Sir, First, from one veteran to another, let me thank you, like so many others, for this outstanding blog. I would like to share my experiences with my like-minded brothers and sisters in the hopes that they too can fill their coffers of coins and silver bullion for free or pretty darn close to it.
We most certainly all know the importance of tangible assets at this critical juncture in our Nation’s history. But with upward trend of gold and silver as of late, who wants to pay $23 or more for one ounce of silver? Not me. So I don’t. Now, I may not be able to fill my safe twice over with this method but it most certainly can help out. And the contacts and friendships made can be invaluable.
As creatures of habit we all have our preferred places were we fill up our gas tanks, get our groceries or make deposits into our checking accounts. We also all have many untapped sources in our friends and family or coworkers. I started looking for free or really inexpensive coins about 5 years ago at work. I realized that many of the people I worked with were not of the prepper mindset and that they may be more willing to let go of whatever silver coins they had. I was right. I let it be known that I collected old coins and that I was willing to pay for them if necessary. Eventually one of the nurses brought in a handful of silver coins and gave them to me. For free. I then had other coworkers checking their change for silver whenever they had a chance. If you have a good relationship with your coworkers you can do this, too. Some may even be willing to bring in their change jars and let you go through them in your search for silver coins.
Always be on the lookout for silver. Just the other day my mother was looking for her lost keys and had poured out the contents of her purse onto her kitchen island. She had left all her change on the counter and when I came over that day to do some home repair work for her, and made my customary first stop at the refrigerator, I noticed two silver quarters sitting in the pile. After a little work on the house those two quarters were mine. Become good friends with your local gas station attendants. Let them know to keep an eye out for silver coins for you. Deborah, who works a gas station in a nearby town, has been saving silver and wheat pennies for me for the last two years. Each time I see her she has a small handful of wheat pennies for me and when I’m lucky, silver coins. Show your face often at gas stations and get to know the clerks. I have done this at other gas stations and it pays off. Not only can you get coins that the clerks get at the counter, but they may know others who have coins you can get or they may have great leads on some prep gear you may need. Just recently, at a gas station in a town eight miles from me, the attendant was paid for $40 in gas with Morgan dollars. The old man who bought the gas informed him that the coins were old, which he already knew and obviously the old man knew what he was spending, and the attendant took them home with him and added to his silver bullion. This same attendant had a woman buy a single cigarette from his store with four silver quarters. The woman told him they were silver quarters and still only bought a cigarette with them. This particular attendant is smart and holds onto all silver coins that he comes across. But it gets to my point that gas stations are a major way point for silver coins. These coins do still get into circulation, and in hard times like these people are willing to spend them at face value, so keep an eye out and get to know those clerks. At that same station another attendant just sold me a roll of silver quarters for $100. That is more than $67 off of the current going price!
Most people are familiar with asking banks to hold silver coins for them. This is a great source. The gas station strategy works just as well at banks, however, you most likely will have a little more competition from other customers. Make sure you show your face at the bank very often and become friends with the tellers. Let them know that you collect old coins and to hold them for you. Also, never pass up the opportunity, while you are standing at the counter, to make a quick pass through their coin trays. I have pulled many silver half dollars that were sitting right there in the open on those trays. Any coins you get at a bank will obviously cost you face value, so to make it easier on everyone carry a handful of change into the bank with you so the exchange can be quick and painless.
Not only can the tellers get you silver coins at face value, but the boxes of rolls they carry can net you a small treasure. Just this week I bought a box of dimes for $250. I found 7 silver dimes. I replaced the 7 dimes and exchanged that box for another box of dimes. I found 1 more silver dime. I then bought a box of nickels and found a silver war nickel. Take into account the time involved in this silver finding tactic and decide if it is worth it to you or not. And also remember that finding a silver quarter, worth $4.19 today, could be worth over $8.00 in the next few years. That is quite the return on a .25 cent clad coin investment and a little time.
