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Nickelless
Administrator
USA
5580 Posts |
 Posted - 04/21/2009 : 06:30:27
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I was just looking at my eBay purchases from the past couple weeks (I've bought a bit more silver than I had planned to buy, but I'm not complaining ), and I just got to thinking...
I hate to come across so cynical in asking this, since I'm a pretty upbeat guy and maintain my upbeat-ness by being proactive in preparing for the future, but I can't help but wonder if it's really worth the trouble of scouring hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of coins for any stray silver, in lieu of putting forth time and money buying silver instead. Granted, I approach this less as a hobbyist and more from the perspective of preparing for the future, so with that in mind it makes a lot more sense to me to log on to eBay or drop in at my local coin dealer to pick up about 5 ounces of silver a week instead of going on a wild goose chase looking for wild silver that might not be there. We all know from conversations we've had or heard about that bank tellers and others are also looking for silver, so the more time that passes, the less likely it is that any of us will find wild silver and the more sense it would make, IMO, to just go straight to the nearest coin dealer or eBay auction to pick up a few coins. The way I see it, at least as far as my own situation, it makes a lot more sense to buy silver where I know I can find it virtually anytime I want to buy it (premiums are a different story) and use time I'd otherwise spend in fruitless searches for silver in an ocean of clad to do other things that will yield more than frustration. Besides that, since everyone else is looking for silver now, too, wouldn't it make more sense to buy it where you know you can find it before it's all gone instead of just hoping you might find wild silver that might not be there any longer and end up with nothing? I just don't see where time and supply are in anyone's favor if they're wanting silver but going about the least-likely way to find it, unless they think clad will be worth something someday, which I can't see happening, at least not compared to silver.
That's my two zinc cents. Am I the only one who feels this way?
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Edited by - Nickelless on 04/21/2009 06:34:33 |
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Mikep2020
Penny Collector Member
USA
402 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 07:44:25
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| I kinda feel the same way, I sorted a few hundred in halves and turned up nothing, then started talking with the tellers and managers at a lot of banks and found out that they themselves search for silver or already have a someone else that claims all halves that pass through that particular branch. I stopped searching halves because the capital I need to put aside just to aquire the halves, then the time spend searching through them, then re-rolling them up and return the bank, all for nothing. So I focus my limited sorting time to copper that I know is out there instead of a random 40% or 90% that may turn up once is a while. |
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knibloe
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1066 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 08:18:49
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I'm still searching halves. The last box that I finished yesterday yielded a 52 frankling and 3 40% clad. I ususlly search them while I am riding in the car or watching TV. That way, I'm not wasting time that I should be using for other things. I get them from the local bank an do not drive out of my way to pick them up.
It works for me. |
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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 08:25:32
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a 90% is a profit of 5 bucks. 2 or 3 40%ers is another 5 bucks. if you average 1 90 and 2 or 3 40's per box that is 10 bucks for about an hours work. now, if you liver where I do, add another couple of hours to find the halves in teh first place. factor in the skunks and the occassional jackpot.
btw, i do both - buy silver and hunt for silver.
I like buying dealer junk and finding gems inside, like an 1892-S barber half (worht about $250) or 55-D Franklins (about $15). |
Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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CoinHunter53562
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1805 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 08:34:38
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| I have to admit, I have basically given up on half searching. It seems that there are 5 or 6 others that already do that in this area, evidenced by the way the halves are marked. Also, the yields have been very very poor. Between the gas money, time, and shorted rolls, I decided it just wasnt worth it as in reality I was losing money. If the yields were closer to say 4 or 5 halves per box average (both 40% and 90%) then I would start up again. As it is, the yields are less than 1 per box average and frankly not worth my time. |
My hobby: collecting real money 1 copper cent or nickel at a time.
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Country
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3121 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 08:46:09
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Certainly the fastest way to build your safety net of PMs is to go to retail sources. If you have just begun your stacking and do not have much PMs, I suggest that you should get some from APMEX, Bullion Direct, EBAY, or your local coin dealer right away.
Once you have acquired a significant amount of PMs, you can view CRHing as a rewarding adventure. CRHing is hit or miss, but it's always exciting to find even one of those shiny silver coins showing its silver edge as you open that bullet roll or the customer wrapped roll you obtained from your bank. Over time, you'd be surprised at how many silver coins you can find. If you live in an area with a lot a competition from other CRHers and can't find too much, it might not be worth it. Also, it does take time to look through the hundreds of coin rolls. I know this - Whenever I find a silver coin in the wild, the excitement of finding that silver coin doesn't diminish.
