How to earn eBay Bucks when you Buy Bullion – June 12/13

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When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a small commission. More information about our affiliate programs can be found here.

On June 12th, eBay launched another promotion to earn a 10% eBay Bucks bonus on qualified purchases.
As usual, items listed in the bullion categories are ineligible to earn eBay Bucks.

However, there are some ways to earn eBay Bucks when you buy bullion on eBay. When you buy bullion on eBay when they are running a bonus Bucks promotion it helps to reduce your overall dollar cost average. When factoring in the eBay Bucks bonus into the net cost of the bullion, it’s possible to buy bullion below spot price.

The first thing to note is that items listed in the bullion categories are ineligible for earning eBay Bucks. This rule has been in place for a long time as it’s always listed in the fine print whenever eBay has a special promotion like the one running today.

The second thing to note is that many times sellers will cross list bullion items in other somewhat related categories that are eligible for earning eBay Bucks. Often times this means searching for items you’d normally find in the bullion categories in related categories, such as coins and currency.

Online bullion dealers will do this because they are aware of the promotions and want to encourage people to purchase because of the promotion. eBay charges dealers a higher fee when listing in other categories so the items may be a slightly higher cost. When factoring in the eBay Bucks earned via the promotion this is often times not even a factor.

To help you find the best deals we keep track of gold, silver and junk bullion items that are eligible for earning eBay Bucks on bullion. The list includes a variety of Pre-1933 gold coins, silver bars and rounds, American Silver Eagles, and plenty of Pre-1965 junk coinage. The items on this page are all eligible to earn eBay Bucks and any promotional bonuses that are offered.

View the list of eBay Bucks Eligible Bullion Items

We have separate lists of bullion items that are eligible for earning eBay Bucks:

Cheapest silver bullion per ounce

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90% junk silver coins

Finding the cheapest silver bullion per ounce can take hours. Searching through dozens of dealers’ websites, scouring sales pages, product pages, comparing price per ounce, shipping charges, dealer premiums, etc.

Our Closest to Spot Price Tool will save you time and money. We track the prices of over 200 bullion products from over thirty major dealer websites. Our closest to spot price tool will show you the cheapest silver bullion per ounce from across all the major dealers.

All of the pricing that we show is pulled straight from each dealer’s website. No games, no gimmicks, no fake pricing like some other price comparison sites.

With our closest to spot price tool you can find the cheapest silver, gold and platinum bullion from over 50 reputable online dealers. You can chose to only show government bullion, such as American Silver Eagles, Austrian Philharmonics, etc.

You can also chose to only display fractional bullion products. This can be particularly helpful if you’re interested in finding the best deals to find the best prices of the available coins.

The tool also calculates the amount of each product that you would need to buy from that particular dealer in order to receive free shipping. For the dealers that do include free shipping, they each have their own minimum purchase amount threshold. For many dealers the purchase threshold to receive free shipping is as low as $199. For some dealers it can be at least $1,000.

We believe that providing you with price transparency with regard to the cheapest silver bullion will help you make better purchase decisions.

Be sure to check out our list of silver at spot price offers and our silver bullion price quick glance tool.

Free 1/10th oz Silver Round, plus 5 ounces of silver below spot price

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silver rounds

Money Metals Exchange is giving away free 1/10th oz .999 silver rounds. The offer also includes a voucher or a $20 discount on a future purchase.

You just need to pay the shipping and handling fee of $3.97. While it’s not entirely free silver, it’s pretty close to it.

Consider this…

Money Metals Exchange is currently selling generic their Bargain Bin generic, secondary market silver for 74 cents over spot when you buy 5 ounces. Based on today’s silver spot price of $16.75, that works out to $17.49 an ounce.

The cost of 5 ounces is $87.45 plus $7.97 shipping for a total of $95.42.

If you use the $20 voucher as a means to pay for the shipping, the total shipping cost for both offers is $11.94, with $8.06 left over to reduce the cost of the 5 ounces of silver.

This puts the net cost of the 5 ounces of silver in their Bargain Bin product at $79.39 or only $15.88 an ounce, 87 cents below spot price per ounce.

So first, order the free 1/10th ounce silver round and get the $20 voucher for $3.97 shipping and handling.

