the same problem with the bars as you said would be the problem with the coins .
Because you most likely can keep your "own supplies" indefinitely and you will eventually run out of something and need to restock and how will you do that?
If silver were widely used in a barter economy, that “education gap” would close in about 30 seconds.
I 100% agree. People who think otherwise and underestimate the intelligence of the mass population will be the first to go.
Yes for s sure. People are.stupid. just look around !
How many non-stackers in the US would prefer a Britannia or a Philharmonic when bartering.
@@mfb3042 If people are trading silver for food I don't think they are going to care what country issued them, silver is silver at that point. I do think the security features of the Britannia or Maple would be nice.
My first coin buy was a 1879 Morgan AU I got for $3. I was so proud when I showed my dad that I was "investing" rather than blowing it on candy.
My dad blew up in a rage, calling me a moron, telling me he always knew I was an idiot. His point: "It's a D-O-L-L-A-R!!! ONE DOLLAR, and you paid three for it!? What an idiot!!!"
He assumed it was worth one dollar, period. This was 1966 BTW. After working on him, by 1968 he was helping me get rolls of dimes and quarters to search for the stray silver. Gladly it didn't take long to turn him around to the reality that his his trusted government was debasing his currency and not being too honest about it.
I sold all my pre-1980 collection when spot was high and started collecting again after the prices tanked. I have very few numismatic holdings, mostly junk and bars/rounds. Nothing is as satisfying as pouring out a heap of silver and running your hands through it, making that beautiful ringing sound only silver can do...
Thanks for posting the vids, I enjoy them. Great info, I encourage you to keep it up.
Thats an incredible story! I am glad he turned around too, many people don't! They refuse to! Let's hope they catch on sooner than later haha. I appreciate you sharing with me, and that was a great strategy, well done!
I've been the local evangelist for collecting pre-1982 pennies, too. Everywhere I go I check my pennies in change in front of the cashier (and any other customers) explaining the change to zinc in 1982. I have gotten a proprietor of a store I frequent collecting them himself.
In 1982 when the change was announced I got a huge, 25 gallon glass bottle, the kind some caustic chemical was transported in, and began filling with every 1981 and earlier penny I got my hands on. It's about 75 pounds of pennies now.
I keep 1882 pennies separately, awaiting the day I get off my duff and get a scale to separate out the copper from the zinc. I also keep 1983s in yet another bottle, (an old milk bottle) to one day hopefully find that stray 83 that got struck on a copper planchet. One was found recently so I started saving them. I wish I had saved them along with the pre 81's since day one...
I also keep every nickel I get in another bottle, I started that in 2004 when I read there's about 8 cents of metal in every nickel.
I go out of my way to insure I'll get pennies and nickels in my change, eg I'll pump $19.95 worth of gas to get the nickel in change, or if the mood strikes I'll go for the 4 pennies pumping $19.96.
I know for sure the one store owner saves pennies. I have a feeling there may be one or two others who've taken up the sport at my urging. It's a great conversation starter.
And for general conversation on the nature of money I always carry a silver dollar, usually my trusty 1922 peace dollar. Some of the teens and twenty-somethings manning cash registers have been fascinated by the topic. Unfortunately they are a tiny minority. Most look at me like I have three heads, looking like they want to say "who cares!" but don't, probably because they are too lazy to make the effort to speak outside the dialogue of the business at hand.
There's one more kit I have assembled for those days I'm feeling particularly motivated, it consisgts of huge denomination zinc German marks dated 1923, when their runaway inflation rendered billion mark notes worthless between 9 AM when they were printed and 5 PM when they were paid to workers as salary. It also has 1915 silver marks and a 1923 US peace dollar.
The zinc Marks were never circulated as they were worthless the moment they rolled off the presses. They are large in size but light as paper, the denominations are 100 and 500 Marks.
If time permits (and especially if I have an "audience" in line) I'll place the tiny silver 1 Mark (or the 1916 silver 1/2 Mark in the kit) and the zinc 500 Mark coion on the counter and ask which the clerk would take if i offered them. 99.999% pick the 500 Mark coin.
Then I explain in 1916 the 1/2 Mark would get you a loaf of bread and you'd get change back. (pfennigs) But the 500 Mark coin was totally useless in 1923, from the very day it was stamped. I then whip out the billion and trillion Mark notes I have in the kit and a picture of people carrying heaps of them in wheelbarrows on their way to buy bread before the whole load of them becomes worthless.
Nothing says "inflation" like a crisp 5 trillion Mark note in your hands.
I explain wives would go to their husband's place of work several times a day to collect pay, which at the peak of the inflation was paid frequently throughout the day as larger and larger denominated notes hit circulation on just about an hourly basis.
