Realcent.org

I picked up 2 silver coins yesterday, and wondered if we will ever be able to know how many of each year are left in existence? I'm sure the melting rate has probably been going so fast that we will never be able to know.

Wow:

"Coen estimated that of all the silver coins produced by the United States Mint, only about one-quarter survived the ongoing melts."

"I personally melted a lot of uncirculated dollars," he said. "When silver went so high, they were worth more money dead than alive."

"Many silver proof coins were melted, for example. So were certain semi-key silver coins in lesser grades."

"Essentially," Carr observed, "the key coins now are common, since they're the ones that were saved -- and the formerly common coins are now rare, since most of them were melted."

https://www.pcgs.com/news/after-the-mel ... lver-coins

Saying that 1932 D & S quarters are common now is an exaggeration. But they are more common than they were relative to, say, 1964 P & D quarters. The gap between the two is still HUGE.

Another factor to consider. I think lots of coin collectors from years ago either don’t collect anymore or they (like me) morphed into hoarders of base and precious metals. Or they died…

I believe that article is from about 20 years ago.

This has been a hot topic of debate since around 1980. In 1980 there were HUGE amounts of 90% melted down... gone forever.

This is just one of the many reasons I love the 90% stuff.

Proud to be a multi-bag holder!

68Camaro wrote:I believe that article is from about 20 years ago.

Yeah, definitely older but still a good (and shocking) read.

Anyone ever read "The Big Silver Melt" by Henry Merton? I look for it on ebay and/or amazon once in a while but it's always like $50 or more. Supposedly gives an in depth analysis of how many coins were melted after silver was removed from circulating coins in 1964. Description is as follows:

"Discusses the illegal melting of American silver coinage during the 1960s and lists the values and remaining quantities of silver coins"

I believe someone on this site may have recommended it? I think I heard Mike Maloney of goldsilver.com recommend it too.

If anyone has read it and can contribute to this thread that'd be cool. Also is the book worth dropping 50 fed notes on?

Book is old (1983) but I am sure there's some interesting tidbits in it.

In the meantime, keep stacking!

silverflake wrote:Anyone ever read "The Big Silver Melt" by Henry Merton? I look for it on ebay and/or amazon once in a while but it's always like $50 or more. Supposedly gives an in depth analysis of how many coins were melted after silver was removed from circulating coins in 1964. Description is as follows:

"Discusses the illegal melting of American silver coinage during the 1960s and lists the values and remaining quantities of silver coins"

I believe someone on this site may have recommended it? I think I heard Mike Maloney of goldsilver.com recommend it too.

If anyone has read it and can contribute to this thread that'd be cool. Also is the book worth dropping 50 fed notes on?

Book is old (1983) but I am sure there's some interesting tidbits in it.

In the meantime, keep stacking!

I remember reading this book a LONG TIME AGO and being impressed with it, but that was likely before the internet and it was a lot easier to be impressed by stuff back then. I agree that certain dates are very hard to find. I’m pretty sure he mentioned, for instance, the 1915-S dimes and 1913-P quarters, but I am unable to quickly find my copy of the book. I mention those specific dates because I hoarded them for a few years, but had a bunch of them stolen from my storage locker in 2019. So who knows where they are now…

The book has been discussed here many times. I had a copy within the past 10 years, loaned it out and didn't get it back. Very interesting book about the back stories of what was going on at the time. At the time of the melt I was newly graduated with a new job in a new city and state and was so focused on those things that I was barely aware of any trends going on around me. The book is worth reading for the historical elements - not sure the rarity predictive portions are worth buying it for those parts alone.

You might be able to reserve a copy at your library to read.

This is a really fun book to read. I think I bought a copy from someone on this site in the KSA a number of years ago. I may actually have two copies, I will have to look.

I started picking up copies of The Big Silver Melt from used book sellers and selling them through the Copper Cave for $15.95 back in 2010. I tried to keep a few in stock since they were relatively few and far between. The price kept creeping up, eventually to $24.95 and $29.95 as they became harder to find. Suddenly in late 2019 all seven copies I had in stock sold in the course of a week or two. I looked on eBay and Amazon shortly after that and they were going for hundreds

I auctioned off a copy signed by the author here at Realcent once. Kinda wish I had kept that one.

The price tracking gets new/used prices mixed up when there are only used available. And there's no guarantee they sold at the listed price, just that sellers listed at those prices.

Theres a used copy for sale on Amazon for $60. I am still not a buyer. But thanks for the feedback. I may check my library, thanks 68camaro - sometimes the answer may be the easy one (yes, I have a library card!)

Stack!

silverflake wrote:Anyone ever read "The Big Silver Melt" by Henry Merton? I look for it on ebay and/or amazon once in a while but it's always like $50 or more. Supposedly gives an in depth analysis of how many coins were melted after silver was removed from circulating coins in 1964. Description is as follows:

"Discusses the illegal melting of American silver coinage during the 1960s and lists the values and remaining quantities of silver coins"

I believe someone on this site may have recommended it? I think I heard Mike Maloney of goldsilver.com recommend it too.

If anyone has read it and can contribute to this thread that'd be cool. Also is the book worth dropping 50 fed notes on?

Book is old (1983) but I am sure there's some interesting tidbits in it.

In the meantime, keep stacking!

OK, which one of you is this? I also love the pic on the last page that says "not to be sold", yet, it's on eBay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/264932923889?h ... BMnsGE97lh

Only $800 bucks? Better jump right on that!!

NDFarmer wrote:Only $800 bucks? Better jump right on that!!

At least it's cheaper than a troy oz of gold

NDFarmer wrote:Only $800 bucks? Better jump right on that!!

Yes, totally ridiculous.

Still, I'd rather pay $800 for this book than $21K for a blipcoin.

But its only $38.16 @ month for 24 months!

TXSTARFIRE wrote:But its only $38.16 @ month for 24 months!

"Buy now, pay later"

I did some checking and I only have one copy of this book. I bought it from Nate on a KSA in 2015.

Me too. Got my one copy from Nate. Took me awhile today to find it.

this is sure a neat thread.........i remember a few years back, like 2014, we were discussing this, and a few guys testified they were shoveling 90's, Gem BU's into the smelter.....i think its GREAT nobody has a real handle on unslabbed populations.....my first post back, i was writting about several purchases of late, two of which were $10 face rolls of 1946s Washington's.....the mintage is like 4 mln....and the commentary said that since guys KNEW it was low mint, everybody "saved" this date and mint..........you sure?....

I can picture people just melting away, with their eyes looking like they'd seen the ring from the Lord of the Rings saga. I doubt they cared about the rarer instances of the coins when they were getting paid hand over fist.

neilgin! Long time no see, glad to see you back!