Silver Crisis

"Silver Surge Crisis: Is Coin Collecting Facing an Existential Threat?"

With silver threatening to eclipse $100/oz, collectors face an unprecedented dilemma: hold numismatic pieces now worth more melted than cataloged, sell at peak profits, or wait for further gains. Historical melt-offs have happened before, but never at this scale or speed.(Hunt bros exception)

My questions for the community:

1. What happens if a significant percentage of collectors choose the melt option? When collectible coins disappear into bullion, do the surviving examples become more valuable (scarcity) or does the entire market collapse (lost collector base)?
2. How does this affect book values? If coins are being melted faster than price guides can update, are we watching real-time obsolescence of numismatic reference standards?
3. The ripple effect on non-silver coins: Will copper, nickel, and gold numismatics see increased interest as collectors pivot away from silver? Or does melting silver coins damage confidence in the entire hobby?
4. Is coin collecting sustainable when bullion value consistently outpaces numismatic premium? Are we witnessing the slow death of collecting as an investment-driven hobby replaces it?

I am sorry but is this written by a human, or AI? I really don't see the issues as written down here. 

Yes, silver is expensive. But then silver coins are expensive as well. Who in their right mind will sell a silver coin below melt value, just because a catalogue - that is by definition outdated the moment it is created - lists some historical value?

A lot of world silver coins are going to be sold as scrap over the next years.  It will affect huge proportions of some series. Our job will be to save what we can while getting rid of junk.  Use common sense.

Since my collection is not built with the goal of making profits, I simply don't care about precious metal fluctuations:

Sjoelund

Since my collection is not built with the goal of making profits, I simply don't care about precious metal fluctuations:

This is why I’m here. Cant speak for others, but it’s clear that a numismatic value will always eclipse a spot price.

I don't mind if bullion value exceeds numismatic value.  It's certainly easier to buy nice coins if the intrinsic value supports the price.  

For example I have bought many nice gold coins at spot + with the comfort that gold prices support their value.  It's sometimes harder for me to pay high numismatic prices, when they are well above intrinsic gold value.

But I admit I have paid stupid prices for copper coins too, but am a little more cautious when doing this.

The main premise is flawed. 

1. Numismatic value is not what is in a book, but what a coin has sold for most recently.

2. There is no possibility of a crisis or exisential threat if a large number of collectors have the same attitude as Sjoelund and me. 

Prices rise, prices fall … For a collector it just means you buy differently.  No different than changes in exchange rates, tariff policy and so on.

Yes, AI helped me articulate this—I'm not an English professor, but does that matter? I'm simply trying to spark a discussion about what happens to our hobby as silver approaches $100/oz.

My concern: Will this price surge cause a massive sell-off as collectors liquidate their "excess" coins? If so, we could see either a shortage driving numismatic prices higher, or a flood overwhelming the market and crashing values. Melt facilities are already overwhelmed with current volume.

Here's the reality: For common dates and even some key dates, silver content is already approaching or exceeding numismatic value. The Redbook will inevitably need major revisions. I know many of you are dedicated collectors who'd never melt a coin, but in today's economy, many of us prioritize financial security over preservation.

My position: Silver will climb even higher. I'm holding my excess. But I'm curious—what do you think happens to the hobby and the market if enough collectors disagree with me?

Looking for honest perspectives on where this ends.

I wasn’t collecting in 1980 (maybe some older members might remember this year and the silver price?),  but from my understanding that year and silver price was in relative terms higher than now. It reached around $50 at its peak, but because of inflation since then, the average wage increase and what was paid for owning a property (as examples), todays silver price would have to reach $200 and above to be comparable. It is currently pushing towards $60 (per Troy ounce), and was also at these levels 15 years ago. Did lots of coins disappear then, I don’t think so. People are greedy they hold thinking it will get higher - the price then sinks. 
 

I never really understood people who stack silver as an investment, it is pretty pointless as there are other metals which weigh a lot less and are more valuable… I think silver stacking is such an Americanism (invented by the jewellers and pawn shops) to stimulate the American coin collecting market, like low date cents. America had such beautiful coins, for the last 100 years they have just been boring, hence stack the silver, look for this date or this double die reverse, all designed to keep Americans only collecting their own crap coins. Even the term „world coins“ as if there is just USA and then the rest, is dumb, facilitating the way of degrading (at least verbally) a beautiful coin from Mexico or Canada or Switzerland to its just a „world coins“. 

The story of the Hunt brothers upsetting the silver market in the 80's, I was in Mexico in those wild days.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/optioninvestor/09/silver-thursday-hunt-brothers.asp

Just search for “hunt brothers silver” and you find plenty of material….

Sjoelund

The story of the Hunt brothers upsetting the silver market in the 80's, I was in Mexico in those wild days.

 

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/optioninvestor/09/silver-thursday-hunt-brothers.asp

 

Just search for “hunt brothers silver” and you find plenty of material….

What I remember more than anything else about that was the price of camera film sky rocketed.  Everybody cut way back on picture taking.

Isn't there a place or site that estimates the amount of silver coins that were sold off and melted. Stories written and predictions as to how a certain jump in price affects the amount sold off? I know I have seen one or two in the past.

What most of us consider to be silver coins with high numismatic value tend to hold values at hundreds of percent above their bullion value, not 10% or 20%.  They rise accordingly when silver goes up, and are not likely to find their way to the smelter, except in the hands of non-collectors.

tdziemia

What most of us consider to be silver coins with high numismatic value tend to hold values at hundreds of percent above their bullion value, not 10% or 20%.  They rise accordingly when silver goes up, and are not likely to find their way to the smelter, except in the hands of non-collectors.

 

 

 

 

Hello

Having recently experienced financial difficulties as I am self-employed, and  childrens who need financial assistance for their studies and housing

I had to part with some of my silver coin collection.

I chose, of course, the most common coins.

But many were melted down... 

I am not happy about this, but I had no choice

But tdziemia is right not high numismatic value 

but the message from rmuniak is very relevant

Sorry for this p🤣oor english 

try too do it without translator

King

I wasn’t collecting in 1980 (maybe some older members might remember this year and the silver price?),  but from my understanding that year and silver price was in relative terms higher than now. It reached around $50 at its peak, but because of inflation since then, the average wage increase and what was paid for owning a property (as examples), todays silver price would have to reach $200 and above to be comparable. It is currently pushing towards $60 (per Troy ounce), and was also at these levels 15 years ago. Did lots of coins disappear then, I don’t think so. People are greedy they hold thinking it will get higher - the price then sinks. 
 

I never really understood people who stack silver as an investment, it is pretty pointless as there are other metals which weigh a lot less and are more valuable… I think silver stacking is such an Americanism (invented by the jewellers and pawn shops) to stimulate the American coin collecting market, like low date cents. America had such beautiful coins, for the last 100 years they have just been boring, hence stack the silver, look for this date or this double die reverse, all designed to keep Americans only collecting their own crap coins. Even the term „world coins“ as if there is just USA and then the rest, is dumb, facilitating the way of degrading (at least verbally) a beautiful coin from Mexico or Canada or Switzerland to its just a „world coins“. 

Interesting points. I am from the US, and as you can see from my collection,  i mostly collect “world” coins… I thought with the internet this thinking would change as US citizens got more access to foreign coins however every time I attend a coin show its basically a slabbed morgan dollar convention…😮‍💨

Sjoelund

Since my collection is not built with the goal of making profits, I simply don't care about precious metal fluctuations:

And that makes two of us