I end it all with the fact that the federal reserve is neither federal nor any reserve of anything of value. I also has a $2 federal reserve note and a $2 United States Note in my kit to bolster that topic.
I never wear out my welcome, usually only getting a few choice tidbits to get folks thinking, though people always want to handle the coins and notes if they have the time.
Of course a convenience store at 7 AM isn't an ideal place and time to bring this up, but in more leisurely venues I often get a full scale classroom going with the cashier and others shopping in the place.
Good news is recently I find a lot more people are aware of things like the federal reserve and our money system being a dangerous joke. Many know the official story of the fed's 'failure' to prevent the "Great Depression," despite this being the ONE TASK it had on it's plate, is bogus. Many are aware the story that the fed was created to prevent monetary mayhem is a lie.
I even encounter young folks, in their early twenties, who know intricate facts of history such as the fed actually makes it possible to inflate or deflate the money supply at will for political purposes, and that world wars, cold wars, the whole 'military-industrial complex' couldn't exist without a money-from-thin-air factory that is the federal reserve.
I've been an evangelist for honest money for decades. I appreciate your videos, they're a great tool I can point people to to fill them in and get them motivated to learn more about silver.or filling in some pertinent facts about where this honest money stands these days. Keep 'em coming!
catw0rld I bet in 1966 you could find so much silver!
You'd be surprised, many people had already hoarded them by '66. We did find a few, but the mints flooded the market with the clads and in bank rolls that's just about all you got. It was more likely to find silver in rolls people had rolled up themselves and brought to the bank. We tried to get as many of those as we could.
Of course Kennedy halves were 40% silver so we stockpiled a few rolls of them.
I was collecting in 1966 and you could get silver in your change every purchase and up to 1972 the banks still had solid rolls of silver and that is how I ended up with so much because I was hoarding it big time. Maybe it was different where catworld lived but here in california the silver was everywhere.
I do not call it junk Silver , its Constitutional Silver. Since it states all money must be made of gold or silver
I, too, don't like the "junk" term very much - but it just rolls of the tongue so well!
it's called junk because it's sold by silver content, when silver prices go up drastically there is a increase in refining and melting scrap and junk... historically it's the reason many coins are so rare, because they were worth so much more as scrap at some point in history they were melting down by the 100,000s
Junk straight up junk lmfao
fertgjhftydykg
roggie77777 no where in the constitution does it state all money must be made of gold and silver. That’s completely false. It says the government has the ability to issue its own currency whether it be gold silver or debt free notes(aka fiat money).
The only folks worth bartering with (at first) will be folks who are already knowledgeable about 90%. That knowledge will inevitably spread as the unprepared begin looking to the prepared for guidance.
Haha, good point! ; )
As someone who know nothing about silver coins or silver bars, I would be more likely to believe a tired, used, old coin having silver in it than some shiny new thing I had never seen before. Fool's gold is all I think of when I see something that "says" how much silver is in it. I know some coins used to have silver in them and I don't think it would take me or others long to get up to speed on what dates are real.
You say it all in your first sentence....
Just remember 64 and before(1964)
Yes,as silver goes up it will become very profitable to produce fake bars,rounds etc
@@sebofcourse6598 lol. For real.
It's Mutually agreed!...Stack on till the break of dawn my friend,because the End is now near.✌🤓
Junk is King! Easily recognizable, rarely counterfeited and easily divisible.
Coins at a time when a dime was a dime, and a dame was a dame. Oh, the mammories.
Wow!
....It's Mutually agreed!
I have lots of 999 fine, but lately I have been buying nothing but 90% silver.
Junk silver is much more trustworthy than silver bars.
Junk silver also has it Face Value.
and people are Quick learners .
Additionally everyone is not going to be carrying aroung gold,and silver testing kits with them 24-7 .
Junk silver is King!!.
I stopped buying rounds and eagles lately. Junk all the way (and gold)
Great info! Junk silver is just nice to have!
Heard that! thanks for stopping by!
I guess my argument is that my daughters were able to figure this all out at a really young age. If it is out of necessity the math will be quickly figured out by those that need to. Also to make things a lot easier just go with Mercs and Walkers, no need to worry about pre/post, silver vs clad with the same design or 40% vs. 90% etc. You hand someone a Merc or a Walker and it will be a lot more convincing than a broken off piece of some completely unknown fractional. A HUGE plus is the premiums that cyclically hit the junk market, over 45% mark up a few years ago. Load up when no premium, sell when the spread gets right...Mercs are the first to go! Mercs 4 Life!
