# How much Junk Silver?



## 7052 (Jul 1, 2014)

So the question is.... "How much junk silver do you need for post-SHTF/TEOTWAWKI trading/economy? Obviously the easy answer is "as much as you can", but getting it isn't always cheap.

I've been collecting junk silver for a little bit now, but I'm wondering _realistically_ how much is considered "enough"? Anyone have any thoughts on this?

I have been buying my junk silver from Provident Metals. I'm happy w/ the price & service, and recently they started selling their junk silver in $1 face value lots in addition to the larger amounts. With free shipping on all orders over $150, I just salt away extra money until I hit that $150 threshold, then I put in an order. I know there was another thread out there on where to buy silver/gold, so no need to rehash that info here. I was just plugging them because I like the flexibility. lol

So back to the question...

"How much junk silver do you think will be "enough"?"


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

Before the Federal Reserve started seriously counterfeiting our money: an ounce of silver bought 4 gallons of gasoline. Going back a little further, 30 ounces was a mans' wage for a month. It may take a while to return to those values, but that would be a good baseline to calculate the values of other things on.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

How much is enough.... I have been thinking and studying that question for 4 years now and after doing some advance math, looking at the potential for collapse, considering current cost of goods.. I have came up with the perfect answer to that question..

Just Send $19.95 in pre 1964 coins and I will send the answer


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

Why junk silver? With the price of silver down at $13.99 why bother with a substitute? Just buy silver rounds, in denominations up to 1 oz. They come already minted in handy coins of many sizes (not currency, but silver rounds) so you don;t even have to cast coin. . With junk silver you open the door to counterfeiters who could potentially destroy your fledgling economy. 

And buying real silver works in THIS world as well. Junk silver will never be anything BUT junk silver. But the 10 oz of silver rounds I bought friday will be worth $30-$40 after the next stock market warble (or the next time people realize that being on the internet doesn't mean you automatically get rich.)


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## PatriotFlamethrower (Jan 10, 2015)

Ralph Rotten said:


> Why junk silver? With the price of silver down at $13.99 why bother with a substitute? Just buy silver rounds, in denominations up to 1 oz. They come already minted in handy coins of many sizes (not currency, but silver rounds) so you don;t even have to cast coin. . With junk silver you open the door to counterfeiters who could potentially destroy your fledgling economy.
> 
> And buying real silver works in THIS world as well. Junk silver will never be anything BUT junk silver. But the 10 oz of silver rounds I bought friday will be worth $30-$40 after the next stock market warble (or the next time people realize that being on the internet doesn't mean you automatically get rich.)


Who is going to counterfeit "junk silver"? NOBODY. Who is going to sell counterfeit "silver rounds" minted by some guy in his garage with a smelting furnace and a mold? Just about anybody, if they have the money to buy the necessary equipment.

If you want to make a SAFE investment that the average American has seen their whole lives, buy the misnamed "junk silver", minted by the U.S. Mint before 1965, and stay away from privately-minted "silver rounds" or "silver bars" or "silver commemoratives".

WTSHTF, the average American will go with what they know and what they are familiar with.

Remember that pre-1965 silver coins are all 90% silver, and that 1965-1970 Kennedy half-dollars are 40% silver.


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

"Who is going to counterfeit "junk silver"? NOBODY. Who is going to sell counterfeit "silver rounds" minted by some guy in his garage with a smelting furnace and a mold? Just about anybody, if they have the money to buy the necessary equipment."

Okay, set down the pipe and step away from the keyboard....

So let's back it up to that rather impetuous statement you just made. So according to the original poster, he is collecting junk silver for the basis of an apocalyptic society, so his intent is that this will ultimately be the coinage of the realm. So there you are, hungry and maybe even starving in a post-apocalyptic economy and it occurs to you that you could melt down just about anything and pass it off as junk silver. Then it occurs to you that all you need is one coin to make a mould for more coins...After all, the originals were home cast...