Best Wishes... |
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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 10:16:27
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i try to stop at out of the way banks on my travels and get coins.
also, i put away nifc and anything under 15 million mintage. i think these will be the key dates in the years to come. i'm already checking dates so what the heck. |
Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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slickeast
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2533 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 11:17:26
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| I have found over 300 40% halves in the last 3 months. that is from drive bys and buying boxes. everytime I say I am going to stop I find a box or two that yeild 50 or more silver halves. so I keep searcing. I keep records of how much I have searched and how many silvers I find. I want to see what a years worth of searching yields. |
You don't have to be the BEST you just have to be.......SLICK
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wagsthadog
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
565 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 12:11:01
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Hi there-
As long as it's free I'll do it. After that I'll go back to metal detecting.
wags |
Only when they CAN'T have it, ......THEN they'll want it.
I love Cents. If you get an UNC box, you win. If you get a regular circ. box, you win. If you get a zinc box, you don't lose....so you still win. |
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buyingsilvers
Penny Collector Member
441 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 13:50:34
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Volume is your best chance for success. I posted this on another forum.
It (roll searching) is hit or miss. I've said it before. You have to like searching through rolls, like working with the tellers, whether you're looking for pennies, nickels, dimes, halves, whatever. If you don't like it, you're just wasting your time.
Strictly from a financial standpoint, unless you happen upon a really good lucky find or have consistent luck with boxes/CWRs, you'd be better off spending your time working a few extra hours at your job & buying the 90% silver. If you're averaging only a few hits per $500, it really isn't worth it from a financial standpoint. You're spending more in terms of gas money & time to find, search, rewrap, deposit.
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Lemon Thrower
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1588 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 13:53:46
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| I dump in $1000 bags at the same place I dump pennies. bag weighs 25 lbs. but I have a cart. |
Buying:
Peace/Morgan G+ at $15.00
copper cents at 1.3X
wheat pennies at 3X
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buyingsilvers
Penny Collector Member
441 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 14:41:57
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quote:
Originally posted by Country
Once you have acquired a significant amount of PMs, you can view CRHing as a rewarding adventure. CRHing is hit or miss, but it's always exciting to find even one of those shiny silver coins showing its silver edge as you open that bullet roll or the customer wrapped roll you obtained from your bank. Over time, you'd be surprised at how many silver coins you can find. If you live in an area with a lot a competition from other CRHers and can't find too much, it might not be worth it. Also, it does take time to look through the hundreds of coin rolls. I know this - Whenever I find a silver coin in the wild, the excitement of finding that silver coin doesn't diminish.
Best Wishes...
I've found 12 full rolls so far this year. The feeling when you pop open the roll to see the glow of the entire roll's edges ('64s) or the duller gray look of older looking edges (walkers or franklins) is just awesome.
CRHs = lots of skunking though.  |
Edited by - buyingsilvers on 04/21/2009 14:47:17 |
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Tourney64
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1035 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 15:04:00
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I've been doing nickels and dimes and have stopped doing halves.
Dimes - I average about 4 silver dimes per $250.
Nickels - have been yielding 2 silver per $100 box, and usually a dateless Buffalo.
Halves - I've sorted $5,000 of halves and yielded only 1 - 40% Half. I have found some error halves, so it hasn't been a total loss. I also have to be careful where I take my halves, as I once didn't get all my money from the dump in the credit union coin sorter and was shorted $6.50. Last time I did halves was January. |
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fb101
Administrator
USA
2856 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 17:04:05
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14 month yield total.
Half Dollar
Pre 1965 219
40% 1/2 Dlr
1965-1969 856
total silver 205 oz.
I'm sticking with it. |
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Computer Jones
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1112 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 18:16:24
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No searching for Silver is not worth it.
It's the worst waste of time anybody ever contemplated.
You should stop right now and if you have any Silver coins put them back in circulation.
So I can find them.
;) |
There's profit if you melt things!!
8{> |
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Nickelless
Administrator
USA
5580 Posts |
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Flbandit
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
851 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 18:36:27
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| I still look, but I do it more as a hobby. Roll searching is a stress reliever for me and I only get a few rolls at a time. That said, I do find quite a few 40% halves and a few 90s. I also get the occasional dime and quarter. |
Are you throwing that out? |
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fb101
Administrator
USA
2856 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 19:14:40
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quote:
Originally posted by Nickelless
quote:
Originally posted by fb101
14 month yield total.
