Silver recently hit a record of NZ$100+ per ounce. When I was collecting 5 or so years ago it was around $30 per ounce. I got a huge shock the other day when I was looking to pick up a US war nickel, and even though they are small, and have a low silver percentage, there was now over NZ$5 worth of silver in one of them. They only have a book value of a couple of dollars according to NGC, but now the melt value is more than twice what the book value is.
Now with the silver value so high, the melt value of some of the higher silver content coins is way outstripping what the book values are. Is this affecting your collecting? Are you buying fewer coins? Sticking to base metal coins? Refraining from buying bullion? buying only coins where the book value is higher than the silver content?
I know that I'm holding off buying some of the lower value coins that I need (I need a 1946-1948 Australian shilling, but the silver content of it now is almost NZ$10)
After checking my goals, it may only affect my World Coins pre-1962. Only 30 Countries to go and only 5 are silver, with their numismatic value being considerably higher than their melt. My Canadian Cent collection and Canadian Colonial collection will most certainly not be effected. I would like to think I am wise beyond my years but, I think luck serves the purpose.
Interestingly enough, I purchased 2 Strait Settlements coins back in the summer for slightly above melt ($2.50 Cdn each). One from 1918 and one from 1920. N#12775 The increase in melt value has made this a marginal win but upon further research, the VF 1920 is somewhat rare as confirmed by NGC and sales or offerings on eBay (none).
In short, I think most of my silver was/is priced higher numismatically than market values.
It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure, that just ain't so. Mark Twain
Good question. This year I paid more for a ½ ounce silver Britannia than what I paid for a full 1 ounce silver Britannia in 2016. Circulation silvers have creeped up yes but still seem to find some good deals on silver still for now.
I was collecting 1oz silver Britannia's and bought most years about 2 years ago now.
I think most of the gaps left are from ~2014 to present when the Royal Mint started issuing “Standard” and “Special” variations. The specials always had such a stupid high premium, I could never justify. Often 3-4 times the price of a standard issue. Other than a few lucky low priced ones on the secondary market, I don't have many of the specials.
Might be missing the most recent standard years too, but given the design hasn't changed, I'm not in any rush. 🤷♂️
I was going to start a silver crown collection but decided to focus more heavily on my banknotes instead, which obviously haven't been affected by bullion prices.
At the moment yes. I have stopped buying gold and silver as bullion and now only buy coins with numismatic value for a while. Most recent (Post 1887) silver circulation coins have little numismatic value now because of the overheated silver market.
The prices are absurd, on Dec 10th, a sterling silver halfcrown is $42, florin $34, and even a sixpence is $8.50. Even half silver is $23 for a halfcrown, those prices are crazy. Back in June 2024 I paid $225 for a 20 Balboa coin of Panama, its nearly 4 ounces of .925 silver and was worth $170 in silver back then. Now its $390.35.
I no longer fret about paying $100 for a Morgan dollar because it contains $77 worth of silver.
You can forget buying sovereigns now too - in New Zealand any coin not at least 99.9% gold attracts GST, so the $1710 melt price of it attracts like $265 GST making it just south of $2k for a single gold sovereign and you likely know a sovereign is a pretty tiny coin. Some dealers are happy to hawk “One gold sovereign our choice of date and ruler, only $2,300 each”. I can remember in 1997 I could buy a sovereign for $180. Even in 2016 I briefly owned a proof sovereign that cost me $440.
High prices have an upside - In December 2023 I bought 25 sovereigns at $880 each and 6 half sovs at $450 each. In late October I sold 10 sovs at $1670 each, that is a profit of nearly $8,000 and I am stilling living off it.
I look at a numista screenshot from early 2024 and then my 350 grams of gold was worth $43k, now my 393 grams is $98k.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
High prices have an upside - In December 2023 I bought 25 sovereigns at $880 each and 6 half sovs at $450 each. In late October I sold 10 sovs at $1670 each, that is a profit of nearly $8,000 and I am stilling living off it.
I look at a numista screenshot from early 2024 and then my 350 grams of gold was worth $43k, now my 393 grams is $98k.
I don't really look at the melt value of my collection because, like property values, it only really means something if you're going to sell it. I don't plan on selling anytime soon, so the high silver price is only affecting me being able to add to it.
Well after today's news with silver reaching over $60 an ounce I think its fair to say any seller on the ball will adjust their prices. Did manage to bag 3 X early 1930s sixpence for £4 with postage this week.
High prices have an upside - In December 2023 I bought 25 sovereigns at $880 each and 6 half sovs at $450 each. In late October I sold 10 sovs at $1670 each, that is a profit of nearly $8,000 and I am stilling living off it.
I look at a numista screenshot from early 2024 and then my 350 grams of gold was worth $43k, now my 393 grams is $98k.
I don't really look at the melt value of my collection because, like property values, it only really means something if you're going to sell it. I don't plan on selling anytime soon, so the high silver price is only affecting me being able to add to it.
Blame my late partner - he was an accountant and ran the mantra of “Its a hobby, but make it pay off for you” through my head and its words to live by.
And silver price, it was $58.07 when I went to bed and now its over $60 - jeepers. My Balboas went over $400. Silver is an absurd $3.40 a gram now! Yet gold is still $4.2k that means the rato of gold to silver is around 66 to 1, 4 months ago it was 101 to 1.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
And silver price, it was $58.07 when I went to bed and now its over $60 - jeepers. My Balboas went over $400. Silver is an absurd $3.40 a gram now! Yet gold is still $4.2k that means the rato of gold to silver is around 66 to 1, 4 months ago it was 101 to 1.
A lot of people have been saying that it's just a correction from gold being overpriced for decades. If you look at the last 100 years, the average gold to silver ratio is around 50:1. There was a big spike between 1930 and 1946 (I wonder why 🤔) But ever since 1985, except for one drop to 38:1 in 2011, it's been well over 50:1.
And silver price, it was $58.07 when I went to bed and now its over $60 - jeepers. My Balboas went over $400. Silver is an absurd $3.40 a gram now! Yet gold is still $4.2k that means the rato of gold to silver is around 66 to 1, 4 months ago it was 101 to 1.
