Silver and Gold

 

Over the almost 35 years of living in our house, we have like most people accumulated a lot of “stuff”.  Over the past year, I’ve been going through it and either tossing it or selling it.  I’ve sold a surprising number of items on eBay (that’s a topic for another blog post). 

While listening to a financial podcast, I was reminded of the high price of silver right now. It’s the highest price it’s ever been.  I remembered my old coin collection that I had stashed in the closet.  I also had stored away the remains of my dad’s collection after he passed away in 2013.   I used to collect coins when I was a kid.  I remember eagerly going to Hoskins coin shop downtown and buying coins.  I lost interest when I got older (like happens with a lot of things). 

I pulled out the tote I had stored the collection in.  There were quite a few silver coins in it.  My dad had sold all his gold coins before he passed away.  There were some silver coins and some yearly proof sets.  There also were some collector books of pennies and nickels.  I messaged with the new Hoskins coin shop (now run by Mr. Hoskins son and grandson) and they told me to bring it in.  I took it in and they looked through it.  I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of money I got for it. 

If you have any loose silver or gold or an old coin collection, this is an excellent time to sell it.  I’ll throw out a few basic tips to check your items.  To see if your jewelry is gold, test it with a magnet.  If it attracts, it isn’t gold.  Gold also will sink rapidly in a glass of water.  The magnet trick also works on silver. If it sticks, it isn’t silver.  As far as coins, dimes, quarters and half dollars, those made in 1964 or before are 90% silver.  Half dollars from 1965 to 1970 are 40% silver.  Anything after these has little or no silver and doesn’t have any value above face value. 

I would highly recommend Hoskins.  They treated me well.  I’ve known Ronnie Hoskins since my USEC days.  The shop is in the Southside area of Paducah near Kroger and Wal-Mart.  They are in the shopping center with Penn Station Subs.  They will be busy.  Brent Hoskins told me with the current prices of gold and silver, they have a lot of people coming in.  You shouldn’t let that stop you though.  It could be worth the wait (it certainly was for me).