Silver testing

[Wolf410]

Ok so this might be an odd one but a few friends and I were discussing prepping for disasters and such and we came to the topic of keeping precious metal as a form of currency in a disaster. While I would love to horde gold, that's not at all possible on my income, however silve is and this is where two questions arise

1. Are any of ou already doing this and if so what are you doing it with?

2. What's an easy way to tell if something is really silver and not alpaca or some other silver knock-off?

[Tundra]

Ok so this might be an odd one but a few friends and I were discussing prepping for disasters and such and we came to the topic of keeping precious metal as a form of currency in a disaster. While I would love to horde gold, that's not at all possible on my income, however silve is and this is where two questions arise

1. Are any of ou already doing this and if so what are you doing it with?

2. What's an easy way to tell if something is really silver and not alpaca or some other silver knock-off?

My first post!

Yes, lots more people are holding onto their metals than ever. A friend of mine the other day mentioned that he bought some silver "just in case". He's not that type of guy - so he's waking up.

The easiest way to tell is to hold it - you should get familiar with silver if you intend to dabble in it. You know how a dime feels in your hand or a quarter... the same for a 1oz silver round. Also, I drop silver on a table and listen for the distinctive ring. If you hear a hollow "thud", it's a fake. Familiarize yourself with various different silver coins and rounds available in the market today.

Stick with rounds / coins. Bars aren't as sought-after. Grains, forget it.

However, in the short-term, don't expect silver to be too handy in crisis situations unless it's a currency crisis.

[jinya1004]

I like pre 1964 Quarters. Its the easiest for me to obtain and doesn't cost me much, usually $.25.

They are easy to tell apart and have around 90% silver in them.

After a while you can tell silver and gold by touching, but til you get there, look at the side of the coin, if its all a silver color, then its probally silver. If its half silver and half copper colored, its a newer coin and not worth more than $.25

[Vantramp]

Coins are the easiest to find and trade or convert from what I have found over the years.

In circulation, I have had the most luck finding 1965-1970 Kennedy half dollars which are 40% silver and still show up fairly often in rolls at the bank.

Also it is good to remember Canadian coins from 1967 back were 90% silver like the US coins from 1964 back.

War nickels 1942-1945 were 35% silver. Not a huge money, but today(at current spot when this post was made) they are worth $1.63 based on the silver melt value.

coinflation.com is a great site for learning all that info too. I used to buy the art bars and various .9999 rounds often, but less lately. I learned something interesting about the art bars - some of them can be quite collectible and worth more than their silver value. I had bought a big pile of them and thought there were some really interesting ones, did a little research and found that a few were fairly valuable.

If you buy jewelry or other silver, you might see a hallmark of .925 which identifies it as 92.5% silver also known as "sterling".

As mentioned by others, silver has a definite feel to it that you can get good at recognizing and does sound pretty distinct too. The weight is a little different as well for coins which is why it often doesn't work for various vending machines. (I have gained a few silver quarters in trade due to that last point over the years).

Hope that helps.
-Mike

[cbo]

google for the size of the coins and weight them and use calipers
or buy from a trustworthy source

or go to a gold/silver-buyer and try to sell them, he will test

[Vantramp]

look at the side of the coin, if its all a silver color, then its probally silver. If its half silver and half copper colored, its a newer coin and not worth more than $.25

The kennedy half dollars that are 40% silver still have the copper colored band so they are the one exception to looking for "silver only" edges when roll searching.

At spot when this post was made, they are worth $4.28 each based on silver content. Not bad


-Mike

[BushMetal]

Buy a test kit, know measurements and weights

The kennedy half dollars that are 40% silver still have the copper colored band so they are the one exception to looking for "silver only" edges when roll searching.
-Mike

This is incorrect, if you see copper on the rim it is clad and contains no silver.

[jinya1004]

The kennedy half dollars that are 40% silver still have the copper colored band so they are the one exception to looking for "silver only" edges when roll searching.

At spot when this post was made, they are worth $4.28 each based on silver content. Not bad


-Mike

Sorry, should have specified this was for quarters. Thanks for the info.

[Vantramp]

This is incorrect, if you see copper on the rim it is clad and contains no silver.

You probably should check into this a bit more. The copper cladding is still there, it is a smaller band and yes they are 40% silver. Tell ya what, if you don't believe me, send me your 1965-1970 kennedy half dollars and I will give you a buck each

-Mike

[Vantramp]

Sorry, should have specified this was for quarters. Thanks for the info.

No worries, your info was right on for quarters which you did specify at the end, I just wanted to add to your good information.

-Mike