A lot of people have been saying that it's just a correction from gold being overpriced for decades. If you look at the last 100 years, the average gold to silver ratio is around 50:1. There was a big spike between 1930 and 1946 (I wonder why 🤔) But ever since 1985, except for one drop to 38:1 in 2011, it's been well over 50:1.
I feel it's more of a correction for Bitcoin being overpriced for as long as it has been pushed by you-tubers. People like to have safe haven bets & bling (probably more so than they like to collect). There's bound to be some digital investors who are tired of their invisible “virtual” wealth & rather cash in (especially during unsettled times).
Where does his/her “digital profit” go? In typical “safe haven” investments or precious metals, properties & other physical (traditional) investments. Even the new age tech investor likes to show off that they've prospered. So there's always a bit of “left over” digital coin to convert for holidays, real silver/gold coins & bling (jewelry, gold watches, etc).
The price of PM have had zero affect on my collecting b/c I don't collect coins but paper money. So…. Trump's tariffs have had a far greater impact b/c I used to buy from some big US sellers, coin shops (who sell World notes) & that's shut down completely.
That ratio is so funny compared to the pre 1914 Gold standard. Circulating silver was a ratio of around 16- 18 to 1. Take a US Morgan dollar weighing 26.73 grams and having 24 grams of silver, and a gold dollar weighing 1.60 grams and containing 1.44 grams of the good stuff, so 24 grams of silver was the same as 1.44 grams of gold.
Or with British coins, a silver crown worth 5/- or ¼ of a pound, had 26.12 grams of silver in it, a half sovereign had 3.68 grams of gold meaning a crowns worth would have been 1.84 grams of gold. That is only a spread of 14.13 silver units equalling 1 gold unit. The biggest gold coin, a quintuple sovereign or 36.43 grams of gold was worth face value 20 times as much as a crown.
Today, a quintuple sovereign has $8,550 of gold in it, before numismatic value, whilst a crown has $87.00 of silver in it, removing the numismatic values, the quintuple sov is worth 97 times as much as a silver crown in metal value. A huge increase.
Going further back, a Spanish gold Doubloon (8 escudos) was worth 16 x as much as a Spanish dollar (8 reales or ½ escudo). That standard would have held for centuries.
UPDATE - Gold still at $4.2k and silver leapt to $61.77 US.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Just checking the rates for common coins I collect.
All prices in NEW ZEALAND dollars, if you use a different currency, feel free to convert it.
A sterling silver British Halfcrown - $44.75 now, in 2020 I was paying around $15 or 16 for them in melt.
A sterling silver sixpence - $8.95, in 2020 they were like $2 or $3 each and the threepences a dollar.
50% silver British or Kiwi Halfcrown - $23.50 - for a long time, these were like 11 for $100, a $10 at most coin.
American half dollar pre 1965 - 90% silver - $37.43 - used to be a $14 coin.
A quarter is nearly $20, they were a $5 or $6 coin for a long time.
Just absurd!
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Yeah, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. I'm holding off on buying some of the “cheaper” coins at the moment that are only worth scrap value, because the price of silver means they're no longer cheap. There is one 50% silver Australian shilling that I'm needing, but the price of silver in it now is almost $10.
It's crazy, because a few years back I picked up a kilogram of scrap 50% Aussie silver coins for around $200. The silver in it now would be worth around $1600
Yeah, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. I'm holding off on buying some of the “cheaper” coins at the moment that are only worth scrap value, because the price of silver means they're no longer cheap. There is one 50% silver Australian shilling that I'm needing, but the price of silver in it now is almost $10.
It's crazy, because a few years back I picked up a kilogram of scrap 50% Aussie silver coins for around $200. The silver in it now would be worth around $1600
Mate, for that price whether Aussie or Kiwi dollars I would pick that up if it's a coin you need. I will often pay slightly over melt or numismatic value if its one I need to fill a gap. He who hesitates loses. If silver goes back down, you still have the coin. If it keeps going up, you have the coin and got it for cheaper than you would've done otherwise.
Yeah, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. I'm holding off on buying some of the “cheaper” coins at the moment that are only worth scrap value, because the price of silver means they're no longer cheap. There is one 50% silver Australian shilling that I'm needing, but the price of silver in it now is almost $10.
It's crazy, because a few years back I picked up a kilogram of scrap 50% Aussie silver coins for around $200. The silver in it now would be worth around $1600
Mate, for that price whether Aussie or Kiwi dollars I would pick that up if it's a coin you need. I will often pay slightly over melt or numismatic value if its one I need to fill a gap. He who hesitates loses. If silver goes back down, you still have the coin. If it keeps going up, you have the coin and got it for cheaper than you would've done otherwise.
Nah, I'd rather invest my money in the coins I need that are worth well over scrap value. I recently picked up a copy of this coin, the book value is about 3 times the melt value. I'd rather spend money on a coin where the purchase price will remain pretty constant, rather than something that could fluctuate majorly based on what the silver price happens to be on the day.
Yeah, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. I'm holding off on buying some of the “cheaper” coins at the moment that are only worth scrap value, because the price of silver means they're no longer cheap. There is one 50% silver Australian shilling that I'm needing, but the price of silver in it now is almost $10.
It's crazy, because a few years back I picked up a kilogram of scrap 50% Aussie silver coins for around $200. The silver in it now would be worth around $1600
Mate, for that price whether Aussie or Kiwi dollars I would pick that up if it's a coin you need. I will often pay slightly over melt or numismatic value if its one I need to fill a gap. He who hesitates loses. If silver goes back down, you still have the coin. If it keeps going up, you have the coin and got it for cheaper than you would've done otherwise.
Nah, I'd rather invest my money in the coins I need that are worth well over scrap value. I recently picked up a copy of this coin, the book value is about 3 times the melt value. I'd rather spend money on a coin where the purchase price will remain pretty constant, rather than something that could fluctuate majorly based on what the silver price happens to be on the day.
That looks awesome. I picked up 2 lots of 3 sixpence this week. 1 lot was £4 the other almost £7 so I see your point about the fluctuation but I generally don't mind paying £2 for a sixpence. Used to be able to get halfcrowns for a fiver 2 years ago. Looking back on my ebay purchase history I had some good buys with predecimals. Some sixpences are being listed on Ebay as Christmas pudding fillers actually 🤣 I don't know anyone who even makes a Christmas pudding from scratch anymore. Know too many using just eat or uber eats apps though instead of calling the restaurant by phone and paying in cash.
