Condition of 90%, 80% etc... junk silver
 

I was wondering what some people consider acceptable as junk silver coins when ordering from a coin shop, online, etc...

How many of you are getting coins that are so badly worn that the date is not at all visible, or in some cases almost worn smooth on both sides to a slug?

Is there an acceptable limit on what you would consider a fair transaction?

Re: Condition of 90%, 80% etc... junk silver
 

Weigh it. You should be close to 715 contained pure ounces per sack. What's a reasonable variation? You must decide.

'cubed

Re: Condition of 90%, 80% etc... junk silver
 

To me, acceptable is VF or better. If there are a few slicks in the mix but overall they're in good shape, I don't mind. But I do prefer to buy my 90% by weight, not face value for this very reason. TheSkeptic sold his junk silver this way and was harassed for trying to rip people off.

Re: Condition of 90%, 80% etc... junk silver
 

Yep the 715 is the magic number. In any bag you'll find the full extreme from BU condition (for 1960's coins) to really worn specimens. The key is to get 0.715 net troy ounces of silver per $1 face. As long as the coins gross weight comes to 0.795 troy ounces per $1 face, you are getting the 0.715 net silver amount that is considered acceptable for junk silver.

Re: Condition of 90%, 80% etc... junk silver
 

IIRC, he was trying to use the gross weight as the silver weight among some other discrepancies. I dont think it was done maliciously, but it is what it is.

People can't even count the face value right, how do you expect them to get the weight right? One of the parties would need a fairly accurate scale. The parties would have to understand that you're dealing in troy ounces and gross weight, not silver weight. Then there's the issues of clads possibly mixed in. And the fact that many places buy/sell by face, and not by weight. Examples would be apmex & bd. Their policy IIRC is full dates shown, full rims.

I tend to buy a lot of 90% in non-face to face transactions and IMO the best way to protect yourself is to get an actual picture of the items so you can get an idea of the quality of the silver. By the time you get the item and "weigh it", it's already too late. Shipping the item back to the seller would incur more costs than it's worth. Also, never pay exactly market value as a buffer against discrepancies.

Either that, or dig through a bin at the local dealer if they let you.

Re: Condition of 90%, 80% etc... junk silver
 

I'm kind of in this camp seeing as it's a SHTF hedge. Having minimal wear, and for sure the date visible is pretty key to having something viable for easy transactions.

I picked up a bag of 80% Canadian quarters online, and they mixed in a bunch of badly worn 1910 - 1917 dates, which turns out are 92.5%. I also got a few near BU 1966 specimens tossed in the mix (by mistake?)....beauties, essentially flawless.

All in all it was a good deal, but quite a few of the older quarters had no dates and were worn smooth almost all over. They have to be at least 80% given the style, but could very well be 92.5%. I'll never know. In the end I had to weigh the different grades, and add it all up to figure out what happened. Strange order.

Re: Condition of 90%, 80% etc... junk silver
 

Well, what I do is keep the best and throw back the rest (resell). Bought a $100 apmex bag off someone recently. I'd say $30 was wash quarters in very nice condition, not much wear, although some were discolored or whatnot. some were AU condition or better. $68 was wash quarters of average circ, G- VG. $2 were slicked SL quarters or barbers.

I kept the best $30 and sold the rest to someone else.

Re: Condition of 90%, 80% etc... junk silver
 

If you are talking about 80%, you are not talking about US coins. Refiners usually do not want to bother with foreign coins.

If you are talking about .800 tableware, which is usually German, then it is simply 80% scrap silver. Expect to be paid for about 72% since a tenth of the weight will go away when the metal is melted, due to dirt, filler, tarnish and such. I pay 75% of spot for sterling scrap or 65% for 800 scrap. I haven't found any that cheap for quite a while.