Yep, Mercs and Walkers are all 90% silver no matter what date they are but don't forget about the Franklins ... all 90% ... every one ever made.
I think people will learn extremely fast if and when silver and gold become the predominant currency. I know I did.
If you plan to barter, you need to buy a precious metals detector (I own a Sigma Metalytics). If you think it will be hard to convince someone that an old half dollar is real silver, how will you convince them that a shiny 1 oz bar from some company they never heard of is truly made of silver? The market has too much fake silver. Luckily, I haven't bought any so far.
“In the beginning phases“… That line made me smile. When the Fiat game comes to an abrupt end, there will be no warning… It will happen overnight and markets will crash around the world… The United States is the last great haven for investors… We are not in negative interest territory yet… Although interest rates are low we are better than the rest of the world. As the Chinese begin to lose manufacturing back to individual countries who decide to mechanize and use robotics in order to return production work back home, they will not be the formidable force they appear to be. The reality of Fiat currency is that they all eventually fail. We have seen individual countries fail but we have never seen the entire globe go down at once… This will be triggered by the United States… Could be 10 years… Could be 100 years. The truth is, there won’t be any warning signs other than the ones you currently see. It is a game of shifting numbers and eventually all options are exhausted and there was a worldwide debt reset and the game starts anew.
You only need enough to survive a short period of time while the economies are reformed and the banking engine gets restarted… Gold, silver, Rolex, and Ass. Those are the four things you will be able to sell in a down economy to meet your immediate needs. It won’t matter if it’s dirty silver clean silver… It will barter well.
I agree and silver rounds and silver bars are already counterfeited when silver is cheap so it is logical to expect that counterfeiting will dramatically increase when the demand for silver increases. "Constitutional" / "junk" silver is harder to counterfeit and has a stiffer penalty than silver rounds or bards. Junk silver is also more recognizable to the average American than the hundreds or thousands of silver rounds / bars that currently exist.
"Mercs 4 life" - for thousands of years 1/10th of an ounce was pay for a day's labor, and that is right up to the open of the 20th century
You found a piece of CANDY! +1 POINT! (Thats insane, it's crazy to think about how devalued our fiat system has become)
A Johnson course now if they did that people would be paid in hundreds of ounces of silver a month even if you only make 1600
Much of the world only makes 1-2 dollars a day, so technically the 1/10th oz thing kinda still holds true
does a silver dime have 1/10 oz of silver?
No 0.0732 OZ or approx. 1/13th oz.
my niece is 8 and was able to learn to look for 1964 silver coins. she thinks they're real cool! if the S really HTF people will learn this fast!
Thats awesome KickingGeese! What a smart girl! But what about British coins? They had years of 92.5%, 50%, and some years with 0%! These are dates that are much harder to learn!
As far as I know, pre 1920 British coins were 92.5% silver and up until 1947 were 50% silver.
Steve Crossley Right, but be careful: there are real pre-1920s out there but, there are fake ones from China out there, too !
pre 1920 canadian silver were .925 also. actually canadian junk silver has 3 purities .
1858-1919 .925
1920-1967 .800
1967-1968 .500(dimes and quarters only)
Silver Future That’s why people should only care about their country’s coins as a stacker. If you want to get smart with British coins, only buy sovereigns. They are gold and will always be gold.
No one is ever compensated for the copper content when selling "junk" silver
Or Krugers lol I want my 0.065 cents dammit
It sure would be easier to learn, recognize, and trust a pre-1965 coin that rings rather than the multitudes of bars, rounds and trinkets that may look like some state fair bauble with a picture of a stage coach, skull, or naked girl just because it says it is a certain weight silver. I would take the "junk" silver coins myself much, much, much more readily as a form of payment than your piece of bar and I would guess the others would do the same.
This is why I'm rather picky with my silver bullion. I dont buy any of that trash. Stick to junk (mercs and half dollars for easy silver recognition rather than coins where dates must be checked), Eagles, Maples, and Sunshine Mint silver bars and rounds with the SI mintmark decoder lens. Gotta think about making a noob feel secure that it's really silver
Why is it only you and me who understand this?
@TheStefaner
Agreed (especially on the Mercs and non-Kennedy halves--an important piece that I believe truly matters even if there is more wear). I disagree on avoiding paper contracts though. Combine. I enjoy buying low and shorting with my ETFs. A "precious metals basket" (mixed % portfolio) is a great hedge and can be used for easy and quick manipulation. That being said, I think you are brilliant for buying the Mercs and non-Kennedy halves. These "junk" pieces are (IMHO) going to be worth more than the newer pre 1965 coins for their antiquity and instant silver identity. Your comment made my day!