I don't make Christmas pudding, but I do make my own Christmas cake from scratch. It's a family tradition to soak the fruit in sherry over Labour weekend (end of October) make the cake, then spend the next two months maturing it (leave it wrapped up in cheese cloth in a sealed container, then unwrap it and pour a tablespoon of rum over it once a week). By Christmas day, it's amazing. I was a few weeks late making the cake, but it's currently maturing in the cupboard at home.
Sounds brilliant. Do love both the Christmas pudding or cake overall. Do you have the mince pies over in Kiwi land? Would be shocked if not with the Anglo influence. Every time they're back on shelves here for the Christmas season it makes me happy. Always freshly baked ones though not the boxed rubbish. Family bake their own too. Grandad would make the best sausage rolls at Christmas with best butcher meat and home made pastry. Also a coin collector. Last I remember of coins being put in the pudding was a good 20 years ago though at my brothers scouts team outing. Some poor lad ended up nearly choking on it in his pudding (a 10 pence coin) before staff made sure he didn't very fast. I remember being told the story and just pissing myself with laughter not understanding the seriousness at the time.
We do have them in the supermarkets, but I've never been a big fan of them, and I've never made them at home. I don't think they're overly big over here.
Sounds brilliant. Do love both the Christmas pudding or cake overall. Do you have the mince pies over in Kiwi land? Would be shocked if not with the Anglo influence. Every time they're back on shelves here for the Christmas season it makes me happy. Always freshly baked ones though not the boxed rubbish. Family bake their own too. Grandad would make the best sausage rolls at Christmas with best butcher meat and home made pastry. Also a coin collector. Last I remember of coins being put in the pudding was a good 20 years ago though at my brothers scouts team outing. Some poor lad ended up nearly choking on it in his pudding (a 10 pence coin) before staff made sure he didn't very fast. I remember being told the story and just pissing myself with laughter not understanding the seriousness at the time.
Hi Bruno, yes we do have Mince pies, but we call the ones you are talking about as “Fruit mince pies”. Mince pies are generally hot mince in a pie (25% minimum meat filling as required by law) that has a pastry shell and a major snack here in NZ and also Australia (Although theirs are less nice).
Putting sixpences or threepences are a common thing still and I remember in Auckland a side hustle selling my spare older 50% silver threepences to people wanting them for puddings.
Mostly kiwi christmas is a beach or barbecue, rather than Turkey, eggnogg, snow and the rest. Its summer here and unless you live in an alpine zone or some frozen city like Dunedin or Invercargill, our winters are not snowy. Ham and usually cold chicken, potato salad, salads of other types, bbq meats like snarlers, steaks, chops, paua fritters (Abalone), pineapple rings etc are our Christmas kai (food).
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
For me its honestly a mixed bag, the silver i already own now costs more but i cant really buy as much silver as before because its so expensive now, or any silver infact because its so ridiculously priced. Ive began switching to copper coins and banknotes because they're cheaper and arent affected by bullion value, but the problem is how easily copper coins get damaged and corroded so most of my collection has dents and whatnot.
Sounds brilliant. Do love both the Christmas pudding or cake overall. Do you have the mince pies over in Kiwi land? Would be shocked if not with the Anglo influence. Every time they're back on shelves here for the Christmas season it makes me happy. Always freshly baked ones though not the boxed rubbish. Family bake their own too. Grandad would make the best sausage rolls at Christmas with best butcher meat and home made pastry. Also a coin collector. Last I remember of coins being put in the pudding was a good 20 years ago though at my brothers scouts team outing. Some poor lad ended up nearly choking on it in his pudding (a 10 pence coin) before staff made sure he didn't very fast. I remember being told the story and just pissing myself with laughter not understanding the seriousness at the time.
Hi Bruno, yes we do have Mince pies, but we call the ones you are talking about as “Fruit mince pies”. Mince pies are generally hot mince in a pie (25% minimum meat filling as required by law) that has a pastry shell and a major snack here in NZ and also Australia (Although theirs are less nice).
Putting sixpences or threepences are a common thing still and I remember in Auckland a side hustle selling my spare older 50% silver threepences to people wanting them for puddings.
Mostly kiwi christmas is a beach or barbecue, rather than Turkey, eggnogg, snow and the rest. Its summer here and unless you live in an alpine zone or some frozen city like Dunedin or Invercargill, our winters are not snowy. Ham and usually cold chicken, potato salad, salads of other types, bbq meats like snarlers, steaks, chops, paua fritters (Abalone), pineapple rings etc are our Christmas kai (food).
Meat pies are popular here too. Alot of smack gets talked about British food but honestly if you grew up on a wet rainy island you'd understand the concept why our food is the way it is and good winter filler for us. I remember hanging out with an old Maori mate born in NZ grew up here and we were searching through a junk bin of coins in a shop and he was quickly bored until I found a NZ silver 3 pence that he then paid 20p for at the time. It's interesting to read what Brits who move out to NZ or Aus can find on the shelves there food wise that they can get here and what they miss from here too that they can't get. Obviously the most similar 2 countries to us culturally by a long shot.
For me its honestly a mixed bag, the silver i already own now costs more but i cant really buy as much silver as before because its so expensive now, or any silver infact because its so ridiculously priced. Ive began switching to copper coins and banknotes because they're cheaper and arent affected by bullion value, but the problem is how easily copper coins get damaged and corroded so most of my collection has dents and whatnot.
Same situation here. If trends continues it will slowly price me out of buying it though I can't complain at the moment. It's bullion that's reached ridiculous prices, circulation silvers can still be found for fair prices for now.
Sounds brilliant. Do love both the Christmas pudding or cake overall. Do you have the mince pies over in Kiwi land? Would be shocked if not with the Anglo influence. Every time they're back on shelves here for the Christmas season it makes me happy. Always freshly baked ones though not the boxed rubbish. Family bake their own too. Grandad would make the best sausage rolls at Christmas with best butcher meat and home made pastry. Also a coin collector. Last I remember of coins being put in the pudding was a good 20 years ago though at my brothers scouts team outing. Some poor lad ended up nearly choking on it in his pudding (a 10 pence coin) before staff made sure he didn't very fast. I remember being told the story and just pissing myself with laughter not understanding the seriousness at the time.
