Buying Junk Silver

Where to buy, when to buy, and what to expect

How to buy junk silver at or below spot price in today's market. This article details where to buy, when to buy, and what to expect.

Buying junk silver coins has become a passion of ours, some might actually call it an obsession. We would like to share some tips and pitfalls that we've noticed along the way so you can hopefully make more informed purchases.

It is and most likely always will be possible to get Junk Silver Coins at Spot price if you just shop around. We suggest getting to know the guys and gals at your local coin, pawn, and antique shops. If you are really dedicated give them your number and ask them to give you a call when they get "old coins" in. Don't call it "junk silver coins" you'll likely get some strange looks, and may not get a call until some really bashed up cull coins arrive. Yes this has actually happened to us in the past. We are saying this from first hand experience.

For me the best place varies from time to time, but we'll talk about timing later on in this article. After you check your towns shops you'll start to get a better feel for that companies business model in regard to coin sales.

Where to Buy

Buying @ Coin Shops

Coin shops can be either a really great place to get junk silver coins or a really bad place. It depends both on the owner of the shop and your relationship with that person. If you are friendly and frequent the shops often you may find that the owner is willing to give you deals that he or she would not give a regular customer.

Again be sure to start off by asking the store if they sell "Silver Coins at Spot Price", don't call it "Junk Silver". Junk is a derogatory term that may imply that you think their store has junk or that you are just looking for junk. Most people online know what the term means, but many older store owners do not.

Tip: Use the Silver Content of US Coins tool to figure out the exact price before you go.

Buying @ Antique Malls and Shops

Most of the time you will find that the booths at the antique shop are leased or dedicated to sellers, and that the shops content is not owned by the shop. This means the persons selling the coins are not in store to make the adjustments needed to match quick changes is the silver market, but we'll get to that later in the "When to Buy" section.

Because there are usually many coin dealers selling their wares at a single antique mall you get the added benefit of competitive pricing, and free market economics dictates that these prices should be lower because of this.