After the voucher arrives, order the Bargain Bin 5 ounces of silver and apply the $20 voucher.

Better than a silver at spot price deal, it’s a silver below spot price deal!

Gold prices lower, sales of gold bullion surge

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Gold prices fell throughout the month of May. The price of gold per ounce at the start of June was down close to 1%.

As the price of gold has continued to fall investor demand for American Gold Eagles has surged. The US Mint reported that Gold Eagle sales in May were the highest since January.

In May, the US Mint sold 18,500 2018 American Eagle 1 oz Gold Coins, up from 4,000 coins shipped in April.

2018 Gold Buffalo 1 oz coin sales rose to 16,500 units in May compared to 2,000 units in April.

While the price of silver has stayed relatively steady, the gold to silver ratio has continued a downward trend over the past couple of months due to the reduced gold prices.

Why 10 ounce silver bars are an Ideal Investment

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silvergoldbull 10 oz silver bars spot price

When starting to invest in silver and gold bullion many new investors are confused by all the different products.

Many new investors go all in on government silver coins like the American Silver Eagle or the Silver Canadian Maple Leaf. It is a good idea to have a core foundation that contains government bullion.

They are the most widely recognized silver bullion coins in North America. That makes them one the most liquid silver investment options.

Where do you go once you’ve built a foundation around Silver Eagles or Maple Leafs?

One path many investors take is to begin buying silver bars to add to their portfolio. Ten ounce silver bars are an optimal size and weight.

Several international sovereign mints produce 10 oz silver bars. The most notable are the Britannia Series 10 oz Silver Bar from the Royal Mint and the Royal Canadian Mint 10 oz Silver Bar.

The premiums on government minted silver bars are generally higher than private mint.

There are a lot more buying options available when shopping for private mint silver bars.

Ten ounce silver bars are the ideal investment for a variety of reason.

  1. Size – In general, most ten ounce silver bars are roughly 3.5 inches by about 1.75 inches and about 1/2 inch thick. The specific dimensions will vary from mint to mint. The dimensions of most bars of this weight from the Silvertowne Mint are 76.2 x 38.1 x 11.1 mm. Similar to the size of a deck of playing cards.
  2. Stackable – 10 ounce silver bars are easy to stack in a discrete, small amount of space. The Scottsdale Mint “Stacker” 10 oz silver bar may be the ultimate in stackable silver. These bars are slightly thicker and have a smaller length and width.
  3. Lower dealer premium – When it comes to premiums on silver bars, the 10 ounce size sits at a sweet spot. As bars get larger in size, the premium per ounce typically gets lower. Secondary market bars often have the lowest premiums.
  4. Free Shipping – Many online bullion dealers offer free shipping above a certain threshold. The minimum purchase amount for free shipping for some dealers is as low as $99 to $199.  
  5. Easy to sell – Unlike larger size bars such as those that weigh 100 ounces, 10 ounce silver bars are easy to sell close to spot price. Secondary market ten ounce silver bars are one of the most popular items available today.

10 ounce silver bars are produced by all of the major private mints. They are sold by all of the online trusted and reputable bullion dealers.

Where to buy 10 ounce silver bars

10 ounce silver bars can be bought from nearly all of the trusted online bullion dealers. They are one of the most common size bars produced by private mints.

You can buy 10 ounce silver bars online.

Generic Silver Bars vs. Brand Name

Most online bullion dealers sell both generic 10 ounce silver bars and specific brand named silver bars. The term generic silver bars is a bit misleading though, as these bars are manufactured by a major mint.

Dealers use the term generic silver bars to identify silver bullion bars that have been acquired on the secondary market. Oftentimes these bars may be older, have some tarnish and scratches and will have been bought from private individuals. Dealers usually have random inventory of these bars so they are offered at a discount compared to named brand silver bars. Generic or secondary market silver bars will alway contain at least .999 pure silver.

The premium on buying random manufacturer generic silver bars will usually cost less per ounce than those that are sold as new.

Most times it will be cheaper to buy a 10 ounce silver bar than it will to buy 10 individual 1 ounce bars.

What is Silver Spot Price?

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What is Silver Spot Price?