Hi Bruno, yes we do have Mince pies, but we call the ones you are talking about as “Fruit mince pies”. Mince pies are generally hot mince in a pie (25% minimum meat filling as required by law) that has a pastry shell and a major snack here in NZ and also Australia (Although theirs are less nice).
Putting sixpences or threepences are a common thing still and I remember in Auckland a side hustle selling my spare older 50% silver threepences to people wanting them for puddings.
Mostly kiwi christmas is a beach or barbecue, rather than Turkey, eggnogg, snow and the rest. Its summer here and unless you live in an alpine zone or some frozen city like Dunedin or Invercargill, our winters are not snowy. Ham and usually cold chicken, potato salad, salads of other types, bbq meats like snarlers, steaks, chops, paua fritters (Abalone), pineapple rings etc are our Christmas kai (food).
Meat pies are popular here too. Alot of smack gets talked about British food but honestly if you grew up on a wet rainy island you'd understand the concept why our food is the way it is and good winter filler for us. I remember hanging out with an old Maori mate born in NZ grew up here and we were searching through a junk bin of coins in a shop and he was quickly bored until I found a NZ silver 3 pence that he then paid 20p for at the time. It's interesting to read what Brits who move out to NZ or Aus can find on the shelves there food wise that they can get here and what they miss from here too that they can't get. Obviously the most similar 2 countries to us culturally by a long shot.
Wow, that's interesting another Maori that collects coins, I thought I was the only one - ha ha!
Yes being settled by the British in the mid 1800s helps. Our climate is similar to yours, just a few degrees warmer and sunnier, we get 30 degrees and sun in summer and next day its raining and 12 degrees. We eat meat pies, play rugby etc, pubs are a national pastime.
Its why I show so many British coins, as they were our coins too until 1933 (1940 for the Bronze) and thus my 1887 Half Crown may have circulated in New Zealand for longer than it did in Britain.
We are grateful for it, as I wonder what NZ would have been like if we had been settled by the French or Spanish. It does not bear thinking about.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Sounds brilliant. Do love both the Christmas pudding or cake overall. Do you have the mince pies over in Kiwi land? Would be shocked if not with the Anglo influence. Every time they're back on shelves here for the Christmas season it makes me happy. Always freshly baked ones though not the boxed rubbish. Family bake their own too. Grandad would make the best sausage rolls at Christmas with best butcher meat and home made pastry. Also a coin collector. Last I remember of coins being put in the pudding was a good 20 years ago though at my brothers scouts team outing. Some poor lad ended up nearly choking on it in his pudding (a 10 pence coin) before staff made sure he didn't very fast. I remember being told the story and just pissing myself with laughter not understanding the seriousness at the time.
Hi Bruno, yes we do have Mince pies, but we call the ones you are talking about as “Fruit mince pies”. Mince pies are generally hot mince in a pie (25% minimum meat filling as required by law) that has a pastry shell and a major snack here in NZ and also Australia (Although theirs are less nice).
Putting sixpences or threepences are a common thing still and I remember in Auckland a side hustle selling my spare older 50% silver threepences to people wanting them for puddings.
Mostly kiwi christmas is a beach or barbecue, rather than Turkey, eggnogg, snow and the rest. Its summer here and unless you live in an alpine zone or some frozen city like Dunedin or Invercargill, our winters are not snowy. Ham and usually cold chicken, potato salad, salads of other types, bbq meats like snarlers, steaks, chops, paua fritters (Abalone), pineapple rings etc are our Christmas kai (food).
Meat pies are popular here too. Alot of smack gets talked about British food but honestly if you grew up on a wet rainy island you'd understand the concept why our food is the way it is and good winter filler for us. I remember hanging out with an old Maori mate born in NZ grew up here and we were searching through a junk bin of coins in a shop and he was quickly bored until I found a NZ silver 3 pence that he then paid 20p for at the time. It's interesting to read what Brits who move out to NZ or Aus can find on the shelves there food wise that they can get here and what they miss from here too that they can't get. Obviously the most similar 2 countries to us culturally by a long shot.
Wow, that's interesting another Maori that collects coins, I thought I was the only one - ha ha!
Yes being settled by the British in the mid 1800s helps. Our climate is similar to yours, just a few degrees warmer and sunnier, we get 30 degrees and sun in summer and next day its raining and 12 degrees. We eat meat pies, play rugby etc, pubs are a national pastime.
Its why I show so many British coins, as they were our coins too until 1933 (1940 for the Bronze) and thus my 1887 Half Crown may have circulated in New Zealand for longer than it did in Britain.
We are grateful for it, as I wonder what NZ would have been like if we had been settled by the French or Spanish. It does not bear thinking about.
Didn't collect so much but was interested in that piece I found with it being from NZ. Pubs and rugby always a winner and breaks the gap between us. Though I fear for the future of our pubs with the price rises and taxes year after year. Especially independent pubs after this years budget. Our locals still going strong for now . Proper ale, pork pies,sausage rolls and scotch eggs served as snacks. You probably know about a fellow Kiwi that owns a big chain of pubs here too (Wetherspoons) that has mixed opinions on the branches depending who you ask. Offers an affordable pint though. As for coins my great uncle was in the British merchant navy early 60s went allover with them. I remember him telling me you could spend sterling notes anywhere even in Pacific places and you'd get local coins back. Silver too of course at the time including most of the American coins in places like Guam he went too but in those days they were spenders people didn't hold on to coins as they held alot more purchasing value. As for NZ being settled by the British. I don't condone colonialism but yes it could've been worse. On the same page in that regards. We are also more liked in our former colonies whether alot admit it or not despite what we are told about history. Though I wouldn't hold it against any Islander,Maori or what not that does dislike us for our history and colonialism. It is what it is and Anglos and the natives seem to get along anyway and have built a great country together.
