I have 80 spare dollars I want to spend on 1940’s silver half dollars. The are 7.35 a piece/?
November 14, 2010 by
Filed under Silver Investment FAQ
The price of silver is said to keep going up but now has fallen off these half dollars are 1/2 ounce of silver. Is this a good investment I am looking five years down the road. I am young only 21 so I feel that 5-10 years from now this will be a sound investment. But I would like any advice. Is this a sound investment or is it not?
No. Buy 10-15 shares of Ford instead.
1940’s half dollars are 90% silver and 10% base metals (mostly copper).
If you buy from kitco, you pay the kitco face price per dollar US, so 100 halves would be face $50 USA 90%.
You may be able to do even better on Ebay, but there is always some risk in doing business with small timers.
Hope this helps you
Half dollars are not exactly 1/2 ounce. They are somewhat less than that. 0.36169 ounce to be precise. You can actually purchase them on Ebay for somewhat less than that. Recently they have been trading at about $56.00 in lots of 10 if you are not all that particular about the dates or the condition. All standing liberty.
In the past these have been sound investments. They may or may not in the future. It is somewhat difficult to see what the future might hold. Certainly, $80 spare dollars is not a great deal to risk. Your main risk will be that someone might steal them from you once you buy them. You would be surprised at how often that does occur.
Choice uncirculated 50 cent pieces might also be an alternative. They tend to not be tied so much to the price of silver but instead to collector desirability. An inexpensive uncirculated 50 cent piece from the 40s can be had for about $25.00 currently You see how much more they are worth than the run of the mill. If the past is any guide they should continue increasing in value. The more scarce they are the more they increase sort of. They have also to be popular. A 1916 standing liberty quarter is currently going for better than $10,000 in uncirculated grade. It is sort of rare.
One thing to keep in mind is that they do become somewhat of a problem finding a buyer for when you should want to sell. Ebay has made that task much more simple than it once was.
I got my 1940’s half-dollars in 1962. They cost me 50¢ since they were still in general circulation then and no one thought they were special. They are now worth $4 apiece if sold to a metals dealer for the silver. They increased 8 times in value in 47 years. Only you can calculate if this appreciation is acceptable to you.
A house selling for $11,000 in 1962 is now worth $100,000 so that is 9 times the value but it is offset by the need to pay property tax and insurance which you don’t have to pay on coins.