COLLECTING SILVER COINS

If you have been prepping for a while now, you probably already know it's worth owning silver and/or gold. Many preppers believe if there is a great economic collapse, the standard dollar bill will not be worth anything, and only precious metals will be worth any value. Other preppers, such as myself, do not believe something so extreme as a total economic collapse is realistic at this point in time. However, I do believe coin collecting is a healthy hobby to pursue and makes a great "fall-back" option in case I'm wrong about the economy!

Since gold is substantially more expensive per ounce, most people purchase silver. You have two choices when purchasing silver: bullion or currency.

When you purchase bullion, you are buying .999 pure silver bars or rounds. There is no country associated to bullion. If you would rather own silver that can be used as a cash equivalent, you should opt for currency. You can buy U.S. silver dollar coins, or other silver coins from other countries such as Canada, Austria, Great Britain, and many more.

Although the currency is actually valued at $1.00 for a U.S. silver dollar, don't expect to walk into a bank and exchange a dollar bill for one. The U.S. Mint does not issue silver dollars to banks like they do bills or the Presidential dollar coins. You can purchase silver dollars for approximately $26.00 and up at your local coin shop, eBay, Littleton Coins, the U.S. Mint website, or many other websites.

American Silver Eagle 1-Year Historical Data

I suggest purchasing new American Eagle silver dollars. The U.S. Mint produces new American Eagle silver dollars every year, in silver proof, uncirculated, platinum proof, gold versions. Buying directly from the U.S. Mint can be rather expensive, so I suggest heading over to eBay.com and keep your eye out for a good value.

Besides new American Eagle silver dollars, there are other options for U.S. coins. See below:

1942-45 Jefferson nickel (35% silver)
1916-1945 Mercury or Winged Liberty Head dime (90% silver)
1946-1964 Roosevelt dime (90% silver)
1932-1964 Washington quarter (90% silver)
1948-1963 Franklin half-dollar (90% silver)
1964 Kennedy half-dollar (90% silver)
1878-1921 Morgan dollar (90% silver)
1921-1935 Peace dollar (90% silver)

There are many other older coins not listed above that contain silver, however the above list represents the most common silver coins (known as "junk silver") currently available.