Yes but under British permission. They had to recognise the Union Jack and realise Queen Victoria and not King Louis Philippe, was their sovereign. Also many people of British ancestry and some friendly Maori moved into the new settlement, which does keep its French flavour. Its the only town in our country, where the main streets are Rue Jolie and Rue Lavaud. It makes a change to the endless Queen Streets, Victoria streets, Wellington and Nelson Street, Albert street etc.
Back on topic, silver gained $2 more today (December 11/12) to hit $63.50 USD. It has climbed $6 USD this week alone. That is like $110 NZD, which means even my overpriced eagles I bought in October have made me $8 per coin!
Gold sits around $4,250 USD, a small rise, but nothing like silver which seems invincible at the moment!
UPDATE: Just looked at the gold price (I can't do time zones, but USA is like 18 hours or so behind us) and its shot to $4,335.
Further update: After climbing on early Friday, silver dived in the afternoon, finishing near $2 lower at $61 something, gold settled under $4,300. Fortunately for us, our dollar has absorbed the rises, as an interest rate drop saw the dollar climb from the mid 55s up to over 58 cents American.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
And silver continues to climb, it's currently NZ$111 per ounce, 10% higher than it was just a week ago when I tried to sell my scrap silver to a guy who had no idea about any coins other than New Zealand 50%.
And silver continues to climb, it's currently NZ$111 per ounce, 10% higher than it was just a week ago when I tried to sell my scrap silver to a guy who had no idea about any coins other than New Zealand 50%.
When it comes to precious metals and numismatic high value items. I never waste time with anyone who is not in the know. I can usually tell speculator/ apprentice/ novice collector, apart from from serious collector/investor.
I encourage such people into collecting, but also to read and become clued up. Educating new collectors can put the scammers out of work as the pool of victims thins out.
Comex a group trying to squash silver price rises, has been pacified (They manage to squeeze the $64 peak down to $61 last Friday), so silver will ride higher. I think it will top out around $80 USD. It looks higher here too, as the dollar is diving from last weeks peak of 58.3 cents and over 58 cents most of the week due to interest rates dropping. But doom and gloom Willis has said some more negative stuff and dollar is down to 57.5 and dropping.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
And silver continues to climb, it's currently NZ$111 per ounce, 10% higher than it was just a week ago when I tried to sell my scrap silver to a guy who had no idea about any coins other than New Zealand 50%.
When it comes to precious metals and numismatic high value items. I never waste time with anyone who is not in the know. I can usually tell speculator/ apprentice/ novice collector, apart from from serious collector/investor.
I encourage such people into collecting, but also to read and become clued up. Educating new collectors can put the scammers out of work as the pool of victims thins out.
Comex a group trying to squash silver price rises, has been pacified (They manage to squeeze the $64 peak down to $61 last Friday), so silver will ride higher. I think it will top out around $80 USD. It looks higher here too, as the dollar is diving from last weeks peak of 58.3 cents and over 58 cents most of the week due to interest rates dropping. But doom and gloom Willis has said some more negative stuff and dollar is down to 57.5 and dropping.
The dude was an antiques dealer who had a sign saying he bought silver and gold, I took in a couple of holed/worn coins in to see if I could get scrap for them. Stirling silver florin and 91.8% rupee. He said that he wasn't interested, and there wasn't much silver in it anyway. I pointed out at current prices there was more than $50 worth of silver, he said it's $100 an ounce, there isn't 51 grams of silver in those they're only 50%. I had to point out that 1. They were both over 90% silver, not 50% and 2. an ounce is 31 grams, not 51.
The fact he did not know how much a troy ounce was disturbing, but he may have been trying to game you, by thinking you were dumb and could be easily fooled. Lots of those so called antique dealers try that, if they are not a member of the NZ Antique Dealers Association, then its likely a nickel and diming junk shop that masquerades as antiques (Retro, yesterday's etc). If he is, report him to the NZAA who have a strict code of ethics.
I get it all the time, because I am Maori and don't dress in 3 piece suits, I must look green as a blade of grass to them. Vote with your feet and go elsewhere.
Gold has cooled slightly to $108.65
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
The market opens as America finally catches up to Monday and we see silver at US $69 an ounce. Just nuts, a sterling silver half crown has $50 silver in it. In 2019 I was whinging about paying $15 for them.
I found a old thread on CCF, where I bought 30 Australian Florins (10 oz silver - all sterling) for $330 - no way I could do that now. It was mid 2021. Even on April 30 this year, silver was US $28 an ounce. Now its 2.5x more.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
12 days ago, when I wrote my 1st comment, I checked out one of our local coins stores online silver stock & he was just about sold out (not that I was buying). That's quite remarkable (a first). So I started digging around & learned about the increased industrial needs (esp from China) & tried to link an excellent article on the 12th of December. There's also higher demand from Russia (wanting a physical asset no US government can freeze) & widespread international demand has far outstripped current supplier stockpiles.
It looks like now, silver will break US $70 today (December 23rd American time - not sure when they shut for Xmas, but here everything is normal through the 24th).
Thats $120 our money.
For context, the silver ounce priced passed US $40 on August 29, $50 on October 10 peaking at $54.25 on October 16th before dropping to $47 on October 27, it started climbing and has not stopped. It hit $50 on Nov 10 and sailed around the low 50s until Nov 24 when it again closed at $50 and started to climb again. Nov 26h saw it sail past its October 16th high from $53.30 to $56.45 in one day and now in virgin territory. Just 3 weeks ago on Dec 9th it zoomed from $58.16 to $61.30 in one day and it hit $69.58 at end of Dec 22 (American time - NZ is 18 hours ahead of slowpoke America).
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Time to take up piracy as a new career? I see that the copper price is right up as well, and there has been a huge increase in burglaries and derelict houses being broken into and stripped of the copper wire/piping
I am OK to pay, say, $200 U.S. for a medieval coin containing 1 gram of silver. But U.S. tariff policy means that foreign sellers will only use courier services (premium of $40-50 U.S. over registered mail), the courier service then charges a $17 fee to collect the tariff, and the tariff is $50 (assessed on the invoice cost, which contains the commission and the courier cost on top of the hammer).
I am OK to pay, say, $200 U.S. for a medieval coin containing 1 gram of silver. But U.S. tariff policy means that foreign sellers will only use courier services (premium of $40-50 U.S. over registered mail), the courier service then charges a $17 fee to collect the tariff, and the tariff is $50 (assessed on the invoice cost, which contains the commission and the courier cost on top of the hammer).
