I was having a conservation a few days ago and I may have given off the impression that I am more knowledgeable than I actually am. I usually don't like this because it is unintentional and usually results in people making unrealistic requests, which I then unrealistically accept.
So in an effort to perpetuate yet another narrative I did not even create, I accepted the quest of appraising a few silver coins. After all, how hard could it be? The last item that needed appraisal was easily determined to be a cheap Walmart wristwatch.
I took a look at the coins, but my basic knowledge doesn't really tell me anything. She needs numbers and I'm more of an anecdote kinda guy.
The silver is identified by a few dead giveaways. Here are the edges of one of our quarters against a standard one. Ours is solid silver while newer quarters have the visible copper "core".
A Susan B. Anthony coin was included with these but the edge looked exactly like a standard quarter. While not silver, it is very rare to see people spending these. I have more frequently found Mercury dimes, buffalo nickels, and even 2 steel pennies from a cash register! My friend took the coin out of the bag but I didn't know if she was going to save it at all.
All of them are of 1964, which I know to be the last year our main silver coins were struck. Some are from the Denver mint.
They all generally look like these two. Not bad, though nothing extraordinary to write home about. There are a few with some more major dents and scuffs. One even has a big ugly scratch on the obverse. I asked my dad, an avid coin collector, for advice. He told me in private, "I'll give her $2 each," and I felt a little disrespected on my friend's part. He didn't even put on his glasses or open the bag or inspect the condition, year, mint, or even authenticity.
His area of expertise is Mexican coins and has very many that even he doesn't know fully well. I've seen some in his collection that commemorate the old Mexican railroad which has mostly been torn down long ago. Much like the railroad, a great deal of the original number of this coin were destroyed, melted down to make the next line of commemorative coins. Interesting story behind its rarity... anyways.
I ask this very knowledgeable and helpful community for help in this matter, since I think my desperate friend's coins are worth at least a bit more (and I think she needs to travel out of the country). I know it's hard to virtually appraise something but I still think this is more helpful than typing into an unintuitive search engine.
But wait!
There's more!
In the mix were 2 more Kennedy half dollars. These are in considerably better condition than the quarters. I couldn't find the mint mark but then discovered it later (only after finding the artist's initials).
Oh and... uh... maybe this is a stupid question but I forgot:
When there's no mint mark, where was it minted?
Also, what happened to the San Francisco Mint‽
And where in the world is Carmen San Diego??
At the end of the day, I think coin collecting is mostly about the story. A small chunk of a random metal doesn't really say much when there is no history attached. That being said, it is very unfair to put a price on a coin when the sole consideration is precious metal content. They are much more than that, which therefore valuates them more favorably.
The only time I consider melting the coin down myself is when the condition compromises the coin. Silver is very soft; that's why jewelers mix it with copper to create the sterling silver alloy. More prolonged circulation will wear down the fine details of the coin like George Washington's individual strands of hair and even lice. I melted a coin that was so worn, it looked like a blank. The quarters I find from the 50s sometimes are just a little ways away from that.
It's crazy to think these coins lived through tumultuous eras like the first UFO craze or the space race. It's just too bad all that residual radiation in the air didn't do something like help preserve these gems a little better.
Thank you all in advance for your help!