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I recently found my first war nicks, and I really like them. I've been thinking of buying some. But I understand they often sell for significantly less than melt value. I've even heard of some places offering 40%

So what would be a good price to pay for war nickels so I won't lose money on it?

I have been thinking about this a bit lately. Different people look at it differently. Here are some approaches I've come across over time:

1. Whatever "times face" the 90% silver coins are currently trading at, they trade at as well. According to coinflation.com, 90% is currently 21.7x and warnicks are 33.7x... so that means this is a significant discount to spot price (64%).

2. A buck apiece. No matter what. That's currently a little under 60% of melt. And as long as silver is over $18/oz, it's still at a discount to spot, technically speaking.

3. Silver is silver, so sometimes nicer looking ones trade kinda close to their melt value. Unc condition ones can obviously trade for more, and complete sets can too, because of their numismatic appeal and historical significance. But you still have to find a buyer for that kind of stuff, and they're not a real high-traffic item...

Bottom line, that's not a simple question, because of course there's ALWAYS a market for silver, but not always a FIRM one for what some people call "dirty silver." Your local buy/sell rates may vary significantly from what I've encountered.

I have never seen people go crazy for war nickels, with that, I buy them at the flea markets for $1 each and place them in a mason jar.

I'd like to find them for $1 a piece...

mishra142 wrote:I'd like to find them for $1 a piece...

So would I. I'll take a couple dozen rolls for that price.

Okay, so a buck seems like a steal. What is your average buy or sell price, guys?

I wouldn't hold my circumstances as a representative sample for the rest of the nation, but as I recall, the last LCS I went to in my city was selling junk War Nickels for around $1.50. $1.00 sounds like a steal to me; if any of you have the opportunity to acquire them for that price, I'd go for it.

Probably somewhere in that buck and a half area.

Apmex is buying at $27.03 a roll. Anything under that is probably pretty good. I would check with your local dealers though because most people do not like war nickels.

uthminsta wrote:1. Whatever "times face" the 90% silver coins are currently trading at, they trade at as well. According to coinflation.com, 90% is currently 21.7x and warnicks are 33.7x... so that means this is a significant discount to spot price (64%).

Has anyone else seen this in practice? I thought it was a rather interesting concept.

They go for 65-70 a roll on eBay.

I usually figure I can usually sell them fairly easily for 85% melt. So if I find them cheaper than that, I may grab them.

Thanks for your responses. I noticed provident is buying for $26.83 per dollar, and selling at spot (I think). If I can find some cheap at my LCS I'll buy some...

If ever I find myself buying WN's, I tend to limit myself to 1 dollar a piece. Usually they are purchased in larger collections with other coins.

Like with 40%, I find that the market for 35% silver coins isn't as strong as the 90% and .999 fine market. So I try to buy at $1 or less and sell near melt if possible, usually ~20% or more below. It can be a lot of effort to move them which makes them less desirable if you're just flipping the coins.

~JobIII

My LCS sells War Nicks for 1.50 a piece. Is that too high of a price to pay for them? I'm thinking that it is. I suppose that depends on the spot price of silver.

SilverDragon72 wrote:My LCS sells War Nicks for 1.50 a piece. Is that too high of a price to pay for them? I'm thinking that it is. I suppose that depends on the spot price of silver.

$1.50 is roughly 90% of melt, so it isn't a horrible deal...but to make them really liquid, you need to determine how much a refiner would buy them for. I wouldn't get excited over them unless they were $1.25 (75% of melt) or less.

Good to know. I do like them though. I would buy these and hold on to them for a long time. Maybe I can negotiate a better price....

I've been buying at $50/roll from my LCS in quantity. What's nice about that is it's my pick. I take a pass on the ones with crud or abundant scratches, etc. On the other hand, there's an ample supply of XF-AU and an occasional MS60 that I snag at the same price. I now have 3 rolls of very nice ones that I'm going to keep. The rest can be delegated to the melting pot if/when the price is right.