A week ago I received from France to my USA address (secondary) a silver token (paid cca 40 US$) and didn't pay any customs or other fees!
The question is, do we sell all our lower quality silver and rebuy later, or do we see if it keeps going up?
I sold a bunch of highly worn quarters when it was $60 an ounce, and it’s hard not to regret that decision even though it seemed correct from past experience.
I have some other junk I could move.
anything we sell will likely get melted to meet demand, so that’s a problem!
Taking a break from swapping for a while, but still interested in pre 1799 Spanish coins, I will make time for that!
I just noted on Boxing day, when I thought markets were closed, the silver zoomed up to $79 an ounce ($135 pesos de neuva zelandos) and gold is at $4,543 or something, that is just bananas!
A crash must be coming. $8 increases in one day, is just crazy.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
I used to buy a few junk silver coins every time i went to the coin store. But i don't think i will be doing that anymore. $100 for only 4 coins isn't too nice.
The markets of precious metals are mostly excited about the critical lack in silver supply and that China per 1 January 2026 are going to restrict the exports of silver from China with a licensing system.
The market has been open for like 1 hour in USA and silver has already crashed $5 down to $74.70, due to timezones its my bedtime and of course by morning this may have changed.
Another correction or is it to climb to $90 as the Shanghigh price indicates. China apparently attacked Taiwan and that has caused some instability. If its not Comex, it will be those darn commies!
UPDATE 10am NZ time, Silver plummeted to $72 and gold down $150 to $4332. More a correction than crash, but who knows what happens next.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Yesterday's dip has been reversed. Silver is at $77.70, off last weeks peak, but only $2 off the close on Dec 26th. Apparently yesterday am (Dec 29 American time), silver got to $83.41 and then crashed down to $70.77 at one stage, climbing back to $73.
Gold went from $4550 down to $4300 yesterday and is not recovering much today, stuck at $4340.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Did I do well guys?. Local antique shop selling 1921-1933 and 1940-41 500. silver florins for £6 each. Got 7 of those and a US 1942 quarter 900. silver for £4. A missing type in mu collection. £46 in total for the lot. I did inform the store owner of new silver prices but he decided to keep them the same as weeks ago and they were already aware of the crazy prices. Obviously the days of my £3 florins and £5 halfcrowns from 2023 are gone now but for the current day I think its a steal.
Bruno, you did very well, as the melt on those pieces is now around $25 NZD, I am not a walking bank machine so you can translate that into pounds or whatever currency you use.
I watch a lot of coin channels on Youtube and the majority are American, but a few British and Aussie ones too (NZ seems to lack any good ones, I tried for a while but was worried my videos may attract thieves and none of them got above 100 views, I also have that monotone and rather boring sounding Kiwi accent that does not suit American viewers). Many of the dealers mention that overheated coin prices are stopping dealers from buying silver off the public unless its very pure or high grade. Seems the Americans only touch 90% junk silver and 3 or 4 nines pure silver, and have no interest in sterling silver, 80%, 50% or their 40% kennedies or the 35% war nickels as smelting is too hard and complex.
One dealer also mentions many pay “well back” of melt and one was offering $62 per ounce, when silver was $75 an ounce. There is no law against buying in coins below melt as they can claim handling and hasselage fees (Processing, lack of onsales market, low quality coins, fake coins from China etc). Some dealers have even been ripping off simple sellers, like telling them they will pay full face value for silver 90% coins and desperate people selling them at that rate.
So unless you find a buyer for those coins, they really have little value beyond what you paid - plus there is a massive glut of 50% in the market and its hard to smelt and process, as they have copper, zinc and nickel that also need to be separated out.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
There a few things happening in the silver market now. There are two prices for silver. One is the paper price and one is the price for the real commodity.
The banks in NYC, received billions of dollars from the Federal Reserve to cover the paper loss they expect to incur and to stay solvent. And the banks have increased the deposit you have to have to hold your paper silver if held on margin. If you did not pay up they sold your position. They did this twice this week. In this manner they have been able to keep the price lower. Many owners of the paper silver have asked for the commodity to be delivered but the banks do not have the silver. They have to go to the commodity market to get it. There they have to compete with industry that needs it for manufacturing. I think the NYC cost for paper silver is $76 and the commodity cost in Shanghai $89. So the banks have to pay $10 to $15 above the paper price to meet the contracts. They are losing money hence the federal Reserve bailout.
China is restricting the export of silver on Jan. 1. The major bullion dealers in the US no longer sell silver, some talk that the government has taken control of the physical silver.
Good luck gentlemen. There is a good chance we will all have to give our metal to the government pretty soon.
Greedy sellers, the silver price crashed again on December 31st, closing at $71.57, still a massive climb from the $28.91 it started 2025 on.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
There a few things happening in the silver market now. There are two prices for silver. One is the paper price and one is the price for the real commodity.
The banks in NYC, received billions of dollars from the Federal Reserve to cover the paper loss they expect to incur and to stay solvent. And the banks have increased the deposit you have to have to hold your paper silver if held on margin. If you did not pay up they sold your position. They did this twice this week. In this manner they have been able to keep the price lower. Many owners of the paper silver have asked for the commodity to be delivered but the banks do not have the silver. They have to go to the commodity market to get it. There they have to compete with industry that needs it for manufacturing. I think the NYC cost for paper silver is $76 and the commodity cost in Shanghai $89. So the banks have to pay $10 to $15 above the paper price to meet the contracts. They are losing money hence the federal Reserve bailout.
China is restricting the export of silver on Jan. 1. The major bullion dealers in the US no longer sell silver, some talk that the government has taken control of the physical silver.
Good luck gentlemen. There is a good chance we will all have to give our metal to the government pretty soon.
CME Group and similar operations are not banks. They are commodity/derivatives traders. If they get caught with their pants down, too bad.
I agree: I've been getting way too many AI generated articles on silver. I'm not sure why, or when, this crazy phenomenon began but I just ignore them.
The why is easy: it's someone who has a vested in interest in the price going either up (sellers) or down (buyers and shorts) and knows that disinformation gets gobbled up. I suppose if enough people believe it, it could help move the market.