If you decide to pursue this, I will offer some words of advice. When searching rolls of dimes do not bother to strain your eyes looking at the dates. They are too small to read quickly and it would take a lot longer to check them all. Look at the edges of the coins in small stacks. Silver coins will stick out due to the lack of cupronickel “sandwich” layers. Some dime edges will be too dirty to tell so when in doubt, check the date to insure it is pre-1965. When looking for quarters, follow the same guidelines as for silver dimes. Checking the edges, in small stacks, is easier and less time consuming.
When searching for silver halves you need to check the dates. They are larger, easier on the eyes and from the edges you would probably miss out on halves minted from 1965 to 1970, which contain 40% silver, are worth almost $3.50 each as of this writing and appear very similar to the less desirable clad halves. Nickels, if you choose to search them, can be a little more difficult. You want to look for Jefferson nickels dated between 1942 and 1945 and that have the mintmark above Monticello on the reverse. You can’t miss it. If you’ve seen enough ‘war’ nickels you know that the silver ones take on a whole different look than their undesirable cupronickel counterparts. When searching through rolls you may be able to spot a silver one just by its much more dark gray color. Again, when in doubt check the date, and in the case of nickels, check the placement of the mintmark. Some 1942 mint date nickels were minted with no silver and carry their mintmark on the right hand side of Monticello. Beyond searching these rolls to get silver coins at face value, we need to consider the time spent in re-rolling these coins. If you are going to start doing this regularly I strongly suggest in investing in a automatic coin roller. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy as we are trying to keep our silver coin searching overhead to a minimum, but it would be wise to get one as it will save you an immense amount of time. I only suggest forgoing the coin roller if you are going to infrequently search rolls. And again, gas stations are also another great source for rolled coins to search.
When you take your trips to the grocery store, do not forget to search the coin rejection slots in CoinStar coin counting machines [often seen at supermarkets]. These are great places to find silver coins that have been rejected by the machines and forgotten by the person using them. Metal detecting is another great way to find some lost silver. I will not get into the specifics of what detectors are better than others, but nonetheless, for the price of a decent detector you can find all sorts of old silver coins, not to mention gold and jewelry.
This may go without saying, but make sure you check your own pockets and change jars. You could have silver right under your nose and not even know it! This also goes for your family, friends and neighbors. Don’t be afraid to ask to go through their change jars and let them know that you will replace the face value of whatever you find or pay them for the coins. More than likely you will be given permission to keep whatever you find for free, but always offer anyhow.
I hope that some of these tips help you find silver for free or for face value. These are great ways to come into the possession of a metal whose value is on a meteoric rise that will most likely only go higher in the coming years due to what governments around the world are doing to the monetary systems. Like anything else, what you get out of searching for free silver will be in direct correlation to what you put into it. Don’t forget to always be on the lookout and keep your eyes and your mind open for possible sources of silver coinage. Think outside the box. I sincerely hope that your searches are fruitful, and remember to get while the gettin’ is good! – Mitch in Bremerton, Washington
JWR Replies: Readers are warned, do not take take advantage of the naiveté of neighbors and co-workers. You need to make it clear that the market value of what they are giving you at face value. Also beware that some of the silver coins sold by lowlifes are from residential burglaries. Don’t compromise your principles for profit! (And it is also a security risk to do business with lowlifes. If they seem even he slightest bit “hinky”, then just make and excuse and walk away. And never give your name or contact information to a private party seller! Otherwise they may later come your your unattended house and reclaim their coins, and a lot more.)
As I’m writing this, pre-1965 dimes, quarters, and half dollars are selling for around 14 times their face value. (Hence, a silver dime sells for about $1.40.)
In my experience, the best “bang for you buck” is achieved by buying rolls of half dollars from small town banks. I have often found rolls where the majority are 40% silver and even a few 90% silver. If possible, find out what bank in town is used by the local school district to deposit lunch money coinage. Also specifically ask for an assortment of roll markings, or any that are known to have come from the local school district. (They will sometimes be stamped as such.)
For information on using metal detectors for finding coins, see the Coinshooter Forums, and for information on searching bank coin rolls, see the CRH Forums. Good hunting!