Silver Dollar Prices
When buying coins you’ll likely want to know silver dollar prices. Based on the size, silver content, year of mintage, rarity, and condition of the coin, these prices vary drastically. For instance, a common silver dollar coin in poor condition is usually sold for a price near its “melt value” (just the value of the silver in the coin, if it were melted down). However, an old and rare coin in excellent condition could be sold for thousands of times the value of the silver in it. This increased price, over the melt value, is called numismatic value. It is the collector’s value based on the desirability of the coin. When collecting coins as a collector, it is okay to pay this price. However, if you are investing in silver for the sake of investing in precious metals, you’ll want to avoid collectors’ items and instead buy silver bullion or junk silver coins.
The most common silver dollar coins are the Morgan silver dollars, Peace dollar, Seated Liberty dollar, and Eisenhower dollar. The price of silver dollars varies depending on several factors, as described above. The numismatic value of each silver dollar can be determined by a good silver coin dealer, or if you have the desire and time, you can can use a coin grading guide to grade the dollar yourself. If you plan to buy silver dollars for collecting, always “do your homework” and make sure you know what you’re buying, and that you’re getting a fair price on your purchase. This website offers a general feel for silver dollar values, but you must use other sources of information to make a truly informed decision before buying. One way to safely buy collectors silver dollar coins is to buy from a silver coin dealer that is established for many years and has a good reputation.
Coins for sale at auction will almost always fetch a price fairly near the market value of the coin. There are exceptions to this and these are the rare finds that can make you happy, finding a coin that you have been looking for or finding one that your bid wins, and at well below its value. Bidding at auction for silver coins can net you great deals, but also be careful not to bid yourself too high for the item. Always make sure you know the value of an item if it has numismatic value. On the other hand, of the coin is not collectible then one would only need to know the silver content of the coin. For this purpose, knowing the year and mark of the coin would allow the look-up of the silver content of that coin, and then based on current silver prices the melt value would be where your bid should stop. Auction houses like eBay allow for the bidder to take the time to research the value of a coin before the bidding ends, which is a two-edged sword, because everyone else also has that luxury. Try a pawn shop that doesn’t specialize in silver coins, fantastic finds can be had this way. But for the ease of use, Internet bidding and buying from specialty silver coin websites can’t be beat. From the comfort of home you can learn silver dollar prices or the price of any silver coin, or at least what a reasonable price should be, and then you can go find that coin, or an even better deal along the way. Always keep your “eyes peeled” for new and unexpected opportunities, like estate sales or “lots” of old coins sold for little cash.
Check out some current silver dollar prices at these auctions:
(Coning soon: table, current prices of US silver dollar coins, collectors items at auction.)