AI is an echo chamber. It just picks up stuff in non-critical fashion, and re-packages it. So the same article with unsubstantiated facts gets cited over an over and incorporated into the AI search results.
The why is easy: it's someone who has a vested in interest in the price going either up (sellers) or down (buyers and shorts) and knows that disinformation gets gobbled up. I suppose if enough people believe it, it could help move the market.
AI is an echo chamber. It just picks up stuff in non-critical fashion, and re-packages it. So the same article with unsubstantiated facts gets cited over an over and incorporated into the AI search results.
All good points but I'd adjust your “AI is an echo chamber” metaphor to include that its chamber has background noise (or some glitch that causes “Common sense” interference). There seems to be little in the way of editing/revising the end product so the article contains critical omissions or gross exaggerations.
now we have come to AI. Let me tell you my experience with AI. The echo chamber idea is fit.
My wife installed the Chinese version on her phone. I asked her to ask it what happened in the first week of June in 1989. It responded with a bunch of things that happened but nothing about Tiananmen Square activities. I said try June 6th. Still complete silence. She then asked in Chinese and it responded with contact us directly to discuss this. Chinese AI is government controlled and probably Chtgpt. Do not forget that when using it. The echo chamber is real.
My hypothesis is that Chinese AI is faster because it has a reduced amount of information to consider. It is limited in it's veracity as are most of us.
There a few things happening in the silver market now. There are two prices for silver. One is the paper price and one is the price for the real commodity.
The banks in NYC, received billions of dollars from the Federal Reserve to cover the paper loss they expect to incur and to stay solvent. And the banks have increased the deposit you have to have to hold your paper silver if held on margin. If you did not pay up they sold your position. They did this twice this week. In this manner they have been able to keep the price lower. Many owners of the paper silver have asked for the commodity to be delivered but the banks do not have the silver. They have to go to the commodity market to get it. There they have to compete with industry that needs it for manufacturing. I think the NYC cost for paper silver is $76 and the commodity cost in Shanghai $89. So the banks have to pay $10 to $15 above the paper price to meet the contracts. They are losing money hence the federal Reserve bailout.
China is restricting the export of silver on Jan. 1. The major bullion dealers in the US no longer sell silver, some talk that the government has taken control of the physical silver.
Good luck gentlemen. There is a good chance we will all have to give our metal to the government pretty soon.
CME Group and similar operations are not banks. They are commodity/derivatives traders. If they get caught with their pants down, too bad.
Comex cannot supply the silver to the banks as customers ask for delivery. CME was set up by the banks and is financed by them. Regardless it is the banks that sell the derivatives and are on the hook. J. P. Morgan is one bank that has received money from the Fed already, not CME. Also another thing I learned is that in the recent past the difference in price for the commodity was about 4% between London and NYC. The restriction being it had to be real silver in hand. Many investors asked for their silver and sent it to London to get the 4%. This is another reason that Comex is short of silver bars to distribute to the banks, so the banks have to get it from somewhere else. If the banks get caught with their pants down, it is the depositors that pay for it.
Agree about AI fake news. AI should be regulated by governments and have a code of ethics applied. Its the wild west now. I remember coming to blows with a close friend 2 months ago, who was convinced a AI article saying scientists had discovered a vein of pure gold that contained billions of tonnes of it under China (Of course!) was being mined by the CCP and China now has the world's largest economy and soon gold would be so common, it would be 10 cents an ounce.
He is not a stupid guy, but believed it for 5 minutes. Then you look at all the Sora stuff on Youtube, realistic videos and some are really rac!st showing certain ethnicities as wild animals and EBT park, fat shaming, certain ethnic group jokes about scamming and poor hygiene and no one does anything about it. Its almost impossible to tell real from fake, as genuine news outlets are fooled by AI stories. Unregulated AI is part of the downfall of human civilsations.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
I was going to ask the very same question regarding the impact of metal prices on the numismatic hobby. I have been selling a few silver coins on eBay, and with buyers protection and postage costs, some are going for less than melt. I can see a lot of lower grade coins being melted rather than being collected, so eventually there will be mainly high grade coins which will be beyond the reach of many collectors. Are non PM coins going to go the same way? Copper and nickel are going up in price, I'm keeping all my pre 1992 UK copper coins separately, just in case. Maybe I should keep all the copper nickel coins as well?
Other sources say 10-15 ounces per missile, which makes a lot more sense (how would you use 500 ounces in electronics?)
The article actually mentions silver-zinc batteries that are used to power all of the electronics. Most likely not Duracell triple-A batteries.
Yes. But we're also not talking battery powered missiles that need batteries the size of a Teslas.
The button-sized batteries that power wristwatches contain milligrams of silver. Industrial sized silver oxide batteries for much larger applications (i.e. powering larger scale electronics) contain less than a half gram of silver. Do the math: 500 ounces of silver is 25,000 times that much. It doesn't make any sense.
But people who write some of these stories and publish themselves know that nobody checks that their numbers make sense. They just want to get the attention that sensational numbers will attract. It happens all the time.
I suspect that if you calculate the current generated by 500 ounces of silver oxide being reduced while operating the electronics you will find that the missile melts from the inside out.
The button-sized batteries that power wristwatches contain milligrams of silver. Industrial sized silver oxide batteries for much larger applications (i.e. powering larger scale electronics) contain less than a half gram of silver. Do the math: 500 ounces of silver is 25,000 times that much. It doesn't make any sense.
And the math doesn't change when we consider the technology mentioned being silver-zinc batteries (not silver oxide as you suggested)?
I simply don't know and I'm no good at that kind of math. But it's interesting to know that batteries used in aerospational equipment are relatively heavy compared to weight of vehicle, so I wonder what takes up all of the weight, zinc?
I forgot to answer the second part of your question.
If you consider something like the small button-type batteries for powering a watch which contain less than 100 milligrams of silver, it means that something like 95% (or more) of the total weight is other stuff. In addition to the zinc, there must also be an electrolyte present (often potassium hydroxide in some kind of paste or solution), the anode and cathode materials, and outer casing to hold the ingredients, etc.