People aren’t as stupid as you think, in a time of economic upheaval they will figure it out very quickly.
I love my War Nickels. Have a huge stack of'em and they are the smallest fractional, silver content-wise. I think people would catch on pretty quick if we ever needed to barter/trade with silver/gold but probably the 1964 or earlier Nickels would trick many people before they realized only the War Nickels are silver.
My constitutional collection.
1. Peace Dollars
2. Morgan Dollars
Back when gasoline was four dollars a gallon I recall the local gas station accepting junk silver for payment...forgot the silver price they advertised, something like $.75 or a dollar in junk silver
Thats crazy! Someone was telling me today he used to go to the bank and swap out nickels for hours - trying to find the dates he wanted (war nickels)! What a clever man.
I remember that too. Was a silver dime for a gallon of gas back in the first arab embargo
This video came up in my feed and it was my introduction to your channel. Great argument for the "junk" coins. I'm very much looking forward to your future videos, and am now a subscriber. Thank you, and excuse me while I binge watch your previous vids! 👍
Wow The Sierra Illustrator - I am so happy you enjoyed it, and thank you so much for the kind words, I am always happy to meet someone new!
That is one of the advantages of living in Australia. Our coins lost their silver content when we switched to decimal currency. So that means all silver coloured coins in the old denominations like shillings and pence are 50 or 92.5%
I think that because they are significantly different to current coins and no one has in mind a set buying power of 2 shillings then they will accept the higher melt value more easily.
In the US you will have more resistance because in an ordinary persons mind they know the very limited buying power of a dime. It's going to be hard to swallow that a junk silver dime is worth so much more.
You have a good point teatowel - we never really changed the names, in fact most people here don't even know the difference in metal content between a 2017 and a 1963 dime - because they look the same (aside from the silver of course)
I had a yard sale. An illegal Mexican immigrant, habla no ingles woman bought a toy ceramic cowboy boot trinket for 3.00.
She poured 12 silver quarters in my hand and ran away. Gracias mi muchachita! Arriba Arriba!!
Hoblo englas?
Donda esta el bano?
Dang, I always hear about these "cha-ching" moments - I had a buddy who found a bunch of standers in a roll of quarters for laundry, my day will come soon =P
I used to work in a bank and an old lady came in with $10 in silver dimes. I felt bad and asked if she was sure she wanted to swap it out and she was like, "honey I'm not getting any younger." I ended up buying it out at the end of my shift and that started my collection.
And then everyone at the yard sale clapped.
You made some great points. .999 vs junk silver. Additionally I would say junk silver would require more work refining it for industrial use, which in turn will lower its value. Stick with .999 or higher silver ;)
Understand where your coming from but I'd have to disagree as gold 14k 18k 24k krugerands are sold by weight of pm content regardless of alloy. Don't over look cheap junk if you see good deals man. The cost of separating the alloyed metals is low and would be negligible if it gets to them buying our investment grade for industrial use like whats going on w catalytic converters. Just my opinion good stacking
Great video! Long time prepper, but new to the silver game. I appreciated your insight. Do you recommend any other videos for on the subject of common sense stacking for the average Joe prepper?
Watching The Horizon I like silver stacking 101 and the overtaxed taxpayer channels. Good, down to earth guys.
Where did you hear junk silver wasnt taxable as a capitol gain if sold at a profit???? ive been involved in this about 15 yrs and never heard of it.I read & watch vids endlessly.Dying to know...its no trivial matter.
Your points are valid. I like numismatics for wealth preservation. I like junk silver for bartering. I just want to have enough to be prepared!
Good video. Your points are valid. I mainly purchase 1 oz .9999 silver coins, but also bought junk silver and plan to purchase more.
Where do I go to purchase "junk" silver?
So far, I have 10, plastic sealed, 10 oz silver bars and 12 sealed 1 ounce silver rounds.
I bought some estate silver lots with uncirculated pre 1965 silver dimes and quarters that are sealed in white cardboard/plastic window cases.
But I don't have anything I can actually touch directly. So I'd like to start getting my hands on this "junk" silver, but idk where to get it.
I diversify into all areas..I have several ounces of gold and over 100 oz silver and collect junk. I grew up with "junk" and lived on it for years as a youth. I liked what you had to say so keep up the comments and your experiences.
Article 1, section 10, U.S. Constitution: "No state shall make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debt." It's not only history, it's the law!
Unfortunately we don't play by the rules here in the US - maybe one day...
Silver is silver is silver.
Glad I found your Channel. I am new to this and want to know as many perspectives as possible
The problem with silver bars is counterfieting. US coins say a lot compared to a private mint bar or round which people may or may not trust. That's why I only have junk and no private mint silver.
in silver shortage, there is the smelt cost that anyone buying from you would have to consider with coins containing 10% copper.
