Search for silver at banks?

Anyone search bank rolls for silver?

I've been doing it for awhile, it's definitely drying up in my small town so I have to do small road trips.

Got lucky at one out of the way bank recently, scored quite a few older half dollars, most of them 40% silver halves. 117 - 40% at one bank is the best I've done yet.

I was luckey, I opened a roll of quarters to add to my cash register one day, dumped them into the slot for quarters and it made a funny sound. Kinda like lead. Got to looking and found that the entire roll were silver. And yep i've still got everyone of them.

Scotto said:

Anyone search bank rolls for silver?

I've been doing it for awhile, it's definitely drying up in my small town so I have to do small road trips.

Got lucky at one out of the way bank recently, scored quite a few older half dollars, most of them 40% silver halves. 117 - 40% at one bank is the best I've done yet.

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SPEAKING of this Scotto ... sometime again someone had posted a link to an excellent website that identified the silver content of our American currency.

Would you happen to have this or another website with this info???

Observer999 said:

SPEAKING of this Scotto ... sometime again someone had posted a link to an excellent website that identified the silver content of our American currency.

Would you happen to have this or another website with this info???

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Is this what you're looking ofr?

I've thought about trying it. How does someone get started?

you can go to the bank and 'buy' $100 (or $50, or whatever) of rolls of quarters, dimes, half dollars or dollars, then go home, pick thru them and pull out any 40%, replace the ones you pulled out with the cheap junk they are calling coins now, then take them back to the bank and 'buy' some more. pick out the friendly teller and just explain that you are a coin collector looking for dates.

also, if you have a casino in town, take paper money go to quarter machines, the ones that spit out the quarters and not a receipt, and then hit the cash out, take your quarters home and pick thru them---. for the rest of the quarters, just take them back to the casino next time you go. i seem to get on average 6-10 of the 40% per $40 i put in. not a bad return. havent seen a 90% coin for a very long time. i think soon it will be the same with the 40%.

1964 and older is 90% silver
1965 to 1969 is 40% silver

little by little, it does add up.

well, i humbly stand corrected, dual-dated Bicentennial Quarters that were sold by the Mint in special Mint Sets and Proof Sets have 40% fine silver and have an "S" mint mark. its the half dollar that is 40% that can be found.

The 40% silver content is for half dollars only (years 1965-1970). Quarters and dimes were never minted with the 40% silver content in them. Sorry to make you have to re-sort them again.

Quarters, dimes, and half dollars 1964 and before were 90% silver. Some nickels back in WW2 had 35% silver in them (1944? I think). And of course the old favorite - silver dollars 1921 and before were 90%.

(all these are U.S. coins for circulation btw. some mint issues etc. could have silver in them.)

Really, looking at the junk silver I buy, there is now way you are going to find pre-65 coins at the bank. Perhaps a lottery ticket has better odds.

rhealady said:

Really, looking at the junk silver I buy, there is now way you are going to find pre-65 coins at the bank. Perhaps a lottery ticket has better odds.

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Beg to differ.

It's out there, just got to get lucky.

Another good way is have your bank order you boxes of sealed halves, $500.00 worth. I do it when I get paid, before I pay the bills. Search one, cash out at a different branch and go get another and do the same. The boxes are sealed from the fed or Brinks. Some times no luck, other days good luck.

I second the motion it's out there. I walked into a big city bank branch, asked to buy all the half dollars they had. Got $420 worth and put them in my canvas bank bag. When I got home, these ladies and gentlemen were there to greet me. This wasn't the first time I've met President Kennedy, Ms. Walker and Mr. Ben in a bank branch. Sure won't be the last. Best find in a roll was a 1943 Australian Florin. Made of .925 sterling silver.

mb

I think it's great you do this, and as an old coin collector I know it must feel great to strike silver. But from a shtf/barter point of view (if that's relevant), few preppers know the exact silver percentage of a '64 Kennedy, let alone sheeple. I'd be turning cashing them out into eagles, which list the amount of silver for all to read. But that's just me. Anyway, it was fun to read, thanks for sharing.

I've trie but the banks I did so had maybe 15 or 20 silver dollars or maybe $20 ub halves and never an silver.

ArmyOfFive said:

Is this what you're looking ofr?

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Yup ... THANKS!

I dont remember who turned me onto this site, but it covers the "silver melt value" of different coins
http://www.coinflation.com/coins/silver_coin_calculator.html

also, if you have a casino in town, take paper money go to quarter machines, the ones that spit out the quarters and not a receipt, and then hit the cash out, take your quarters home and pick thru them---. for the rest of the quarters, just take them back to the casino next time you go. i seem to get on average 6-10 of the 40% per $40 i put in. not a bad return. havent seen a 90% coin for a very long time. i think soon it will be the same with the 40%.

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Sadly most casinos no longer use coin. They use a ticket in ticket out system. You put a 5 dollar bill in and when you are done you cash out and get a ticket. You then take that ticket to either a cashier or a machine and turn it in for cash. This is what they look like.



However when getting change back, I have found a few silver coins here and there. They are getting hard to find. I may try the bank idea.

HERE is another site that lists a good amount of foreign silver coins (as well as nickel, alum., copper, bronze, etc). If you scroll down, you'll see in blue (meaning it's a link) to a page that shows pics & details of which coins are silver. At the top of the page you can find certain countries that begin with whichever letter you're looking for. I know we have a lot of military, so if you've collected coins on your travels, you can find out here if your coins are silver. I found that we have a Canadian quarter that is silver. Still have LOTS more coins to go thru to see which ones are silver.

My dad had a big silver collection and it makes me sick to think he either sold it or traded it away for pennies on the dollar (or face value only) just to feed us 8 kids when he was laid off from work at the factory. But when he died it was all gone. He had rolls and rolls of walking Lady Liberties from the 1800's and early 1900's. All gone!

I think that trading the 40% stuff and 90% stuff off and buying the .999 pure silver dollar coins is a good idea too. Seems to me (and I've thought this before) but how will the majority of people know the difference in times when they will be dubious about our currency period. No one trusts the dollar now and if our monetary system collapes, as it looks like it will, most people will think that coins no matter what they are, if they are from the US, will be worthless. The average person is not a coin collector.

All they are going to respond to is real pure silver and real gold. The other problem I see in the future after the dollar collapse, is that there will be a period where to get a gallon of gasoline we will have to give up a bunch of silver dollars to get a gallon before people get the hang of it's value and trading evens out to a system of recognized value. EX: This item is equal to so many of those coins. In the beginning it will be hit and miss and we will spend all our valuable coins just trying to get by.

MM

Milk-maid said:

I think that trading the 40% stuff and 90% stuff off and buying the .999 pure silver dollar coins is a good idea too.

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But having 90% dimes and quarters is a good idea too, what if you only have silver rounds for a smaller purchase and they don't have smaller coins for change?

Food for thought.

Ike dollars

Does any one ever find Ike dollars at their bank? Been looking for them for the past year and they just don't have that size of dollar coin any more.