Puzzled why Proof Sterling Silver Commemorative coins sell for low/no premiums....

[richatthecroft]

I attempted a full run of £1 Silver Proofs- but I didn’t have the tenacity to keep going and handed the gauntlet over, selling what I had managed to source to another Forum member.  
It’s not a collection for the faint hearted, some of these coins only to be found in obscure sets.  

[PapaLazarou]

If I were after cheap silver then I would not have asked for the five coins mentioned.

How about agreeing to my offer ?

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It is apparent to all that you are utterly incapable of backing up your bs statement. Nobody believes you will make an apology if the PMs that I have received are anything to go by. Thank you for your contribution.

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@richatthecroftVery true, Richard. A full set of round proofs numbers 74 and includes specimens with mintages below 400.

[Mox]

Weirdly I have just started going through a terrible load of old coins I had in a big box and several drawers. Found boxed proof crowns, a pound coin, a set of the U.K. normal coins, all sterling silver (although I will be testing them) bought several years ago for pennies. Certainly not complaining about it.

[MikeG1978]

Any £2 coins your considering parting with (proof) and  silver that please 

 

[Peterheat]

I now have a full set of queens mother 80th Commemorative Stirling silver 925 crowns I'll be relisting soon if anyone wants to make a bid on them pm me. I might as well take advantage of the hot thread and if anyone wants to offer over spot for them I don't mind that either 😅 

[dangelo]

 

I guess the only reason these are selling lower prices compared to bullion/999 coins is what's already been said above - they are less desireable right now / out of fashion.  But to be honest thats a bit silly because if you put a proof 925 commemorative coin next to an old silver spoon, which one still looks better?  Also if you were to sell a 925 proof coin to someone on a market stall for example I bet you would get decent money for it.  Simply, they look good, they are not some old scruffy coins and when they were made some effort and tech went into them.

I've linked to my "bargain" - 925 proofs.  I mean, they are proofs and to the right people they are sought after / collectible.  I won't reduce the asking price even though spot has fallen a little this last few days. 

The silver proof pound coins feel surprisingly good to hold and I can see why people want to collect them.  The subject matter is just a bit off though perhaps... if these coins had designs I actually liked on them, I would keep them.  Sadly HRH boss lady looks terrible on these pounds in my opinion.  The 2001 birthday proof crown looks really good though by comparison, I'm surprised if thats not worth £30 alone to someone but hey, each to their own..

[TeaTime]

I've managed to collect every design, including the patterns and reverse proofs, of the SP £1 coins except the cities. I just can't bring myself to hand over the sort of money they are fetching.

If anyone wants to sell them to me at 3 x spot i'll bite your hand off 😁

I think the lack of interest in a lot of .925 silver proofs is that the designs on a lot of them are either very weak or royalty inspired AND very weak. The better designed coins generaly hold a premium though. I have no problem buying .925 if i like the design. But then, i'm more of a collector than a stacker.

[Divmad]

How can I tell if this IOM 1970 Crown is is the Silver Proof version or not? It is still in its original plastic covering but no case or COA. 

[MikeG1978]

Magnet test 

[Divmad]

26 minutes ago, MikeG1978 said:

Magnet test 

I tried that. It doesn't work through a thick plastic covering, even on my other proof silver coins.

[MikeG1978]

I think that may have been opened and looks handled/circulated possibly cleaned could be wrong though

[dicker]

On 10/11/2020 at 21:20, richatthecroft said:

I attempted a full run of £1 Silver Proofs- but I didn’t have the tenacity to keep going and handed the gauntlet over, selling what I had managed to source to another Forum member.  
It’s not a collection for the faint hearted, some of these coins only to be found in obscure sets.  

Absolutely...I am slowly working my way to collecting the lot but as has been pointed out some are very very hard to find (I think some of the ones mentioned by @PapaLazarouonly come in sets?).  
 

Best

Dicker

[greendragon]

5 hours ago, Divmad said:

I tried that. It doesn't work through a thick plastic covering, even on my other proof silver coins.

Take it out of the plastic to test?

its not sealed, its only a flip

its not proof so you shouldn't damage it with a magnet

as it is in a bank issue flip, chances are it is not silver.

sorry

[dicker]

Agreed with @greendragon The ones I have seen in High Street Bank containers have all been CuproNickel.

I recently visited a shop in Norwich that had (no joke) about 500 of them lined up in the little plastic boxes.  Guess they must have been popular at the time....

Best

Dicker

[TeaTime]

A good rule of thumb with proofs is the field - if parts are mirror finish and parts are frosted it would indicate a proof. If it's a uniform finish it will more than likely be just a regular coin.

Silver proofs are generally a mixture of mirror and frosted finish too. . They very rarely produce sterling silver non proof coins anywhere. Bullion coins tend to be fine silver.

[Mox]

Well this was a nice little surprise.

Went through a box of coins, did the magnet test on all of them and found 11 boxed silver crowns with COA’s, 4 boxed silver five pound coins with COA’s and four surprises that appear to be silver (2 Isle of Man crowns and 2 Tristan da Cunha Popes). There are 3x 1978 Isle of Man pounds and a 1979 set that I can’t test cos of the way they are packaged. And there’s an 2015 Isle of Man Churchill crown that seems to be silver doing the magnet test but hard to tell with the noise test, no cert but box has AG92 on it.

Theres also loads of cupro-nickel crowns, probably 60+, and I see they are legal tender worth 25p, never knew that!

[Mox]

I was going to try and sell that lot but no idea what price to put on them, how do I know if some are worth more than others? Would mintage, quality or age make a difference or is it all much of a muchness? Also looked at scrapping, you can get around 80% of spot for sterling but I would guess the coins could sell for more somewhere?

[MikeG1978]

There are some nice ones there you can always put them up for sale see if any bites 

The great thing on here compared to ebay is no fees and honest replies regarding pricing 

 

 

[SilverSceptic]

I have a LOT of old Franklin Mint sterling silver. From my looking around, there is pretty much nobody that is interested in it for collecting. I've also noticed that many of the silver stackers on YouTube tend to be snobbish and look down on sterling. Regardless, mine doesn't take much space so I am okay just keeping it around. I do not understand why 90% coins are so coveted but 92.5% sterling is looked down on.

[dangelo]

11 hours ago, SilverSceptic said:

I have a LOT of old Franklin Mint sterling silver. From my looking around, there is pretty much nobody that is interested in it for collecting. I've also noticed that many of the silver stackers on YouTube tend to be snobbish and look down on sterling. Regardless, mine doesn't take much space so I am okay just keeping it around. I do not understand why 90% coins are so coveted but 92.5% sterling is looked down on.

Some people must be buying - maybe just not many of the people on here.  I see plenty on different sites for  sale, i can't imagine it's all sitting there unsold for months.  I also see on auctions that these things get snapped up at decent prices.  Maybe the buyers are just hanging out in different places I think you are right to hang onto it - if silver gets really hot in future, like > $30/ounce then I think it will be back in demand as a budget option for stackers, because all the new 999 premium stuff will start to look really pricey.  Plus the older stuff might get more interest for historic value - maybe it's just too early right now for it to swing into fashion.  I'll defo keep some 925 stuff back in case it's fortunes turn around in future, I already let some nice bits go for super cheap prices which is a bit of an "ouch" moment.  Market just isnt hot for it now maybe.

[dicker]

I buy at the right price, it’s great that it is not loved.  Most of the designs are “not to my taste” but often good deals especially on bulk lots. 

Often unsold lots left over from my local auction that can be picked up cheaply.  
 

Best

Dicker