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I was just wondering with all the talk about the begining shortage of 90% silver if anyone here has brought from any of the big dealers like Kitco, Silvertowne, etc. Was wondering if the coins were light because of their condition and if anyone did a check for dates and mintmark. Looking to get set up to buy on the next dip in the market.

dakota1955 wrote:I was just wondering with all the talk about the begining shortage of 90% silver if anyone here has brought from any of the big dealers like Kitco, Silvertowne, etc. Was wondering if the coins were light because of their condition and if anyone did a check for dates and mintmark. Looking to get set up to buy on the next dip in the market.

Their bags (on all denominations) will gradually grow lighter as Gresham's Law exerts its effects. Stick with Franklin, Kennedy, or Rosie dimes and you should be alright, regardless. I notice they charge a premium on 1916-1929 bags of Mercs, as well as early Walker halves. Some of the Walker halves I sent them (which will progress to insertion into their premium-priced bags and rolls ) weighed from 11.5 to 12.0 grams each (and for which they credit you full face value, regardless of wt, when they buy from you). 12.5 is considered full wt. You do the math

I bought about $50 FV from Silvertown last month. Here's a basic overview of what I got.

Halves: Pretty even mix of Kennedy, Franklin, and Walker. Kennedy's were all AU/BU. Franklings were predominantly XF (with some VF). Walker's were pretty average wear-wise compared to what I've gotten from other places, other than a 1918 that was really worn.

Quarters: All Washingtons, except for 1 Barber. Washingtons were mostly 60-64, and were in good shape. Got a '55 that was BU that I sperated out and tossed into a 2x2. Antyhing earlier than 60 (which was probably about 20% of them) was pretty well worn.

Dimes: About a 50/50 mix of Roosevelt and Mercury. Mercury's were average (i.e. anything pre 40's was very worn).

The bags I bought were a mix of the $10 FV, and $5 FV that they sell. Each bag usually had some of each denomination, with the majority of the FV being made up in halves. I did receive one $10 bag that didn't have any dimes in it (it was just halves and quarters). Other than the '55 quarter, and the Barber quarter, nothing really to write home about -- didn't get any dates or mintmarks that were remotely on the less common end of the spectrum.

They charge a pretty good premium above spot, but if I buy locally I have to pay sales tax, so it often makes more sense for me to pay a premium and buy from a website instead.

Thanks that was what I was looking for. Someone who did buy. I brought 2013 silver eagles last month from Silvertowne and they have gone up in price as of now. But if you can get free shipping and a rebate on a credit card the premiun does wash out.

No one else here brought silver from the big boys. That is not counting Ray as a big boy. We know that he has the good stuff.

I haven't bought from the big guys since summer, but at that time I picked up some mercs to pick through for my Dansco album.

While the big guys advertise "good or better", don't be surprised if half your bag of mercs is F2-AG3. I typically sell the worst half of the bag back to them when spot has gone up enough to cover the buy/sell spread.