I did trade silver and collect as an armature . Watching economic conditions is raising alarm bells and I went down to a local shop that I frequented years ago and found they hang onto it now and do not sell any over there counter any longer . I asked if they would consider trading and yes but only high value collectable with you on the low side of any trade . I expect that to change with any paper problems going forward . Good Luck All
you make a good point of having stamped bars. the problem is it is easy to stamp your own metal bar, much more difficult to forge coinage after shtf. there will be many people who will not take payment other than barter for goods or labor.
Junk, constitutional, whatever, .... it’s silver and has value to those who value it just like everything else in this world. In economic prosperity or economic collapse you will only be able to barter with someone who values what you have to trade and that is based on the individual you are trying to barter with....how are you going to predict that?
You cannot predict anything but it is not unreasonable tot think that the dollar could crash. The USA keeps adding $2 trillion to debt EVERY year and the government keeps printing paper money with nothing to back it but "In God we trust" then how will people trade or barter? All forms of paper money were backed by gold until the "gold standard" disappeared in the 20th century (1971). Reverting back to coins is the most logical and historical prediction. Coins have been around for thousands of years. Silver has industrial and medical uses plus it is not recycled or reclaimed as gold or some other metals so there could be a time when silver will be more rare than gold.
During the Louisiana purchase, one ounce of silver purchased 45 acres of land. When the dollar collapses, it has been said that it may go back to or around to 38 or 39 acres.
I won't be able to change your mind, but you definitely gave me something to think about. Wasn't even aware of the "divisible" .999 bullion. Very cool. Going to start adding that to my junk stackage.
Very good points. I've thought myself during crunsh time how you would convince someone this is silver when it is nowhere marked on the coin. And the dollar has collapsed.
Mercs for life 👌👌 gotta luv em ! Love all junk though..especially Walking Liberty Half
You found a piece of CANDY! +1 POINT! (JFKs are my favorite for sure, I dont know why - maybe because of the sweet, sweet gleem!)
My favorite is the barber.
Junkiest of the junk??? I love 1964 halves because they are usually in great condition with very little wear.
Agreed...I've got a bag full..
For me, I feel that junk silver is a billion dealer’s way of moving crappy conditioned coins that no one would want. As a numismatic guy, I’ve never cared about they silver content as I collected three cent nickels because of the history. Yes, silver is shiny, but that is an added bonus to the coin. However, if you gave me a 1971 half I would not
take it because it is clad.
I am both a numismatic guy and a junk silver stacker. If the SHTF who are you going to sell your numismatic coins to? Also, insuring numismatic coins and especially large collections is nightmare because most insurance companies are clueless about coin collecting and how to appraise your collection. Junk silver is a liquid asset. A rare or "cool" coin collection is not a liquid asset even in the best of times. Selling a few coins is not the same as trying to sell all or a major part of your collection. The "premium" for numismatic coins can be 100%, 200%, or higher whereas the premium for junk silver is very low.
Hey man what you're calling junk silver in my opinion is a bunch of numismatic jewels to some people! I see some really nice Kennedy's and Mercury's that most guys that collect coins would gladly pay a premium for!! But I understand that you had to call it something so that people would understand you're not talking about bullion coins. Great video by the way, very informative.
No. They are commonly known the world over as "junk silver". Any circulated silver coin, with little to no numismatic value, is called "junk silver". They have been called that for over 30 years.
bigwo56 Yea, that 64 quarter looks beautiful.
antique not junk. Still works on bus.
Jeff Green The reason it’s called junk is because of the bullion dealers. They sell the worst looking coins to stackers who only care about the premiums in the silver. Try calling pre-33 junk gold.
I have never heard or seen anyone in the business who genuinely cares about the fact that Junk Silver is 90% vs pure. In short, I've never had anyone see that as any kind of genuine impediment to its being owned. Also with regard to the perspectives of people today regarding junk silver vs. the perspectives of people in a post-collapse environment toward Silver is comparing apples & oranges. Lots of things are learned in a hurry during difficult times. Do you think that just because people don't generally know how to grow their own food today, gardening just won't take off during difficult times because it's too much to learn in too little time? Come on...really? The best idea is to have a diversified stack that is not reliant upon any one category of Silver. So have junk, 1oz. generic bullion rounds, bars, and government minted coins. Even include jewelry. This isn't rocket science. I think your arguments are quite weak actually. I think it will be the giant 1oz and above pure Silver rounds & coins that are the most likely to be faked and distrusted, but I wouldn't argue not to stack them on that basis. People that are buying 5, 10, and 100 oz. bars of Silver are the people that are going to have to endure extra scrutiny. I would stick with 1oz. being the largest Silver I owned unless it were some kind of poured art piece. And I would have a diverse stack like I talked about that also included 1/10 and 1/4 oz. coins and rounds of Gold. Those can be sown into pants, belts, shoes, and almost anything else to preserve wealth in a small space. There are weaknesses to everything. This is why you want diversification and redundancy. Debt free, cash stockpile, diversified Silver & Gold stockpile, and a prepared home with food, water, medical supplies, and a way to minimally protect all of it.