Silver Spot Price is the price that silver bullion futures contracts trade at on the COMEX commodities exchange global markets. Spot price is also the price that retail silver dealers use as the cost basis for selling and buying products. Dealers determine the price of silver bars and rounds by adding a premium over the silver spot price.

When selling silver, a dealer will usually base their products on the spot silver ask price. When a dealer buys silver they will usually base their price on the spot silver bid price. In addition to the added premium, the spread between the silver spot price bid and ask is how the dealer makes their profit.

The precious metals and bullion dealers on this page offer new customers an opportunity to buy a fixed amount of silver at spot price.
Some bullion dealers call these “starter packs”. The silver bullion starter packs are limited offers to one purchase per household.

The here give you to chance to buy over 50 oz of silver at spot from these precious metals dealers.

Buying at spot price is the easiest way to buy the cheapest silver bullion. Add more silver bullion to your stack or investment portfolio without the added premium.

Buying silver at spot price will save you money, reduce your dollar cost average (DCA), and improve your precious metals investment holdings.

Where can you buy silver at spot price?

The dealers listed on this page, such as Silver Gold Bull, JM Bullion and SD Bullion have a special offer that allows new customers to purchase up to 10 oz at silver spot price.

By taking advantage of all of these offers you can buy over 50 troy ounces of at silver spot price.

In addition to these offers, buying generic silver bullion provides the best value for dollar cost averaging. Buying generic silver bullion in the form of 1 oz bars and rounds, 5 oz bars or 10 oz bars provides a balance of lower premium over silver spot price while also being fairly easy to sell if you need the money in a pinch.

Buying larger size bars, such as kilo’s and 100 oz bars will be the lowest premium over silver spot price.

Why do some dealers sell silver at spot price?

Except when noted, spot price deals are limited to one offer per household. Silver bullion is a commodity product driven by market pricing. Dealers differentiate themselves by their customer service and pricing. Offering a spot price deal exposes the customer to the dealer’s customer service and pricing for additional products. Most of the deals on this page are incentive offers for dealers to attract new customers to expose them to their customer service and pricing with the goal of converting them into returning and repeat customers.

From time to time some dealers will drop the prices on a particular item to spot price. This sometimes happens with 1 oz generic silver rounds and 10 oz bars. Dealers may do this because they have an excess inventory of an item. They may have purchased these items well below the current spot price. This allows them to eliminate the premium they would normally charge and pass that savings on to investors looking for a deal.

Which is the best silver at spot price deal?

It depends your stacking goals. Many people choose to get the spot price deal from Silver Gold Bull. The Silver Gold Bull offer is for their custom 10 oz bar at spot price with free shipping.

The Silver Gold Bull 10 oz silver bar is custom minted by The Sunshine Mint. It features the Silver Gold Bull and charging bull logo. Since it is manufactured by The Sunshine Mint it is made to the same
quality standards and purity of other Sunshine Mint 10 oz bars. The 10 oz bar at spot price contains .999 fine silver and is of the same quality as silver bars carrying a high dealer premium.

Can I buy American Silver Eagles at spot price?

There is two offers we have found that include American Silver Eagle coins for a discounted price. The first, from Money Metals Exchange, is their Silver Starter Pack at Employee Pricing. The silver starter kit includes
4 troy ounces of silver that includes (1) American Silver Eagle, (1) Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, (1) Generic Silver 1 oz Walking Liberty Round, (1) half ounce Walking Liberty Round and (5) 1/10th ounce fractional silver rounds. All of these silver bullion rounds carry a premium over silver spot price. However, Money Metals Exchange reduces the premium on these items and offers them at cost. For a limited time only, the price also includes free shipping.

While the silver price per ounce is above silver spot price, this Silver Starter Pack is still a great deal with the premium items. It is limited to one purchase per customer.

The second offer that we found is from International Currency and Coin. Their offer is for (1) American Silver Eagle coin for $17.00. However, the shipping charge is $5.95 which brings the total cost of this offer to $22.95 which is well above silver spot price.

How can I buy silver rounds at spot price?

Yes, you can buy silver rounds at spot price. We track several offers from trusted and reputable dealers that include generic silver rounds at spot price. The spot price deals from JM Bullion and Monument Metals each include (10) 1 oz silver rounds at spot price. They also include free shipping.

