Any silver stackers on the board?

[vintagetoppsguy]

All these card doctor threads really have me depressed. I think I'm going to take a break from cards right now and focus more on my other passion...stacking silver. Any other silver stackers on the board? If so, how long have you been stacking? What are you currently stacking?

I've been stacking for about 6 years, but I bought my first silver (and gold) bullion back in 2002.

I mostly stack SilverTowne bars and junk silver. But I dabble in other areas too. Lately, I've been on a junk silver kick. With 13% eBay Bucks last week, I purchased 2 rolls of Kennedy halves one day and 2 rolls of Washington quarters the following day. I got $31.62 in eBay Bucks on the halves and $31.04 on the quarters.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/FULL-DATES-...72.m2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.com/itm/FULL-DATES-...72.m2749.l2649

I probably could have purchased them cheaper at my LCS, but over $60 in eBay Bucks made it a pretty sweet deal!

So, any other stackers on here? Let's get a conversation going? Maybe we can learn from each other? Or, if you're not a stacker but have questions, just ask. I'll try and help any way I can.

[silvor]

Used to, but the fake coins got too good.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Sorry to hear that. I'm not a numismatist, the only coins I have are my junk silver and some ASEs. Aren't there tests you can do on the coins? I test my silver bullion and scrap sterling that I pick up here and there.

[Wihawk]

I can totally relate. I get the itch to buy silver now and then, junk,uncirculated etc. Lately I've been picking up Barber Halves that have at least a partial Liberty still visible that I usually spend about $10.00 a piece on.
It's kind of nice having a crap load of silver stashed away in various locations

Good luck in your stacking!

[silvor]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Sorry to hear that. I'm not a numismatist, the only coins I have are my junk silver and some ASEs. Aren't there tests you can do on the coins? I test my silver bullion and scrap sterling that I pick up here and there.

yes, but I've seen "circulated" fake Morgans that weigh right on and have the same thickness. They are coated in real silver, but are some sort of alloy underneath.

They are used to "cut" junk lots, like drug dealers add say lawn clippings to their marijuana.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by silvor

yes, but I've seen "circulated" fake Morgans that weigh right on and have the same thickness. They are coated in real silver, but are some sort of alloy underneath.

They are used to "cut" junk lots, like drug dealers add say lawn clippings to their marijuana.

There are a lot of educational videos on Youtube that show how to spot a fake Morgan. Here is one of them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJrLM7BYYtE

There are other great videos too.

I'm not a numismatist nor a metallurgist, but the easiest way to spot a fake Morgan is by the size/weight. That just absolutely, positively can not be faked. No way.

Silver doesn't weigh the same as copper, zinc or whatever. So, if you weigh a real Morgan and a fake Morgan and they both weigh the same, then one of them has to be different in size/thickness. Likewise, if you have a real Morgan and a fake Morgan and they're the same size/thickness, they would have to have a different weight.

If I were buying a junk lot and there were Morgans mixed in, I would at least test a few right then and there before completing the purchase. If you're making an online purchase, then stick with one of the reputable dealers - Modern Coin Mart, APMEX, SilverTowne, etc. These guys have built a great reputation and aren't going to ruin that with a few fake junk silver Morgans.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Here is a great video how to spot fake silver bullion...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rjJmGGkNPU

These aren't baseball cards that can be altered in many different ways - trimmed, re-colored, rebuilt corners, soaked in chemicals, etc.

We're taking silver bullion and coins. They're either silver or they're not.

If you're interested in an acid test kit, here's a good one for starters.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Silver-Test...72.m2749.l2649

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

Or, if you're not a stacker but have questions, just ask. I'll try and help any way I can.

I'm not a stacker, nor have I ever heard the term. Would you mind brief definitions of some of the other terms to help keep the ball rolling on the discussion?

Junk silver
Silver bullion
scrap sterling
silver towne bars


numismatist (that sounds like it may just be a word to add to my limited vocabulary )


Thanks!

[vintagetoppsguy]

Hello, Tony! Here are my thoughts. I hope others chime in too.

A numismatist is one that collects coins.

Numismatics is the study or collecting of coins. This term is often used for graded coins.

Junk silver refers to coins (dimes, quarters, halves and dollars) minted prior to 1965. Coins minted 1964 and earlier are made of 90% silver. “Junk silver” has no numismatic value. The only value is in its silver content, (but it still has face value too, but the silver value far exceeds the face value).

Semi-numismatics are coins that have both collector value and silver value. The American Silver Eagle is a $1 face value coin made by the US Mint annually, but it’s also 1 troy ounce of silver, so it has silver value as well.

Silver bullion is .999 silver in a given weight. It is not tied to any currency. You can get 1 ounce silver bars, 5 ounce silver bars, 10 ounce silver bars, etc. You can also buy in fractional amounts (grams), but that’s really not cost effective.

Scrap sterling is a term referring to sterling silver in scrap form. It could be broken jewelry, loose silver dinnerware (spoons, forks, etc.) really anything of sterling silver that has no other collector value and it’s only value is in the silver content. Sterling silver is .925 silver. You can usually pick this up at garage sales, resale shops, estate sales, etc. pretty cheap.

SilverTowne is the place that I buy most of my bars. You can buy as much or as little as you like. They offer fast shipping and they have a great reputation. There are other makers and places that you can buy from as well.

Silver stacking refers to the hoarding/collecting of silver. Stackers stack different ways. Some like numismatics, some like semi-numismatics, some like bullion (silver bars or rounds), some like scrap sterling silver, some like junk silver and some like a variety. Stackers also stack for different reasons. A lot are preppers thinking that in a SHTF type of event, silver will be a form a currency as fiat currency will be worthless. Some stack fearing the collapse of the dollar. I can see both of these reasons, after all you can’t just continue to print money over and over and over and expect that it’s not going to have an effect on the economy sooner or later. The dollar used to be backed by gold and silver (the gold standard), but now it’s just a promise that it’s worth what the government says it’s worth. But I stack as an investment. I think silver has great potential. It’s mined from the ground at a 9:1 ratio over gold. There is one ounce of gold mined for every 9 ounces of silver. However, the price difference is 90:1. So something has to give sooner or later. Either gold has to come down or silver has to go up. I’m betting that silver goes up.

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

All these card doctor threads really have me depressed. I think I'm going to take a break from cards right now and focus more on my other passion...stacking silver. Any other silver stackers on the board? If so, how long have you been stacking? What are you currently stacking?

I've been stacking for about 6 years, but I bought my first silver (and gold) bullion back in 2002.

I mostly stack SilverTowne bars and junk silver. But I dabble in other areas too. Lately, I've been on a junk silver kick. With 13% eBay Bucks last week, I purchased 2 rolls of Kennedy halves one day and 2 rolls of Washington quarters the following day. I got $31.62 in eBay Bucks on the halves and $31.04 on the quarters.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/FULL-DATES-...72.m2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.com/itm/FULL-DATES-...72.m2749.l2649

I probably could have purchased them cheaper at my LCS, but over $60 in eBay Bucks made it a pretty sweet deal!

So, any other stackers on here? Let's get a conversation going? Maybe we can learn from each other? Or, if you're not a stacker but have questions, just ask. I'll try and help any way I can.

1963 Kennedy Half by Daniel Carr