Mercury Dimes

[superhero]

Thinking of buying a bag or three of 90% coins.

The premiums on Walking Liberties and Franklin Halves have shot up $0.50 in the past 2 weeks, so Mercury Dimes are en vogue.

What's the opinion on Mercury Dimes around here?

 

[Penn]

I love them. Go for it.

 

[DoChenRollingBearing]

@ superhero

Seconded! Just don't buy all your silver at one time. Scale in. Buy now, buy later!

Don't forget about fractional gold (1/4th oz, 1/10th oz, etc.), although 1/10th oz Eagles are now not available in the city where I am.

 

[Jay]

Like Penn said, love em, got a bunch. Bough some rolls when junk silver wasn't cool (think it was 50-60 dollars a roll.) Boy those days are gone. Interesting video out there about how the average wage for most of mankind was one dimes worth of silver a day.

 

[pmbug]

The deal with Mercury dimes vs. other forms of 90% is [potential] wear. If you are buying based upon face value (ie. buying a bag of $100 face or whatever), you can get shorted a bit on silver content if the dimes are well worn. It's best to buy Mercury dimes by weight (troy ounces).

The reason half dollars usually command a slight premium for 90% is because they are generally in great condition (little wear) and retain their full silver content.

 

[Penn]

easier to read the date for those of us older- where as roosevelts can be hard to read

 

[Jay]

heres ONE video about it, there are many out there....:


snip:
The silver value in a denarius is $2.40. That is the very most an average ancient worker was paid per day. If you make significantly more than $2.40/day, you are doing LIGHT YEARS better than the worker 2,000 years ago. Sounds like silver is a bargain to me.

 

[superhero]

The retailer in mind must be reading my posts. They increased the premium on walking liberties when I was getting ready to purchase, now they've increased the premiums on Mercury dimes just as I'm getting ready to buy.

FWIW, when I first joined the site, I was figuring out what would "cost" the least in terms of premiums if I bought and sold, i.e. what premium do I pay when I buy, and how much over spot do I get back if I sell.

My conclusion then and now is buy maples and ASEs from Goldmart and sell to APMEX. You lose $0.89 per oz. 90% silver used to make sense, but 90% seemingly becoming more scarce and premiums going up, it doesn't pencil out anymore.

 

[klickitat]

Right now I am paying a 3% premium for dimes, quarters and halves at my local coin shop. No shipping or insurance cost either. Is this typical?

BTW: the last time I went into my local shop, he said that he is running out and no one was selling. Is this also happening around the country?

 

[pmbug]

Hi klickitat, welcome to the forum. :wave:

The premiums for 90% silver fluctuate based upon the supply/availability. I just checked Tulving and they are completely sold out of 90% silver. There's a good chance that your LCS is telling you straight - supply is tight.

 

[Mark]

I buy Roosevelts due to the wear factor.