Half Dollar
Pre 1965 219
40% 1/2 Dlr
1965-1969 856
total silver 205 oz.
I'm sticking with it.
But how much in halves have you sorted to get 205 oz.?
Uhhhh. guessing about $90,000 |
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Nickelless
Administrator
USA
5580 Posts |
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fb101
Administrator
USA
2856 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 19:40:10
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Maybe. Only takes an hour.
But the truth is, it's more for the fun than anything else. |
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Edited by - fb101 on 04/21/2009 19:40:45 |
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Frugi
Administrator
USA
627 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 19:41:47
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| i always get the brinks bags from US Bancorp banks (US Bank). I always find silver. Last bag I found about 50 clad(40%r's) and a few (90%r's), I never have enough expendable cash to keep buying them so I don't usually, but those brinks bags are "silver mines" at least they are here in STL. |
Real Eyes Realize Real Lies
_________________________
http://inflation.us
Save the US Cent! http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=192523715681&ref=mf
www.pre82.com <-- My website. |
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buyingsilvers
Penny Collector Member
441 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 19:43:55
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quote:
Originally posted by Nickelless
quote:
Originally posted by fb101
quote:
Originally posted by Nickelless
quote:
Originally posted by fb101
14 month yield total.
Half Dollar
Pre 1965 219
40% 1/2 Dlr
1965-1969 856
total silver 205 oz.
I'm sticking with it.
But how much in halves have you sorted to get 205 oz.?
Uhhhh. guessing about $90,000
$439 searched per ounce of silver??? Doesn't seem worth it, IMO.
That's like 1 keeper per 167 halves searched. (180,000 halves/ 1075)
Or 6 keepers per $500 searched. That's not too bad IMO.
Actually even 1 keeper per $500 isn't that bad if you take the approach of it being a hobby, and not a money making venture.
I'm running at a rate of 60toz per month. My boxes are pretty consistent, finding on average between 10-20 per box, sometimes under 10, sometimes more than 30. Of course my rate is skewed higher because of the full CWR rolls I mentioned earlier. I expect the "silver mine" to eventually be depleted, but for now, I'm sitting pretty. |
Edited by - buyingsilvers on 04/21/2009 19:44:40 |
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Frugi
Administrator
USA
627 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 19:52:47
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I can search a bag of halves in under 1 hour. I have tried to take longer, but it is so easy :-(.... I once got 3 bags to last a snowy weekend, and all 3 were gone the 1st day before any real accumulation. :-( If it was a contest I could probably search 5 bags an hour if I had to.
pennies are much more fun, but way less profitable. |
Real Eyes Realize Real Lies
_________________________
http://inflation.us
Save the US Cent! http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=192523715681&ref=mf
www.pre82.com <-- My website. |
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oober
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1304 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 20:53:00
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I enjoy 1/2's even though I run bad at them... 24toz the last 5 month searching almost 1k in halves per week...
I have a great dump bank, and a great pickup bank (now)... Both are with in 3/4 of a mile from my house...
Overall though I like nickels and pennies better, you never know when you find that AU 60yr old plus nickel or penny. Or better yet, error's (which I am beginning to look for more avidly. |
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Dan52
Penny Collector Member
USA
422 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2009 : 23:31:32
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| I recently sold $404.50 face value 40% halves for $1200.00 and used some of the proceeds to buy other coins....1878s morgan...MS-60. 1913 type 1 nickel, 1902o morgan, 11 different morgan and peace dollars. 1938 quarter, and more. I do it mostly for fun. |
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WIZARD1
Penny Sorter Member
USA
48 Posts |
Posted - 04/24/2009 : 04:49:21
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| I started doing halves about four months ago average 2 boxes a week so far about 8 rolls of 40%ers and at least 1 roll of 90%ers its like playing the lotto with no risk you buy youre ticket no winner you take it back to the bank playing lotto no winner bye bye cashola love those odds. also dont give tellers as much respect for knowledge I just did drivebys the other day for first time amazed at how many tellers handed me silver out of their trays I spendt two hours and about a gallon and a half of gas netted 2 90%ers and 17 40%ers well worth the time also got to listen to some sports radio and enjoy a couple of cold beers. |
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Topic |
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Is searching rolls for wild silver worth it?
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