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Posts Tagged ‘collecting’

The American silver has been the symbol of the United States since it began. They are testament to strength that has lasted over two hundred years. The American silver dollar is the cornerstone of many coin collections and collectors everywhere. Not only are they beautiful, have have a very rich historical value.

From the beginning of the modern age, silver has become one of the major metals for world trade. Gold coins are very precious and brass or copper not valuable enough. Silver has the perfect balance of rareness and worth to make it the coin of trade around the world. The United States has always minted silver dollars since the end of the American revolution. The first old silver dollars were nearly ninety percent silver and were pressed from hand made dies giving them a hand made look that is loved by collectors.

Gold lost it’s value to silver soon after the early 1800s. Old silver dollars were being liquidated to trade for gold and gold coins. There was a stoppage of the minting of American silver dollars until this monetary crisis evened out. The price of silver dropped to more sane levels in 1835. At that time, the mint started to strike silver dollars once again. A new design was called for and the famous Liberty silver dollar made its appearance.

American Silver Eagles are the official silver bullion coin of the United States. These coins have been issued since 1986 and contain one ounce of silver. Both bullion versions and collectible versions have been offered by the United States Mint. In 2009 demand for silver bullion coins resulted in the cancellation of the collectible versions of the coins. Collectors wonder if the same thing might happen for 2010.

The US Mint issues the bullion versions of the coin to a network of authorized purchasers. These large scale bullion buyers purchase the coins for a price based on the spot price of silver plus a mark up. The coins are then resold to other bullion dealers, coin dealers, and the public at market prices.

The collector coins are sold directly by the United States Mint. Recent offerings have consisted of a proof version of the coin, which features frosted raised elements and mirrored background elements to produce a cameo effect. These high quality strikes are sold at a premium price. A second offering is the collectible uncirculated coin. These are struck on specially burnished blanks and carry a “W” mint mark to signify mintage at West Point.

Based on statements from the United States Mint, they are legally required to produce the bullion coins in quantities sufficient to meet public demand. There is no legal requirement to produce the coins for collectors. Based on their interpretation of the law, the US Mint sourced all incoming precious metals blanks to the production of bullion coins.

The American silver has been the symbol of the United States since it began. They are testament to strength that has lasted over two hundred years. The American silver dollar is the cornerstone of many coin collections and collectors everywhere. Not only are they beautiful, have have a very rich historical value.

From the beginning of the modern age, silver has become one of the major metals for world trade. Gold coins are very precious and brass or copper not valuable enough. Silver has the perfect balance of rareness and worth to make it the coin of trade around the world. The United States has always minted silver dollars since the end of the American revolution. The first old silver dollars were nearly ninety percent silver and were pressed from hand made dies giving them a hand made look that is loved by collectors.

The price of silver in the early days of America started to rise higher than gold. This led to the melting of old silver dollars to trade for gold coins. The United States mint had to stop striking silver dollars until prices stabilized in 1835. Silver prices calmed and the high price of silver settled to a normal place once again. This led to re-minting of American silver dollars. The first Liberty silver dollar began to be struck around this time.

Since the first days of America, the silver coin of choice has been the dollar. They have symbolized the lasting strength of the United States for over 200 years. American silver dollars are still sought by new and veteran coin collectors of all ages. They are not only beautiful works of art, they have a rich history being struck in silver dollar mints across the country.

Silver has always been a form of currency that has stable valve and is transportable. Gold coins are too small for their worth and copper has been too cheap. This has made silver the preferred coin metal of trade around the world and America has always minted silver dollars. These large, round pieces of metal actually started out being worth their weight in silver, being more than 90% pure silver very soon after the American revolution ended. The earliest American silver dollars were stamped from hand engraved dies so there was a lot of variation of design from coin to coin. These changes appeal to collectors.

Gold lost it’s value to silver soon after the early 1800s. Old silver dollars were being liquidated to trade for gold and gold coins. There was a stoppage of the minting of American silver dollars until this monetary crisis evened out. The price of silver dropped to more sane levels in 1835. At that time, the mint started to strike silver dollars once again. A new design was called for and the famous Liberty silver dollar made its appearance.