Modern 925 coins - Worth picking up cheaply?

[TheShinyStuff]

I have a local coin dealer who has loads of 1oz sterling proofs available for 16 quid each - approx 85% spot. Think I might even be able to beat him down a little if I buy in bulk. I dont like them, but are they worth picking up and keeping, or maybe having them melted into something nice? 

I dont have any sterling at all, but I know a few members post about flatware and the like, just wondering what the feeling was on sterling coins at this price.

[HighlandTiger]

I sold a load on here for the same price and they went in seconds.

That shows you how good a price they are. 

I'd be wary about them being 1oz though. Most sterling proofs are 28.28g of .925 silver, not 31.1g of .999 silver.

But even saying that, the price is very good, and if you can haggle then even better. 

[ilovesilverireallydo]

28 minutes ago, TheShinyStuff said:

I have a local coin dealer who has loads of 1oz sterling proofs available for 16 quid each - approx 85% spot. Think I might even be able to beat him down a little if I buy in bulk. I dont like them, but are they worth picking up and keeping, or maybe having them melted into something nice? 

I dont have any sterling at all, but I know a few members post about flatware and the like, just wondering what the feeling was on sterling coins at this price.

Spot is £16.25 on the average Sterling Crown coin - they are 28.28gm as @HighlandTiger says. So not exactly 85% of spot, but less than spot. If you could get them at 85% of spot I would happily pay you 94% spot for them... 

[TheShinyStuff]

Thanks guys, I checked with the dealer, coins are 31.1g, mostly Carribean/Pacific stuff from the 90's. I think I'll get some.

[ilovesilverireallydo]

33 minutes ago, TheShinyStuff said:

Thanks guys, I checked with the dealer, coins are 31.1g, mostly Carribean/Pacific stuff from the 90's. I think I'll get some.

at 31.1 sterling, spot is about £17.25 so not too bad. Would be interested in what you buy - post some pics! 

[Antwerpstacker]

I will be more than happy to buy Jamaican coins off you for spot, pm me if you can find any of them👍

[greendragon]

I collect these too, whenever i can pick them up cheap

however, melting them down and making something nice.....may be better using .999

may be better asking @backyardbullion about this, but i believe the results are not as nice with 925

[TheShinyStuff]

Did a bit of research on numista. Most of the coins the guy has are indeed 28.28g as mentioned by @HighlandTiger, but 3 were actually 31.4g of 925. I've ordered those, will post pics when they arrive.

I phoned him and let him know about his mistake, he seemed genuinely surprised, said he had bought them with 3rd party COAs stating the weight as 31.4g from a company called MDM or something, cant  quite remember.  Anyway hopefully mine will turn up as advertised.

16 quid each, 2 quid delivery, 94g of sterling through my letterbox for 50 quid. Pretty happy. (Hopefully...)

[Stacker2020]

11 hours ago, greendragon said:

may be better asking @backyardbullion about this, but i believe the results are not as nice with 925

I've been playing around with melting sterling this week. It's different from pouring pure silver. The exterior ends up much more gnarly and needs a lot of finishing, grinding and polishing if you want a nice final finish. 

[Divmad]

15 hours ago, TheShinyStuff said:

Did a bit of research on numista. Most of the coins the guy has are indeed 28.28g as mentioned by @HighlandTiger, but 3 were actually 31.4g of 925. I've ordered those, will post pics when they arrive.

I phoned him and let him know about his mistake, he seemed genuinely surprised, said he had bought them with 3rd party COAs stating the weight as 31.4g from a company called MDM or something, cant  quite remember.  Anyway hopefully mine will turn up as advertised.

16 quid each, 2 quid delivery, 94g of sterling through my letterbox for 50 quid. Pretty happy. (Hopefully...)

I envy you having a local coin dealer to go to. But picking these silver coins up at or below spot is surely the way to go, if you're a stacker or investor. Well done! Not much chance of doing that on Flea Bay, although with circulated European LMU coins I have been able to.

Just now, Divmad said:

I envy you having a local coin dealer to go to. But picking these silver coins up at or below spot is surely the way to go, if you're a stacker or investor. Well done! Not much chance of doing that on Flea Bay, although with circulated European LMU coins I have been able to.

I should say, circulated GOLD European LMU coins.

[Bimetallic]

What are these coins exactly? I've never heard of or seen Sterling silver coins before. In the US we have a lot of old 90% silver circulation coinage, but not Sterling.

I'd love it if someone minted Argentium Silver bullion. It's a tarnish-resistant alloy that comes in 93.5 and 96% pure versions. Germanium is the key alloying metal, and it also makes it much harder than pure silver. Pure silver tarnishes way too much, as does Sterling.

[HighlandTiger]

7 hours ago, Bimetallic said:

What are these coins exactly? I've never heard of or seen Sterling silver coins before. In the US we have a lot of old 90% silver circulation coinage, but not Sterling.

I'd love it if someone minted Argentium Silver bullion. It's a tarnish-resistant alloy that comes in 93.5 and 96% pure versions. Germanium is the key alloying metal, and it also makes it much harder than pure silver. Pure silver tarnishes way too much, as does Sterling.

Sterling silver coins, are what it says. Coins, usually of a old english crown size, (28.28g) made of sterling silver (0.925 silver). In 20th century in the UK and the vast majority of Commonwealth countries, all the commemorative coins were of 0.925 silver. Seeing as all our silver products, such as silver flatware was being made of sterling silver, it made sense our coins did to. We'd probably still use it today if that bloody German Adolf hadn't decided to invade Europe.  

