How to Keep Value of Silver Coins Intact

Who doesn’t love a real silver coin? Whether the silver coin is a silver American Eagle. silver bar or silver bullion, the precious metal has worth, beauty and sometimes a bit of history connected to it. That is why it is very important to know exactly what to do to keep the value of silver coins intact. The answer is simple, do absolutely nothing.

Silver is an organic material, the precious metal is harvested directly from Mother Earth. Over time it is possible for the silver to turn a dull shade, the process is called tarnish or toning. Whatever you do, do not remove that pantina. Polishing silver and making it look pretty can actually lower the value of collectible items including silver coins and silver bars.

While it may be very tempting to take out the 1 oz silver or whatever size silver coin you have been collecting, leave it alone. The more silver is handled, the greater chances of a scratched finish. Additionally, silver is a soft metal and silver coins, silver bars and silver bullion is some of the purest forms of the precious metal and too much handling can actually remove finite portions of the material, reducing the overall of the silver investment.

If you are into buying silver and are adding to your collection from online sources, keep the original packaging that cradled the silver bars during shipping. Of course all silver bullion bought online or otherwise should be inspected and received, but after that it is best to wrap it up (if you do not want a patina, protect your silver investment from oxygen) and forget about it.

Most importantly forget about it. Seriously, after making one note of where the silver bars are stored it is so you never forget, do not talk about your silver investment. Silver prices have the potential of increasing over time. The more people know about your silver coins, the more hands may try to skim the pot.

Experts Say Buy Silver Now

It’s an exciting time for those wanting to buy silver now.  The US Mint will release thirteen silver coins or silver set products in 2012.  The 2013-P Proof American Eagle Silver Coin will make its long awaited debut on January 4, 2012.  Appearing three months earlier this year, it is anticipated to be the silver market’s most popular product of the year.

The US Mint is also enticing those who are looking to buy silver now, with what they are calling The American Eagle West Point Two-Coin Silver Set.  The name may change  but it looks like it will have a West Point struck 2013-W Reverse Proof American Eagle Silver Coin and a West Point uncirculated American Eagle Silver Coin.

Customer interest is high for those looking to buy silver now and is inspired by the US Mint which is promoting the entire year’s scheduled releases, rather than a monthly surprise roll-out.

Silver coins continued to be the leading sellers in 2012.  The 2012 Silver Proof Sets sold 383,693 since their June 4th release.

The 2012-W Uncirculated American Silver Eagle coins sold 3,976 and the 2012 Limited Edition Silver Proof Sets sold 2,583.  Silver Eagles rose to 179,181 and the limited sets are at 26,937.

Looking ahead to 2012, the US Mint announced they will sell commemorative silver dollars to recognize the 75th anniversary of the March of Dimes Foundation.  Designs will be presented to the Citizen’s Coinage Advisory Committee for review.  Then, the Secretary of the Treasury will select the final design after consulting with the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the March of Dimes.

The following year, Mark Twain commemorative silver dollars and five dollar gold coins will be released.  Mark Twain is the pen name of author Samuel Clemens who is best know for his novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and the sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Should I Buy Silver Dollar Coins?

My love of silver dollar coins started when I was little: when I’d lose a tooth, the tooth fairy would bring me a silver dollar. And that’s where my collection of silver dollar coins began. Now I’m older and the tooth fairy doesn’t bring me coins any more – of course, I’m not losing teeth, either, so maybe that’s a good thing. But I’ve been thinking about that childhood passion and wondering: should I buy silver dollar coins? And if I should, why?

I started my research at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_coin_(United_States)) learning about the history of silver dollar coins. And I did learn a lot, but what I gathered was that it’s only the old silver dollars that are worth any money, and then that’s basically for collectors, who are looking at the rarity of the coin and the condition, not really the silver in the coin, itself. So part of the answer to my question about buying silver dollar coins is that it depends on why I’m buying them.

Next I went to Silver Coins Today (http://www.silvercoinstoday.com) and read about the current silver dollar coins being minted in the U.S. In 2012, the U.S. Mint produced two types of silver dollars for collectors: the Star-Spangled Banner Silver Dollars and the Infantry Soldier Silver Dollars. Also, the Mint produces four silver dollar coins each year that have four different presidents on them. All of these are sought by coin collectors, which helps me to answer the issue of whether I should buy silver dollar coins with the conclusion that if I’m interested in building-up a collection, then I definitely should.

Also at Silver Coins Today, I was able to research some of the silver dollar coins that I’d received as a child, including the Peace Dollars and the Morgan Dollars. Those, apparently, are worth some money to collectors, which is good to know, should I ever decide to part with them.

I think that I am going to add to my collection of silver dollar coins, because I like the idea of having a collection that spans my lifetime; and should I ever need to sell them, there are collectors avidly seeking at least some of what I already own. 

So my conclusion to the question of should I buy silver dollar coins is an unqualified yes. Now I just need to decide which ones I will buy and how many I will purchase. I’m going to have fun doing more research and gradually building-up my silver dollar coins collection.