The answer is that it is very likely that some cheesehead like you would try to counterfeit the local currency. Enough of it would destroy your economy by causing inflation. Go with real 99.99% silver rounds that are professionally cast (and harder to counterfeit than the coins you minted in your garage.). At $14 an ounce it makes no sense to buy a substitute when the real thing is dirt cheap.


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

Go here and you can find 99.9999% silver coins already cast. They come in all sized for various denominations. Hard to counterfeit over a camp stove, pure silver, and clearly marked for their weights.

Buy Silver Rounds Online With Free Shipping | JM Bullion?

You can also buy silver blanks--they look like slugs, and you just insert them into your own press to form coins. However, be careful with that because coining money is strictly within the purview of the federal govt.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Ralph Rotten said:


> Why junk silver?


I am glad you ask. However PatriotFlamethrower beat me to it

I would also add that pre 1964 coins not only have silver,, but in some cases (not that it will help shtf) they have intrinsic value


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Ralph Rotten said:


> Go here and you can find 99.9999% silver coins already cast. They come in all sized for various denominations. Hard to counterfeit over a camp stove, pure silver, and clearly marked for their weights.
> 
> Buy Silver Rounds Online With Free Shipping | JM Bullion?
> 
> You can also buy silver blanks--they look like slugs, and you just insert them into your own press to form coins. However, be careful with that because coining money is strictly within the purview of the federal govt.


because if it says silver it is silver and if it says 1 oz it is 1 oz....

at least that is what Abraham Lincoln posted on his facebook page


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## Stick (Sep 29, 2014)

I stopped buying silver when it hit five dollars an ounce. Too rich for my blood. Sold most of it when it hit thirty five dollars an ounce. No regrets.


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## slewfoot (Nov 6, 2013)

Ralph Rotten said:


> Why junk silver? With the price of silver down at $13.99 why bother with a substitute? Just buy silver rounds, in denominations up to 1 oz. They come already minted in handy coins of many sizes (not currency, but silver rounds) so you don;t even have to cast coin. . With junk silver you open the door to counterfeiters who could potentially destroy your fledgling economy.
> 
> And buying real silver works in THIS world as well. Junk silver will never be anything BUT junk silver. But the 10 oz of silver rounds I bought friday will be worth $30-$40 after the next stock market warble (or the next time people realize that being on the internet doesn't mean you automatically get rich.)


Thank you, at last a man with reasoning.


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## 7052 (Jul 1, 2014)

Ralph Rotten said:


> Why junk silver?


Ralph Rotten,

I have given that a LOT of thought. Especially the silver rounds, bullion, etc. My thought was to have coin or rounds for average purchases, and bars (obviously smaller bars) for larger purchases after SHTF. The problem I keep running into is "How will I know that people's rounds, bars, etc are real? How will they know mine is real?"

With junk silver it's obvious US minted coinage. Can it be counterfeited? Sure, but not as easily as a round. Hell, I don't even know how to test it! I might have to do more research and see if there's a test kit I can buy or something.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

It is not easy to counterfeit US coinage or private silver rounds by casting. A magnifying glass will reveal the minute bubbles in the liquid metal that almost always form. Coins minted from blanks under tons of pressure never have these.

As far as testing for genuine coins, calipers and an accurate balance will usually do (specs are published); and silver coins will 'ring' when struck with a tone that is unmistakable if you've ever heard it.


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## 7052 (Jul 1, 2014)

If there was a simple way to test silver for purity/quality, I wouldn't hesitate to even tak home-cast silver. I could see an actual need to melt down a bar for rounds to make it spend easier. But I would always fear that it was cut w/ tin or something to "stretch" it out.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

Egyas said:


> If there was a simple way to test silver for purity/quality, I wouldn't hesitate to even tak home-cast silver. I could see an actual need to melt down a bar for rounds to make it spend easier. But I would always fear that it was cut w/ tin or something to "stretch" it out.


I know of no way to test for this (excluding wet chemical analysis) except for portable laser/spectroscopic instruments. I don't think they're hugely expensive; scrap dealers here use them for copper, brass, and such.


