Gyroscopic Investing

Anyone know what a 1964 silver half dollar is worth?

A little over $12 right now.

Bookmark this site:  http://www.coinflation.com/

Would you know how you go about selling them?

Coin dealers are normally buying and selling every day.

I would just go to the nearest coin shop.  They will probably give you a little less than spot.

Is it worth more if they were never circulated

julian wrote: Is it worth more if they were never circulated

Maybe a little.

The coin dealer can tell you everything you need to know, including what it's worth that day.

Funny you should mention Kennedy silver half-dollars.  I was in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago, and a cashier handed me a 1969 Kennedy half-dollar (40% silver) as change.  Its melt value is about $5.  Not much, but it's ~10 times the face value of the coin.

I used to assume that Gresham's law all but guarantees the absence of precious metal in circulation, but evidently some is still out there.

Tortoise wrote: I used to assume that Gresham's law all but guarantees the absence of precious metal in circulation, but evidently some is still out there.

There are an enormous number of pre-1982 pennies still in circulation (worth 2.5x face value) and all nickels currently out there are worth more than face value.

Sometimes it takes Gresham's Law a while to kick in.

In the 1960s my Mother was a secretary and one of her jobs was emptyng the change from the drink machines in her office.  I love to hear her tell the stories about separating out the silver coins for herself (a few dollars a week) and replacing them with non-silver coins.  She did this for years.

MediumTex wrote: Coin dealers are normally buying and selling every day.

I would just go to the nearest coin shop.  They will probably give you a little less than spot.

Coin shop is quick and easy.  Often you can get more using ebay, and in many areas you could get even more via craigslist or other free classified ad.  I suggest you check at least two coin shops if possible.  At least in my area their silver prices can vary 5% or more.

Note that there is just over 1/3 ounce of silver in your half dollar.  U.S. silver coinage 1964 and older was typically 90% silver by weight.  With that in mind, generally it is assumed that a silver dollar coin has 0.7734 of an ounce, and a dollar face value of smaller coins has 0.715 of an ounce (those numbers account for 'typical' wear).  However a pair of 'new' kennedy halfs will actually have more than 0.715.

Physical silver seems to still be in demand.  5 years ago I could buy 90% silver at a nice discount to spot so the dealer would buy at least 10% under, but currently you should target spot price (e.g. the bid price per ounce of silver as quoted by kitco or amark) as your minimum.  If I were selling, unless out of options or time I would not accept less than $spot multiplied by 0.715 for each dollar of face value.  Back when I could buy 90% for .0715*spot (or less!) from my dealer, I would pay that to buy from my friends and they from me.  Now my local coin shop will pay them that much or more I haven't done a private deal for some time.