Several times per year other major trusted and reputable dealers will offer silver rounds at spot price or just slightly above. Be sure to visit our generic silver rounds product page that tracks prices from all major online bullion dealers.

We also send out spot price deal alerts as part of our email newsletter. If you’d like to receive these alerts along with our semi-regular newsletter you can subscribe here

If your goal is to get as much precious metals as close to spot as possible then follow these steps:

  1. Compare Dealer Prices – We track prices from over 30 online trusted and reputable bullion dealers for hundreds of precious metals products.
  2. Stick with Generic Silver Bullion – Generic silver bullion, especially secondary market silver bullion, is frequently offered by dealers at or close to silver spot price. Generic silver bullion is going to have the best prices.
  3. Buy Larger Quantities – The trusted and reputable online bullion dealers offer price breaks on larger quantities. When buying smaller size silver bullion, such as 1 oz rounds or bars, the prices will be cheaper if you are buy 10 or 20 ounces at a time. Keep in mind that some dealers charge shipping on orders that don’t meet a specified threshold. Shipping charges need to be incorporated into the overall cost of your investment.
  4. Watch for Special Offers – Online bullion dealers will periodically offer special price breaks on certain silver and gold bullion products. These products are often secondary market bullion products such as 5 oz or 10 oz silver bars. Special offers can include silver at spot price with free shipping.

Quick Glance Compare Silver Prices chart

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Some users have suggested that we provide a quick one page summary of some of the top silver bullion items. Based on users’ feedback we built a one page quick glance compare silver prices chart.

The chart features some of the most sought after and top searched silver bullion items.

Across the top of the chart we have the silver bullion items. The items displayed are based on the popularity of a wide variety of products here on the site. Those products are:

  • American Silver Eagle coins, both random year and 2018
  • Generic Silver 1 oz rounds
  • Random year Silver Canadian Maple Leaf coins
  • Random year Austria Philharmonic coins
  • $10 Face Value Junk circulated coinage
  • Generic 5 troy ounce silver bars
  • and generic 10 troy ounce silver bars

This page consolidates 8 of our top products into a single page that allows you to find the lowest price for any of these items at a quick glance. The lowest price across 12 reputable and trusted dealers is highlighted in green making it easy to find.

The dealers in the list carry most of the top products with a couple small exceptions, and when items are out of stock a price will not be displayed.

The list of dealers includes:

  • APMEX
  • BOLD Precious Metals
  • Monument Metals
  • Golden Eagle Coins
  • BGASC
  • Bullion Exchanges
  • SD Bullion
  • Provident Metals
  • Silver Gold Bull
  • JM Bullion
  • Silver.com
  • and Money Metals Exchange

Check out the quick glance compare silver prices page and let us know what you think.

Don’t forget to check out the current silver at spot price deals that are available as well.

NGC Certifies Rare 2016 Silver Eagle Die Clash Error

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2018 American 1 oz Silver Eagle

A collector recently submitted a unique and rare example of an American Silver Eagle mint error coin to NGC for certification.

NGC has confirmed that the error on this coin is due to a die clash.

A die class occurs when the obverse and reverse parts of the die come together without a planchet between them. In some circumstances part of each side of the die is transferred to the other side. This causes part of the reverse to be imprinted on the obverse, and a vice-versa.

Subsequent coins that are struck after the die clash will show signs of the die clash.

According to CoinWeek.com NGC has certified around 20 coins showing less severe die clash errors for the 2017 mintage and even fewer of previous mintages.

Buying silver online, How to choose bullion dealers

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silver rounds

Some frequent questions new precious metals investors ask are :

  • Which online bullion dealer is the best?
  • Which online bullion dealer has the best prices?
  • Which online bullion dealers are reputable?
  • Does anyone have experience ordering from XYZ dealer?

Choosing which online bullion dealers to order from can be confusing for those just getting started in precious metals.  It’s important to trust the online bullion dealers that you buy from because there have been a lot of well publicized scams and there are lots of counterfeit products floating around out there.

How do you choose which bullion dealer to buy from?

There are a variety of factors to consider when choosing which online bullion dealers to buy from. All of the major, reputable online bullion dealers carry many of the same products. Oftentimes, the pricing on what is the exact same product vary greatly from dealer to dealer.

