A dollar is a dollar and a dime is a... dollar?

Garden update:
Better boy tomatoes - sprouted
Big boy tomatoes - sprouted
Early girl tomatoes - 1 flat sprouted
Broccoli - sprouted
Basil - 1 pot sprouted

Mr. Zen is a coin collector, but not a hardcore one. He has collected more for sentimental reasons rather than for value. He has all the U.S. state quarters, both mints (I just completed his collection for him within the past few days, having located a Hawaii - D). He has a 100 year sequential collection of U.S. pennies (but not all mints) and a pretty good start on U.S. nickels. He has a few U.S. dimes - not very many, though. He also has some odd foreign coins.

Basically his collection is worth face value, although he has a few coins that might be worth a couple of dollars. Nothing really spectacular.

After having seen his collection, I got interested in it myself, especially dimes. I have located some older, more valuable coins - some of which I've given to Mr. Zen as gifts. I also collect for myself.

I've learned that more people are scarfing up silver coins these days. I'm not talking about the US Mint Silver Eagles - the U.S. bullion coins (which the government can take back from you).

I'm talking about pocket change.

With the economy heading straight down the toilet, more people are losing confidence in paper money and government-backed securities. People are starting to remember the value of bartering (just look at recent activity on places like Craigslist) and looking for ways to make even trades rather than having to rely on paper money and modern coin.

People are also remembering the value of gold and silver. Think of how many times you see the Goldkit commercials on tv. Gold and silver, no matter where you are, is always negotiable.

Once upon a time, certain U.S. coins contained silver.

People are starting to hoard these coins. And after having figured the value of the silver content (what I'll call Bullion value), I can see why.

Rule of thumb:
If it's a dime, quarter, half dollar or dollar coin and it's got a date of 1964 or earlier, then it's got silver in it.

About 90% silver, to be precise.

Those coins, up to 1964, were made with 0.723 oz. of silver for each dollar of face value. Taking wear and tear into account, the standard is to figure that there's .715 oz. in a U.S. silver coin today.

Right now, the spot price (current market trading value) of silver is around $13.40 per ounce.

Use this formula to figure out the bullion value of a coin:
P x FV x .715
where P=current spot price
and FV=coin's face value (i.e., .10 for dime, .25 for quarter, .50 for half dollar, and 1 for dollar)

Using that formula, here's what the bullion value of some coins would be today:
1964 and earlier dime: $0.95
1964 and earlier quarter: $2.38
1964 and earlier half dollar: $4.77
1964 and earlier silver dollar: $9.54

Please note: if the coin is earlier than 1934, the numismatic value ("collector value") could be greater than the value of the silver. But when it comes to a collapsed economy, even the numismatic value can fall. The silver content, on the other hand, will always be worth something.

No wonder people are hoarding these things and searching through their change.

Imagine if you had 10 dimes, dated between 1960 and 1964. Not hard to do.
Face value would be $1.00. Ten dimes = one dollar.
But the bullion value would be $9.50! 10 dimes x $.95 = $9.50

Or, imagine you had 8 quarters, dated between 1960 and 1964. Again, not hard to do.
Face value would be $2.00. Eight quarters = two dollars.
But the bullion value would be $19.04! 8 quarters x $2.38 = $19.04

See the difference? And we're not even talking about collector value - these coins don't have to be mint, brilliant, extra fine or whatever. Scratched up, worn, and scuffed coins are okay - because silver is silver. It all melts the same. As long as you can verify the year, you're good.

Kinda makes you wanna break open that piggy bank, doesn't it?

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