Probably that ratio does not scale as you make a larger battery, but there will be many other components contributing to the overall weight.
Are these the same as the solid state silver-zinc batteries supposedly recently developed by Samsung? There's a lot of chatter that they will be replacing the lithium ion. I, for one have no idea what's true and reliable anymore.
The button-sized batteries that power wristwatches contain milligrams of silver. Industrial sized silver oxide batteries for much larger applications (i.e. powering larger scale electronics) contain less than a half gram of silver. Do the math: 500 ounces of silver is 25,000 times that much. It doesn't make any sense.
But people who write some of these stories and publish themselves know that nobody checks that their numbers make sense. They just want to get the attention that sensational numbers will attract. It happens all the time.
Otherwise known as “Clickbait”. Except in the past clickbait was written (or made up by humans), now its all sh!tty AI.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Geez, I go away on holiday for a week without internet and all hell breaks loose. Peaked at NZ$136 per ounce. It's droped back now, but if you look at the 30 days the trend is up, but with a flattening curve. Hopefully it will level out and not rise too much further.
Its back up to $76.50 an ounce or NZ $131. Its been in this area for a few weeks now and it seems $70 - $80 is silver's new wriggle room for a while (Of course it could be holiday stability as people filter back to work and movement in either direction could happen).
On a more hiarious note, my coin club had about 50 silver medals made for the King's Coronation back in 2023, and they have 20 unsolds. Originally released at $139 each, the medals were wildly overpriced at a time when they contained $40 of silver (28 grams and sterling), so buying 5 of them now, has almost eaten up that premium, each medal has about $115 of silver in it now.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Silver blasts past $80 now at $81.07 USD. That is unprecedented. Attempts by Capitalists, buyers, monopolies etc, have failed to cool the price.
Thats over $140 NZ, back in 2022, it was under $40 NZD.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
It has affected my collection. I am now primarily focusing on ancients, but a lot of my collection is world coins that I find attractive, or small coins by dates (recently, South African and Australian), mostly silver and digging through world silver is very fun but its not something broke college me can do often nowadays because of the rising price of silver. I do have some scrap and may sell it now though, and trade with a coin shop for either very good turned in jewelry or rare coins as people are probably rushing to sell. I may trade it for favourable rates on ancients, I know for a fact that they had a few very nice denarii and some zoo series coins I may be able to get with that.
I had a cruise through Trademe (NZ's local version of Ebay) and it seems like a lot of people are trying to cash in on the silver price with lots of bulk “investment” lots of silver and scrap silver coins for sale. Problem is, I don't think there's too many coin collectors that would pay that much for junk coins. Like this lot. There's no way I would pay $8000 for something that I would have probably been able to pick up for under $1000 a few years ago.
I agree, but someone will buy them. I intend to start selling off some of my bulk soon.
That listing looks sound, but he has just one photo and not a very good one, some close up shots and more details would help. Also he spells sixpence wrong. No serious numismatist would make such a blatant error. However the maths checks out. Its approx 22 sixpences to an ounce, 11 shillings and 5.5 Florins.
Its sad as a year ago, that lot would have cost around $3,000 or so. I really think they should break it up into smaller lots like say 10 ounces of each and the Trade me success fee for $8.1k will be like $635 for a standard seller and $950 for a business trader.
Silver is at $133.92 NZ currently and not really climbing just hovering in the mid to high 70s USD.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Gold and silver have gone Bazinga! again. GMT 1955 hours - 12/1/26 - 8.55 13 Jan NZDST
Just seen gold at US$4,600 (Over NZ $8,000 - our peso has dropped down to 57.3c)
Silver has climbed to US $85.50 (NZ $149).
These are the highest ever prices and exceed the $82 it hit on Dec 27th.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
I know it's hard to predict where it's going to end up, but I see some economists are predicting it will be at least 26% higher than it is now before it starts to stabilise, that's around $190 per ounce!
Yes, there was a period where it was climbing another dollar every hour!
I expect some corrections/settling for rest of this week, but you never know.
If it hits $190 I will just sell all my coins and buy a house. 22kg of silver is worth a lot of lolly at the moment.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
I have other resources. Its always wise not to put all your eggs in one basket.
Silver is over 5 New Zealand dollars a gram, that is just absurd.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
As someone interested in historic world coins, my big concern is that when silver value skyrockets, silver coins get melted down.
I still go to my local coin shop every few weeks and pick through their boxes of world coins. I've been buying from them for almost 10 years and they almost always give me a good deal (because hardly anyone buys old world coins from them) so I have generally been paying below melt (which essentially means all the base metal coins are “free” in a sense), although when silver is $90/oz, that doesn't ease the sting too much! Although I have managed to pick up some unusual coins for vastly below their catalog value, which is always a thrill.
This does make me wish I had bought up a bunch of bulk 90% a year ago, but I typically only buy coins that I actually want to hang onto.
Silver spiked over NZ$160 and ounce, and the upward trend doesn't seem like slowing down anytime soon. I'm kicking myself that I forgot about an auction I was bidding on until 20 minutes after it closed. The winning bid was around half the melt value.
Silver hit 100 US dollars an ounce 12 hours ago in Asian trading. It seems the only way is up. Good if you’re selling or holding silver coins. Less so if buying.
Its back over $100 and now at $102, looks like 3 figure silver prices are here to stay.
Fortunately NZ dollar has added 2 cents USD and prices here are minimal increases. Trump's bluffing and bungling may be weakening the American dollar.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Its back over $100 and now at $102, looks like 3 figure silver prices are here to stay.
Fortunately NZ dollar has added 2 cents USD and prices here are minimal increases. Trump's bluffing and bungling may be weakening the American dollar.
It's hard to know when to cash in scrap silver. I've got a couple of ounces of junk silver. I'd like to cash them in to buy some more coins I want for my collection, but the price just keeps going up.
Trump's bluffing and bungling may be weakening the American dollar.
The US Dollar has lost in value over the last few days.
The recent rise in PM is said to be the situation in Japan, where the prime minister has dissolved the parliament for a snap election. The Japanese interest rates are going up and has reached a 30-year high, which gives fear that Japanese investors will sell bonds abroad and shift for Japanese bonds due to the increased yield and the US uncertainty.