☝🤝
I knew nothing about junk silver and it only took me 3 days to understand everything.
See, I'm the guy that's got a stockpile of sandwiches. When the world ends, I'm going to be swimming in silver.
You've got quite the plan ! Better get a big freezer!
And a generator, Great Video.
Brilliant! Less of a premium on bread right now.
Toilet Paper
Funny, but a lot of people who stack silver also have emergency food and water, know how to raise a garden and/or hunt, and also stack things like ammunition and guns. In an SHTF scenario, all those things are going to be valuable.
So you prefer to coin roll hunt? Or to buy from LCS or online dealer?
Personally i prefer to CRH, i also stack 1¢ copper coins. Its cheaper but does take a lot longer.
I think hunting would be a ton of fun! I just haven't really given it a shot yet - I hope to soon. What's the best size to start with you think? (I think the copper thing is really smart, but I'd rather try silver first!)
Silver Future halves quarters or dimes are what most people do, but that also means they are the hardest to find. in a $500 box of quarters you can maybe find 2-5 same with dimes and halves. And you can turn right around and take all the change back to the bank.
Same deal with the pennies, just have to look for pre-1982 US Lincoln cents.
Also not as popular to coin roll hunt are the 1942-1945 war nickels but they do contain 35% silver be aware some of the 1942 are not made of silver. But if it does have a large mint mark above the dome it is silver.
Since these are not as popular to hunt there are a ridiculous amount out there. They sit at just under $1 in silver content.
cannot argue with reason and logic...nice summary.
bang zoom - thanks for stopping in! And for the kind words =]
I agree with all the points you made. I like junk but prefer 1 oz rounds and coins. If we ever go to a barter mode I'm sure there'll be lots of people making change for my 1 oz coins and then I'll have all I need.
Thing is I remember learning this when I was like 7. Never forgot it. It's not that complicated
I agree.... but do you know what year British junk went to 50%? Or when Mexico went to 72%? What about the sterling coins - and the 90%s or 40%s? I agree it's easy for us - because we know it! But what about the first two weeks when people are still figuring it out, how many people will be taken advantage of?
Picked up a roll of Washington quarters today.
Heck yea Italian G! You know how much I love those bad boys
I view junk silver as an educational opportunity. Example: I give my grandsons a junk silver coin for their birthdays, Christmas and important benchmarks. Each grandchild is asked to do some research on the person on the coin or the years the coin was minted etc. So far it has been a success.
I don't like to hear it called "Junk" silver, however, I understand these coins got this unfortunate name because their value is in the material they are made of and not numismatic value, being circulated and thus worn. When you buy a bag of this silver coinage, it's highly unlikely that you will find a rare or highly valued coin in the lot. Well done video. Well thought out and presented.
You have some great points! I only stack 90% percent constitutional junk silver but not for the end times. I have rental homes and apartments for that. I do it for the same reason many do. For some reason, I hate the look of bars, bullion, generic rounds, eagles, pandas, Maple leafs,etc.
"...these are exempt from Capital Gains taxes...".
Hmmmmm.
BTW, I totally just love 1964 Kennedy 1/2 dollars....
.....and Washington quarters from '64 or earlier!
Yah, that is a really nice, fresh POV- thank you! Moral of the story- I'm gonna have to have both constitutional and rounds/bars in a barter with everyone situation.
Hate is what's wrong with this world. Thanks for the info. I'm now going to adjust my stack (a little). It does make sense to a degree. If you have the means to stack both, what could it hurt. If we don't come to the shtf situation, then coin shops etc. should recognize them??
The problem is they do have a numismatic value - people collect these. The "value" happens to be lower than the melt value. However, people will buy these for their collections due to rarity.
Some stackers want the Merc dimes and Barber halves, but if you're buying strictly for weight - Roosie dimes and JFK 1964 halves all day. Just stack 10 Merc dimes and 10 1964 90% dimes - it's evident that there's more of the good stuff in the later dimes. One thing I like about junk is that I need not worry about getting the fugazi.
