Baby Boomer Pocket Change

Silver Coins-Thinking About Collecting Them?

I am still in awe about the newly found information about silver coins. I just did not know a year ago that coins with silver were valuable.  This baby boomer is watching for the the price to increase.

I don’t have the money for investing but sure will keep an eye peeled for coins in my pocket change.

Tags: silver

Gold, Silver and Platinum Coins Minted Prior to Pope’s Arrival in The Czech Republic

Coins are being minted to prepare for a visit by the Pope in the Czech Republic . I am finding that it is important to pay attention to coins that have a low mintage. The value of low mintage coins can be high over time. Hence, the coins that are being minted in may have value later.

Read this special article in Commodity Online.

What do you think?

Tags: coin mintage, gold, platinum, silver

How Much Does Your Gold Weigh? How Do You Really Know?

I just found out this week that if someone brings in coins that have a precious metal value  for  redemption that the weight is measured in something called troy ounces. This measurement is different from the ounces used for food. But it is important for you to know the measurements of coins if you ever plan to cash them in.

I wish I had some to cash in but for now I must be content in knowing that I can always refer to this post. That is another  reason I set up this site in all honesty.  Check out this excerpt on Wikepedia:

The demand for precious metals is driven not only by their practical use, but also by their role as investments and a store of value. Historically, precious metals have commanded much higher prices than common industrial metals. In January 2009, gold was about $840/troy ounce and silver was about $11/troy ounce, compared to copper at $1.50/pound and nickel at $5/pound. (soure:Wikepedia)

So I am listing a couple of references for review. Why? Because if you are getting precious metal weight YOU DON’T WANT TO GET CHEATED. Believe it or not everyone is just not honest.

Troy ounces vs the ounce you you weighed your apples

News item about gold scams and how penny weights are used

How  to sell gold

Do you have anything to add?

Tags: coins, gold, silver, troy weight

Worth The Price Of Silver-Bullion?

I took a friend’s coins to a dealer. He was very informative but I really wasn’t prepared to hear what he had to say.

The silver dollars I presented were he said, “Worth the price of silver…”. He began to explain more about silver prices. He also showed me where the coins she had were not a rare, poor condition, and did not have any errors. Hence, they were worth the price of silver.

Now that is not a bad thing and it is worth following silver prices. But here is more information from Wikepedia on bulion as it relates to coins.

Bullion

A 500 gram silver bullion bar produced by Johnson Matthey

American Platinum Eagle bullion coin

A metal is deemed to be precious if it is rare. The discovery of new sources of ore or improvements in mining or refining processes may cause the value of a precious metal to diminish. The status of a “precious” metal can also be determined by high demand or market value. Precious metals in bulk form are known as bullion, and are traded on commodity markets. Bullion metals may be cast into ingots, or minted into coins. The defining attribute of bullion is that it is valued by its mass and purity rather than by a face value as money.

Many nations mint bullion coins, of which the most famous is probably the gold South African Krugerrand. Although nominally issued as legal tender, these coins’ face value as currency is far below that of their value as bullion. For instance, Canada mints a gold bullion coin (the Gold Maple Leaf) at a face value of $50 containing one troy ounce (31.1035 g) of gold — as of September 2007, this coin is worth about $737 as bullion. Bullion coins’ minting by national governments gives them some numismatic value in addition to their bullion value, as well as certifying their purity.

The level of purity varies from issue to issue. 99.9% purity is common. The purest mass-produced bullion coins are in the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf series, which go up to 99.999% purity. Note that a 100% pure bullion is not possible, as absolute purity in extracted and refined metals can only be asymptotically approached. Many bullion coins contain a stated quantity (such as one troy ounce) of the marginally-impure alloy. In contrast, the Krugerrand is one of many historic and modern bullion coins of 22 Kt Crown gold, with a stated content (usually one troy ounce) of “fine gold”, with the other component(s) of the alloy making the coin heavier than one ounce in total. Still more bullion coins (for example: British Sovereign) state neither the purity nor the fine-gold weight on the coin, but are recognized and consistent in their composition, and many historically stated a denomination in currency (example: American Double Eagle).

One of the largest bullion coins in the world is the 10,000 dollar Australian Gold Nugget coin minted in Australia which consists of a full kilogram of 99.9% pure gold. There have been a small number of larger bullion coins, but they are impractical to handle and not produced in mass quantities. China has produced coins in very limited quantities (less than 20 pieces minted) that exceed 260 troy ounces (8 kg) of gold. Austria has minted a coin containing 31 kg of gold (the Vienna Philharmonic Coin minted in 2004 with a face value of 100,000 euro). As a stunt to publicise the 99.999% pure one-ounce Canadian Gold Maple Leaf series, in 2007 the Royal Canadian Mint made a 100 kg 99.999% gold coin, with a face value of $ 1 million, and now manufactures them to order, but at a substantial premium over the market value of the gold.

Gold and silver are often seen as hedges against both inflation and economic downturn. Silver coins have become popular with collectors due to their relative affordability, and unlike most gold and platinum issues which are valued based upon the markets, silver issues are more often valued as collectables, far higher than their actual bullion value

Tags: bullion coins, gold, silver