Reputation and Trustworthiness

The best way is to conduct thorough online research to identify well-known bullion dealers. Look for established dealers with a solid reputation in the industry. You can research customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials on trusted review websites like TrustPilot, the Better Business Bureau and FindBullionPrices.com. There are also many existing threads on online forums and social media platforms like /r/SilverBugs and others on Reddit.

Pay attention to feedback regarding reliability, order processing times, shipping times, customer service, and overall customer satisfaction. Verify that the dealer accepts your chosen payment method. Many will have minimum order amounts for wire transfers and some other payment methods. Crytpo payments are an option for some dealers as well, making it easy to exchange digital tokens for physical metals.

Consider dealers with a history of transparent and ethical business practices.

Customer Service

How dealers handle issues that arise is one of the biggest differentiators in how to choose which bullion dealers are best for you. Some questions to ask yourself when evaluating

  • Does the dealer have a track record of handling complaints and responding quickly to even minor inquiries?
  • Does the dealer have open inquiries with the Better Business Bureau?
  • What’s the dealer’s TrustPilot rating?

Product Selection

Online bullion dealers will carry a wider product selection than your local coin store. The product selection offered by online dealers will always include a wider selection of sovereign government bullion coins from numerous countries in addition to a large volume of generic silver bars and rounds in many sizes and weights.

Once you’ve identified a reputable dealer, browse their online inventory to explore the silver products available. Look for different types of silver, such as coins, bars, or rounds, and consider factors like weight, purity, and design to find the products that best suit your preferences and investment goals.

Pricing and Dealer Premium

Pricing and dealer premium are important factors to considered when choosing which online bullion dealers to buy from. When you buy silver and gold bullion, you are likely buying it as an investment or as a way of storing wealth or saving money for the future.

No matter what reasons you have that lead you to buy silver bullion, price will almost always be a top factor. The amount you pay above the current spot price when you buy silver is called the “dealer premium”. This is the markup that the dealer charges that will cover the dealer’s overhead costs, the dealer profit and in cases of free shipping, the shipping charges. The dealers that offer free shipping with a low minimum order typically have higher per piece premiums which can be of particular to note when making bulk purchases.

You always want to pay the lowest possible premium over spot price when you buy silver. In most cases, the spot price will have to rise higher than the price that you paid, including the dealer premium in order to profit from your investment.

Prices on precious metals are relatively stable and rise and fall slowly over time. It can take months or years before the spot price rises to an amount above what you paid in order to turn a profit on your investment, if that is one of your goals. The lower the dealer premium on the items that you buy the faster your investment becomes profitable.

Some items, such as American Silver Eagle coins will always cost more than silver spot price. One reason for this is because the US Mint charges wholesalers and dealers a premium over spot price in order to cover the cost of production and distribution. That premium gets baked into the cost is always past along to investors.

The US Mint has been experiencing ongoing production problems that began during the pandemic with supply chain shutdowns. In recent months, it’s been reported that the procurement of raw planchets continues to be an issue for the mint. The mint has been unable to keep up with the demand from investors, which has resulted in higher wholesale premiums and market prices.

Part of this premium can be recovered when selling Silver Eagles as dealers tend to pay above spot price. But you can’t always count on that.

Buying Silver Online

One of those deals is from Money Metals Exchange. They have a silver starter kit that comes with both a random year American Silver Eagle and a random year Canadian Silver Maple Leaf. The kits also comes with a one Troy ounce generic silver round, plus a half ounce fractional round and five 1/10th ounce fractional rounds. Together this starter kit comes with 4 Troy ounces of silver, including the two premium government bullion coins. Money Metals Exchange ships the starter kit for free.

The Money Metals Exchange silver starter kit price does fluctuate with the silver spot price.

This silver starter kit includes high premium government minted silver bullion, and 6 fractional silver rounds. With free shipping included it’s hard to pass up this offer at such a great price.

There are only a handful of wholesale bullion dealers in the country, most of the online bullion dealers are buying from the same sources. For the most part, they are also paying the same prices. Some of the larger dealers may get volume discounts, those may be offered as discounts to their customers.