All good points on your video. One thing that troubles me with junk silver, is that as many states are instituting laws that say Gold and Silver can be used as real money (although we know that it's the only real money out there), when buying and selling silver, everyone will know what an ounce of silver is going for. With junk silver, even if someone will accept it, how much value do they put on it. Between the years of 90%, 40%, and none, the difference denominations, thus weight, and the wear which means you have to have not only a scale but a calculator to determine the value, in a long line of people waiting to buy something, no vendor is going to deal with that. A bank might, but the pizza place, the convenience store, or your hair cutter are not going to know how to deal with it, and are not going to learn it from a person trying to give it to them.
Kennedy halves may be confusing as there are two different silver contents depending on year, but all Walker and Franklin halves are all 90% silver ... very easy for anyone to learn what they look like. As for quarters, again some confusion about silver content but at least they are easily divided between the 90 % pre65 and the 0% 65 and newer... the same as with the Roosevelt dimes, date being the key to separate the silver from the clad. But with dimes, the Mercury dimes need no such date distinction as all Mercs are 90% just like the Walker and Franklin halves. Not that complicated and people will catch on rather quickly.
I love collecting silver in any shape or form that I can afford to buy. Coins, bars and jewelry. I love the hunt!
People will learn quickly about the weight and fineness of various coins when the need arises. $1.40 face in pre-1965 dimes, quarters and halves is an ounce of silver. How complicated is that?
I like constitutional silver too, but what percent do you like to try to keep as a goal (break down) in each -dimes, quarters and halves? Thanks
It is a personal preference. I suggest a good mix of dimes, quarters, and half dollars. Half dollars sometimes have a higher "premium" on them so you need to consider that.
Now that the end times are here and there’s no silver to be had. How easy was it to swap that junk for bullion
great point of reality. Money must be trusted.
Li Ocean - well put!
Nice video but I don't know if "purifying" the silver will be that bug a deal as it will have been melted and "purified" anyway.
You could be right! I think there is a little more work required to remove the copper content, but who knows - it may be insignificant!
Coin or bar it still comes down to the weight. Minted coins cannot be easily adulterated, BARS CAN BE AND ARE. AND TESTING A BAR IS A GUESS AT BEST, despite any markings.
I love Junk silver too, but pricing out a bag of $100 face value = 71.5 oz. and adding the tax worked out at $28.43 per oz cdn with free shipping , the Silver Maples in Canada were $25.per oz with no tax and free delivery with a $500 order. Our spot price now is $21.00. cdn.
Thanks for the video, I have been wondering the same thing, how will 90% coin fair in the future ? You touch on it but not as in-depth as I would of hoped, is there a place where you can melt them down now and turn them into .999 silver ?
Unfortunately it is illegal to melt down legal tender- and since these coins are still considered legal tender (although removed from circulation), they cannot be melted down - Sometimes, through an act of congress basically, they will take a large amount of these and melt them down for various projects, and those go through the treasury and the mint (I believe). In a world where a collapse has occurred though, I'd imagine people will melt whatever they want to melt though, 90%, generic, 50% all of those will be thrown into crucibles I'm sure. 90% may see a fair amount of hand swapping though - as people may recognize them and trust them to be silver!
thanks for your perspective. I'm starting to get into fractionals for the reasons you mention and have been equally "iffy" about junk. At the same time, it seems like a smart hedge just in case it is understood by a significant percent of the population. We can only speculate at this point anyway.
I've met people who put standing liberties in washing machines, it's scary! Thanks for watching my friend
If silver were widely used in a barter economy, that “education gap” would close in about 30 seconds.-WELL CERTAINLY NOT MORE THAN 30 HOURS.
AWESOME video.Thank you
Mercs 4 Life. I don't have a lot of junk silver but I do collect them when I find them. I do collect the more numismatic Mercury Dimes because I love them. Its great to have so many options for people to collect whatever tickles their fancy.
You found a piece of CANDY! +1 POINT! (I have seen your mercs, and I really do think those are on another level of beauty! I just buy the cheap ones because I'm cheap!)
You make a very good point!!!
In my opinion this is why you clean you’re junk it’s more convincing when shiny
I wish more people were on the bartering system. Everyone talks about how much they could buy with silver if the economy took a dive, but first you'd either have to find someone to accept it, or find someone to buy it. You brought up a good point about the distrust in junk silver, but what about the distrust once people start using fake China bars? If it ever got to that point, most people wont have the knowledge of the specific gravity test, know what a troy ounce weighs, or some other reason. Like you said, you cant teach all this in a day to most people.
great video, how do you log your junk when you have so much of it? I don't know how to do it.... to much junk to wrote on paper...