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

Ralph Rotten said:


> Why junk silver? With the price of silver down at $13.99 why bother with a substitute? Just buy silver rounds, in denominations up to 1 oz. They come already minted in handy coins of many sizes (not currency, but silver rounds) so you don;t even have to cast coin. . With junk silver you open the door to counterfeiters who could potentially destroy your fledgling economy.
> 
> And buying real silver works in THIS world as well. Junk silver will never be anything BUT junk silver. But the 10 oz of silver rounds I bought friday will be worth $30-$40 after the next stock market warble (or the next time people realize that being on the internet doesn't mean you automatically get rich.)


I can tell you why you should buy junk silver,
It will take a while but after SHTF silver will be currency again.
Folks over seas are still going to have stuff to sell and they aren't going take our paper money.
This will trickle down the the little guy that wants to buy something.

At first pepole will know silver is valuable but they will want to see something that is recognizable.
A true silver currency coin will be comfortable and easy for them to use.

I have never heard anyone making counterfeit dimes or quarters but the market is already
flooded with counterfeit rounds and bars. People are going to be afraid of rounds and bars
if they come from a stranger. I buy junk silver and I have bought some rounds and bars also 
but I only buy bars and rounds from a reputable dealer.

I try and buy dimes when I can. At first it will be hard for pepole without any silver to make change.

The only counterfeit coins I have ever heard of is the silver eagle and the Morgan silver dollar 
http://marketdailynews.com/2013/05/07/silver-coin-dealers-are-reporting-very-high-quality-fakes/


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

sideKahr said:


> It is not easy to counterfeit US coinage or private silver rounds by casting. A magnifying glass will reveal the minute bubbles in the liquid metal that almost always form. Coins minted from blanks under tons of pressure never have these.
> 
> As far as testing for genuine coins, calipers and an accurate balance will usually do (specs are published); and silver coins will 'ring' when struck with a tone that is unmistakable if you've ever heard it.


Yep, there you have it. The deal is that silver rounds are not cast, they are pressed from the same silver blanks I mentioned earlier in the conversation. The process creates a coin that is pretty hard to copy with simple casting. Anyone with eyes would be able to tell a legit round from one cast in a garage.

But people have conterfeited all sorts of money. Here is a great case of a guy who counterfeited $1 bills:
The case of the $1 counterfeit - NY Daily News
He printed one dollar bills to feed himself until he as caught. When sentenced, the judge fined him $1 (in real money of course.)
The minute you mint new money, there will be someone trying to copy it.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

PatriotFlamethrower said:


> Who is going to counterfeit "junk silver"? NOBODY. Who is going to sell counterfeit "silver rounds" minted by some guy in his garage with a smelting furnace and a mold? Just about anybody, if they have the money to buy the necessary equipment.
> 
> If you want to make a SAFE investment that the average American has seen their whole lives, buy the misnamed "junk silver", minted by the U.S. Mint before 1965, and stay away from privately-minted "silver rounds" or "silver bars" or "silver commemoratives".
> 
> ...


Traded some Junk for my first AR,kept my post 64 kens


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

Has anyone thought about nickels?


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

All good answers, who is right? I have no idea. I just have covered all the bases.


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

I have never ever even heard of a rumor of anyone counter fitting junk silver except Morgan silver dollars
Counterfeit Morgans , Silver Eagles and lots of rounds and bars are showing up everywhere. 
try google " fake silver" and see what you get.

I bought a bunch of fake 1 oz silver bars that say APMEX and NORTHWEST TERRITORIAL MINT
And they are in the plastic containers that hold them together. They look really real...
they are They are silver plated so they will pass the acid test.
The cost is only about .75 each oz.

It's my fake stash in case I get robed or robed at gun point. let them think they got something

Junk silver is the best bet .10 .25 .50 < never counterfeited that I can find anywhere
and everyone knows what they are


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## Prepper News (Jan 17, 2016)

enough to buy a house?


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## Prepper News (Jan 17, 2016)

oops...duplicate post


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