[RacerCool]

9 hours ago, Bimetallic said:

What are these coins exactly? I've never heard of or seen Sterling silver coins before. In the US we have a lot of old 90% silver circulation coinage, but not Sterling.

I'd love it if someone minted Argentium Silver bullion. It's a tarnish-resistant alloy that comes in 93.5 and 96% pure versions. Germanium is the key alloying metal, and it also makes it much harder than pure silver. Pure silver tarnishes way too much, as does Sterling.

Mexican onzas pre-1982 were 0.925 silver but they contained 1 onza de plata. (33.615 ounce total weight)

[TheShinyStuff]

These arrived yesterday.

Weights on numista are actually  31.47g, 31.6g and 31.46g (L-R).

Close ups for your visual delight and delectation...😂😂😂

Silver is silver I suppose. Hope it was worth the wait @ilovesilverireallydo

[ilovesilverireallydo]

48 minutes ago, TheShinyStuff said:

These arrived yesterday.

Weights on numista are actually  31.47g, 31.6g and 31.46g (L-R).

Close ups for your visual delight and delectation...😂😂😂

Silver is silver I suppose. Hope it was worth the wait @ilovesilverireallydo

Good score. 

[StackemHigh]

On 22/10/2020 at 08:11, HighlandTiger said:

Sterling silver coins, are what it says. Coins, usually of a old english crown size, (28.28g) made of sterling silver (0.925 silver). In 20th century in the UK and the vast majority of Commonwealth countries, all the commemorative coins were of 0.925 silver. Seeing as all our silver products, such as silver flatware was being made of sterling silver, it made sense our coins did to. We'd probably still use it today if that bloody German Adolf hadn't decided to invade Europe.  

The Adolf that decided to invade Europe wasn't German. He was born in Braunau am Inn in modern day Austria (Austria-hungary)on 20th April 1889.

[HighlandTiger]

6 hours ago, StackemHigh said:

The Adolf that decided to invade Europe wasn't German. He was born in Braunau am Inn in modern day Austria (Austria-hungary)on 20th April 1889.

Whilst you are correct that Hitler was born in Austria, he revoked his Austrian citizenship in 1925, and when the war began he was a German citizen. So my comment about that "bloody German Adolf", is entirely correct. 

   

[Silverman1985]

On 20/10/2020 at 12:47, TheShinyStuff said:

I have a local coin dealer who has loads of 1oz sterling proofs available for 16 quid each - approx 85% spot. Think I might even be able to beat him down a little if I buy in bulk. I dont like them, but are they worth picking up and keeping, or maybe having them melted into something nice? 

I dont have any sterling at all, but I know a few members post about flatware and the like, just wondering what the feeling was on sterling coins at this price.

These types of things often come up on Ebay and you can get them below spot occasionally. I will take them from time to time when I see a bargain but don't get too excited about them. Purely a price thing. 

[TheShinyStuff]

24 minutes ago, Silverman1985 said:

These types of things often come up on Ebay and you can get them below spot occasionally. I will take them from time to time when I see a bargain but don't get too excited about them. Purely a price thing. 

'don't get too excited about them. Purely a price thing.'

Totally agree. Like I said earlier I will likely pick up some more at some point and get them melted into something chunky.

[Murph]

20 hours ago, TheShinyStuff said:

'don't get too excited about them. Purely a price thing.'

Totally agree. Like I said earlier I will likely pick up some more at some point and get them melted into something chunky.

And lose the price advantage as well as losing the ability to easily identify them as sterling!

[dangelo]

On 20/10/2020 at 11:47, TheShinyStuff said:

I have a local coin dealer who has loads of 1oz sterling proofs available for 16 quid each - approx 85% spot. Think I might even be able to beat him down a little if I buy in bulk. I dont like them, but are they worth picking up and keeping, or maybe having them melted into something nice? 

I dont have any sterling at all, but I know a few members post about flatware and the like, just wondering what the feeling was on sterling coins at this price.

I think lots of people collect 925 coins, crowns etc, they aren't far off from 999 and there are some meaningful and collectible designs.     If you are a stacker though, you just want cheap silver content - you can grab less desireable coins for low price/oz.  I've got some nice looking proof 925 crown sized coins and a few smaller ones for sale at the moment.  I think the proofs are too good to be regarded as scrap for sure, they will go to collectors - especially royal fans since they are kinda all royal themed

[Silverman1985]

My view is, if you can pick up a good condition commemorative coin or whatever below spot, grab it. Lot's of these coins have low mintage, can never figure out why there is so little demand for them. 

[TheShinyStuff]

2 hours ago, Silverman1985 said:

My view is, if you can pick up a good condition commemorative coin or whatever below spot, grab it. Lot's of these coins have low mintage, can never figure out why there is so little demand for them. 

In the case of the 3 I bought I would put the lack of demand down to them being horrible... but if its silver and it's cheap then I'll take it.

 

[Divmad]

On 01/11/2020 at 23:27, dangelo said:

I think lots of people collect 925 coins, crowns etc, they aren't far off from 999 and there are some meaningful and collectible designs.     If you are a stacker though, you just want cheap silver content - you can grab less desireable coins for low price/oz.  I've got some nice looking proof 925 crown sized coins and a few smaller ones for sale at the moment.  I think the proofs are too good to be regarded as scrap for sure, they will go to collectors - especially royal fans since they are kinda all royal themed

Is it anathema to suggest that silver stackers might stack proof sterling silver crown coins, bought at or below their scrap values, in tubes?

[greendragon]

I Agree

Its very strange that folk will stack 50% silver shillings and flatware

but not Crowns

I am happy to buy them, they often seem cheap

Not that i need the competition