Silver Future I'm terrible with computers lol.
where did you get this breakable silver bar?
I think when faced with the situation people will learn real quickly but I actually agree with everything you just said , I've been stacking Australian 1945-1966 junk coins ,they were dropped to 50% and most Aussies know it ,the pre '45 junk coins were 92% but they're all a bit thin like you say so they'd be down on weight and I think your right they'd be sold by the bucket and probably not actually used as currency just melt
One thing the author misses is the need to assay anything that isn't a recognizable coin. Do I have a bar that says 1 oz silver? How does the other party KNOW that? OTOH, I have some known and recognizable coins, there is no doubt that they are X amount of silver once you weigh the coins.
You made some excellent points but--I don't believe that junk silver, legal tender coins will lose any of their value. The argument that it is not cost effective to melt down coins for their industrial silver value is based on the presumption that the economy collapses--at which point the demand for silver bullion in industry will be suppressed due to economic conditions--while the value of legal coinage with any silver content will increase against paper currency or clad/non precious metal coinage.
Thanks for the video. I thought is was interesting as I enjoy junk silver for the same reason as you. A bartering
tool. I also like to like to hold it as well. On the other hand, I also like the beautiful silver rounds that one cant
touch and buying nice bars. In general, I cant get bored with silver & gold and I try to keep a balanced number
of numerousermatic , junque $ rounds to keep myself happy
People will learn what they need to learn. Fast. I just like it because it is cool looking. :)) Thank you and take care. Almost forgot "Mercs 4 Life"
Good job Paul =P I think you're the only one so far playing my new game!
Junk silver does NOT include Constitutional silver/real money! Junk refers to silverware, old jewelry, silver platters, anything other than coins/money. Sterling silver.
I do not know why people keep referring to it as junk. You cannot use a silver fork top pay for a meal (yet).
In a dooms day scenario people who have things to trade/sell will quickly become familiar with junk silver as it will be the most easily recognizable silver product. I some times worry about buying bullion form obscure mints, i.e. not the US mint, because not everyone will be able to test the silver them selves, and it's pretty easy to counterfeit products from unfamiliar mints, especially the bars that look like they were poured by high school students.
Good points. It gives the viewer some food for thought on the subject.
Thanks Silver Bear! I still love my junk - no matter the argument!
Great video and points to consider
You can buy junk silver in by and AU condition. You can talk with the dealer if you by enough. They will learn quick enough under a barter system.
A copy of "The Red Book of United States Coins" by R.S. Yeoman for about $15, can be a reliable source to easily educate the novice on the composition of any silver or gold US coin. They update and print new editions every year.
I love Franklin halves; they often have minimal wear and tear.
Excellent video! Thank you!
For prepping purposes, I think Mercury dimes are one of the better *alternatives* to high-premium fractional or breakable silver (not better, but are cheaper). They don't look enough like modern coins and yet are the smallest fraction (no big deal to have five for a single transaction if needed, but half dollars aren't much better than 1oz bullion).
Washington quarters, Roosevelt dimes, and Kennedy Half dollars are imaginably a tough sell to convince someone when it looks just like modern then-worthless coinage; if I were in their shoes I wouldn't trust it, so I don't stack it.
To me, having a small amount of walking liberty half dollars would help the convincing of a mercury dime being silver, as walking liberty coins look enough like the golden eagles that people recognize from TV ads.
Having some rolls of *standard* quarters is still a very good prepping item to go along with standard paper cash, as standard cash would likely be the most useful for most emergency situations. Remember that having more than $40 physical cash when electricity is down is a pretty rare thing. Standard quarters could easily buy small supplies, and larger cash amounts to pay someone's rent (which over 35% of americans do not own housing) for most situations, or even if it is a complete breakdown situation (which most SHTF situations are not), would likely be accepted in the first days to weeks of the event.
I think you made some good points. I like ASE and 90% silver coins. Cool Silver bar that you can break into pieces. Love that! 😊
You have a point there, now im thinking more if its a potential to collect silver coins for the collapse. But I love collecting coins not for the economy collapse but a personal thing.
Silver bars would be less trusted than the coins because there is a lot of Gold and Silver Bars that are plated and are fake unless it comes from a very reputable company you can TRUST , you would run into the same problem with the bars as you said would be the problem with the coins .
If we were to barter why would I take a coin or bar that has no value to me instead of keeping my own supplies?
Because you most likely can keep your "own supplies" indefinitely and you will eventually run out of something and need to restock and how will you do that?
@@danforthrhodes8960 yeah, but who's making anything to buy when the currency collapses. Everything would stop flowing?
I like the sound it makes when I slap it around
Ohhhh yea!