Placing an Order with an Online Bullion Dealer

Once you’ve selected the dealer and the silver products you wish to purchase, add them to your cart. Most dealers will lock in the spot price that is used to calculate the order total for a few minutes while you continue browsing.

When you’re ready to check out, review your order in the cart to ensure accuracy and check the total cost. Verify the spot price, the lock-in time remaining, any applicable state sales taxes and shipping fees. Proceed to the checkout page and provide the required information, such as your shipping address and payment details.

Follow the instructions provided to complete the purchase. Verify all the details before finalizing the transaction. Some dealers may require additional steps, such as identity verification for larger purchases, as part of their compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.

After completing the purchase, you’ll receive an order confirmation screen followed by an email that will contain the order details. The dealer will then process your order and prepare it for shipment. Depending on the dealer and your location, shipping times may vary. Most dealers will provide you with notification of when your order ships and a tracking number may be provided.

Once your silver order arrives, carefully inspect the package for any signs of damage or tampering. Ensure that the contents match your order. If you have any concerns, contact the dealer immediately.

Sales Tax Varies by State

The reasons for states charging sales tax on bullion can vary. Some states have chosen to exempt bullion purchases from sales tax as a way to promote precious metals investing and attract bullion buyers. The specific sales tax policies on bullion vary from state to state, so it is advisable to consult the tax laws of your specific jurisdiction or seek professional advice regarding tax implications for bullion purchases.

Reasons to Buy Junk Silver

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90% junk silver coins

Junk Silver Coins

Junk Silver Coins is a common term that refers to circulated coinage that was minted with silver. In the United States, coinage containing silver was in common circulation prior to 1965.

Silver bullion was used in the minting of all dimes, quarters, half-dollars and dollar coins before 1965. The silver in these coins is 90% pure silver. Nickel coins that were minted from 1942 to 1945 contained 35% silver content because the other metals were needed for the military efforts in World War II. The Kennedy Half-dollar coins minted between 1965 and 1969 were minted with 40% silver.

Together, these coins minted with 90%, 40% and 35% silver content are commonly referred to as junk silver because of their intrinsic value.

Why buy junk silver?

  • Junk is real, genuine bullion. Each $1 face value of 90% junk silver contains .715 troy ounces of silver. Junk silver is commonly recognized as real silver. It is something that has been commonly accepted based on its intrinsic worth.
  • Unlike other forms of bullion, Junk Silver is not commonly subjected to counterfeiting like other forms of silver. Junk silver does not have any numismatic value to collectors. It is collected as a store of value purely for the silver content. It is easy to buy junk silver.
  • Junk silver is fractional silver and is easily dividable. It doesn’t carry the same premiums as other fractional silver bullion. Junk silver can easily be split up and sold or traded if it becomes necessary. It can make bartering and trading for goods and services much easier than other forms of silver and gold bullion because of its fractional nature.
  • Junk silver has never been subject to government confiscation. In 1933 President Roosevelt ordered all gold coins held by citizens to be seized by the government. Those who failed to do so were subject to criminal penalties, fines and prison. When copper-clad coinage was introduced in 1965 many people hoarded the 90% silver coins.
  • Junk silver is easy and convenient to store and doesn’t require any special holders, containers or method of storage. It can be stored like any coinage and many investors keep them in standard paper bank rolls.
  • Junk silver carries a lower premium over spot price than other silver or gold bullion products. The price of junk silver is based purely on the silver content. With each $1 face value containing .715 troy ounces of silver.
  • Most coin dealers, pawn shops or other places that trade in silver bullion will often have bags of junk silver available for sale. Bags containing $100 face value or $1000 face value are common. For making smaller buys as a way to store wealth, smaller increments can easily be found. Many dealers sell $5 face value rolls of silver dimes, or rolls of quarters containing $10 face value. It is easy to buy junk silver any time you have extra money.
  • Junk silver with a lower silver content, such as war nickels (35% silver content) and Kennedy half-dollars from 1965 to 1969 (40% silver content) can often be bought for less than spot price. Some investors consider the lower silver content less desirable than other forms of bullion, which can lead to significantly lower premiums.
  • Junk silver is easy to liquidate and sell. Just as junk silver is readily available and easily bought, it can also be sold just as easily. Any local coin shop, pawn shop will readily buy junk silver in the event you need to sell it.