Silver rounds

[gooddie]

I must say that my newfound "hobby" of acquiring coins is growing. The further I go, the more I encounter dishonest people, some of whom are downright shady. Anyway my questions involve silver rounds. Are they worth collecting? There are so many minting companies putting out rounds I have no idea who's reputable. And I feel that the designs on some of these rounds are horrible. So is it that this silver round is only worth melting later or is there some value in it's beauty? Beauty in the eyes of the beholder that is.

[DanB]

Buy from reputable seller and some are worth a little over spot, but for the most part they are worth melt. Stackers buy them because they are just stacking silver/gold.
I don’t buy them but a ton of people do.
Other than the odd round that people collect and would pay a premium for, it speculation for “investment”.
So depending on what you are buying them for it’s a personal preference like most things in coins.
*note NOT a financial advisor just a guy on the internet....

[gooddie]

Thanks Dan. I guess I'm the final judge of what I consider to be worth keeping.

[DanB]

I should say that at my LCS, if he doesn’t have a specific item I’m looking for, I’ll dig through his tray of “miscellaneous” silver and if I find an old Libertad silver dollar I’ll buy it just to support him. At least it is actual denomination and normally he sells them for 1 buck over spot.

[wilkinsp21]

I like the way silver coins look, feel and sound. So for Silver Rounds, I will buy some to use for trade or sell when prices go up
but I do like to collect some, I have a Donald Duck 85th ann coin, cause I like Donald Duck, etc
collect what you like to collect, if collecting just for investment this might not be a good hobby as the prices change so much

[Daniel]

Find an actual dealer, not just someone selling rounds online, then buy the rounds that you like.

[gooddie]

Thank you all for your spirited advice. Unfortunately there is only one location where I live that is selling silver rounds. Very limited. If any of you know or heard of reputable dealers I would be happy to try your suggestions. Thanks again.

[gooddie]

Also if you know of any "goofy" silver rounds I would be very interested.

[wilkinsp21]

Thank you all for your spirited advice. Unfortunately there is only one location where I live that is selling silver rounds. Very limited. If any of you know or heard of reputable dealers I would be happy to try your suggestions. Thanks again.

I am in the same boat; I buy most all of my silver from Daniel; https://portsmouthcoinshop.com/

[gooddie]

I don't see any silver rounds at Portsmouth. But yes, he is definitely reputable.

[gooddie]

My bad. Haven't looked at Portsmouth lately. Seems that there are many new things. Get me a Christmas gift.

[Daniel]

Sign up for my newsletter and visit my site regularly, they sell out fast.

[Earle42]

Also if you know of any "goofy" silver rounds I would be very interested.

Well, I won't exactly call it "goofy," but you might be interested in the NORFED silver "medals
that were made.
Very hard to summarize briefly - cool history though:
Bernard Von Nothaus, wanting to make a statement against the FED and our current fiat money system, designed and made silver 1 oz bartering rounds.

NORFED or LIBERTY Dollars were just one of many alternate systems, but Bernie's became too popular for the FED. The FED wanted to stop people from wising up to using precious metals as a money system (takes all their power away to print money out of thin air and control everything). So the FED abused their power and made an example of Bernie.

The obama (just fact, not meant as a politically leaning statement) FBI illegally (proven...read on) raided Bernie's facility and stole all his rounds, equipment and money stored (to back his currency) at his facility.

FBI made eBay warn people using/selling/listing the rounds could mean confiscation (a lie and illegal anyway). EBay was consistently having 200+ new listings each day before the raid (I enjoyed reviewing all of them and perused the new listings each day). After the FBI scare tactic, there were only 10 or so new listings somehow making it through the filters per day.

A kangaroo court ensued (I have/read the transcripts), accusation made of counterfeiting and "domestic terrorism" (no way these could stand up and they did not), Bernie spent a record time awaiting sentencing in NC. He eventally only spent one year of "probation" whereas the FBI wanted to sentence him to 22 years. Eventually FBI had to return (not reimburse - very, very rare) everything they took. They had accomplished their goal though - stopping the popularity of the precious metals backed system that was growing so large.

I lived in Chambersburg, PA at the time. You could spend NORFED dollars anywhere. We had a vending machine to dispense them in town.

While Bernie was awaiting sentencing, someone bought the designs from Bernie and kept making the design (with wording changes)! This happened despite the OBV effigy being what made the court say he was counterfeiting. Yet no FBI action was taken b/c the populace had already been scared off from using NORFED.

Great quality rounds. Made on the same planchets as America Silver Eagles. Good history as well. Libertydollar.org

[gooddie]

Thanks again for these informative replies and posts. You really got to love what your doing to follow this stuff. I saw some rounds earlier on Portsmouth then nothing later. Yes they do run out quickly. The history on Norfed is intriguing. The way I see it, being a newcomer, silver rounds are something to acquire. I purchased 2 PCGS PR70 silver dimes on Ebay for a total of $38.52 (tax and shipping included). Earlier I purchased a silver round locally for $26.35. I'm not sure of which is the better purchase for the future. Are rounds collectable and maybe worth more later for it's silver and rarity markings? And perhaps my 2 dimes only worth a little more than face value? I don't know. Now I'm looking for nice silver rounds.

[Earle42]

My personal thoughts on this is that there are so very many designs and generic rounds made that not many (if any?) get and keep a huge following.

As an example, Silver Bullet Silver Shield rounds were quite popular when they started out. But I know Silver Bullet Silver Shield pieces do not get near what they used to on eBay.

[gooddie]

Thanks Earle42. I'm buying all kinds of coinage and frankly it's pretty hodge podge. But more and more I'm collecting stuff that is pleasing to my eye. It would be interesting to know why other people here are collecting.

[Earle42]

I collect for so many reasons:
1. The amazing history we can hold in our hands. I got my only seated dollar from Daniel awhile ago (August? September?). I wanted one since I was a kid but never bit the bullet and got my hands on one. As I type this in my living room, the coin sits in its airtight capsule right at my side. I am drawn to it like a magnet b/c of who may have had it in their pocket. Was this dollar one a cowboy once threw on a poker table during a game? Was this dollar witness to the incredible influx of (LEGAL!) immigrants coming into Ellis Island and the amazing era of electrification/industrialization growing there that changed the world? Did someone famous like Wyatt Earp or Annie Oakley ever spend this coin? Just too much to imagine could have happened to it. I do not believe two days can go by without me picking it up, taking it out of the capsule, and holding it.
2. My grandfather started me, we had an advantage in that he owned laundromats and went through a lot of change back then, and the hobby remind me of him (his name was Earle - a tribute to him is my forum name).
3. I miss the old days of collecting when EVERY coin had an individual value based on mintage/MM/condition. But that is also what drove me to collect as a kid as well. When you found something in circulation, if it was not THE key date, it still was also NOT just "junk silver." Every coin was an adventure. Every hole in the album had its own value.
4. As my Grandfather used to tell me, "it makes sense to collect coins b/c if you ever are in financial trouble, what you collect has intrinsic value to it." I also have a huge collection of glass insulators. During hard times like the obama Great Depression, insulator values went down in value since they are simply glass (I don't care as I collect them for eye candy colored glass sitting in the window as well as their history). Silver, of course, went up in value during those horrible economic years.
5. Finding people who ARE honest in the coin business means you have truly found an honest soul who makes a good friend. If a person can be honest about precious metals with you, you know they are people of good character!
- probably more - but that's a large enough book.