Not being an authority on very many coin series, it's tough to judge what's worth slabbing??? And what is silver and what is not...

Greetings Collectors,

Just spending a lazy Sunday afternoon with some coins that I haven't seen for many years, I found a couple I have questions on. I am a "pack-rat" in lots of different areas and with coins, I am no different. Down through the years I have stashed away everything from mediocre wheat cents to foreign coins in silver & misc other metals. In fact I have stashed away coins that were probably "NOT" worth saving at all. I'm certain there is a web site that will inform me as to the silver content of any foreign coin, and I'm sure there are those of you out there that could steer me in the right direction. I have literally hundreds and hundreds of foreign coins that look like they ARE silver but maybe they AREN'T. I am curious to know just "what is" & "what is not" (silver). So if any of you know where there is a "blanket type" site that has info on "all" foreign silver coins, I would be most appreciative.

Then there is the question as to what is worth slabbing? One needs an entire library on each coin series to be able to accurately come to the determination of what is a 66 and what may be a 67 or even a 68 which would be deemed worthy of encapsulating. I am kinda of the mindset that unless a coin is very very "high grade" (67+) it's not worth slabbing. Of course I know the ones that are the exceptions, which like the 1901-S & 1923-S quarters and the keys in the Lincoln series IE '09-S VDB, the 1914-D etc. The 1916-D Mercury dime. Then you have the "holy grail" coins in the Morgan dollar series such as the mint marked coins of the early to mid 1890's ('93-S & CC to name a couple) Other than the major keys to any series, is it worth-while to slab an obvious high grade coin that is not a key date?

Pictured is some misc coins I found in an old rectangular box that's sized to hold 2X2 flips. I think the 1950 one-peso is 30% silver but am unsure of the other one-peso coins dated 1957, 1958, 1962, & 1963. Of course I know the Mexican Onza's and the Panamanian Balboas are silver but they are ones that I am unsure of the "worthiness" of having slabbed? They appear very high grade and they have been stored properly and protected well but there again, if you don't have a book on Mexican silver coins,or one Balboas from Panama, it's questionable of whether or not they could be slabbed without wasting money. I'm thinking these two roughly one ounce silver coins from Mexico & Panama are like our Silver Eagles in the sense that millions and millions were minted and they will only be a "silver bullion" coin and nothing more.

It really boggles my mind that for someone like myself, one that studies coins day and night, has no more basic knowledge than I do. When I start to feel stupid (and this happens quite frequently) I just tell myself that it's impossible to have a "degree" in everything. Once I do finally get on a certain "kick" when it comes to anything, I read and study like there's no tomorrow. Nothing bothers me more, than to be ignorant of a certain subject or topic.

Anyway I have these two question that I sure could use an answer to, if any of you have the time. I found also what looks like some very high grade Lincoln cents. They have been in stapled flips for many years and still retain 95% of their red color but there again, I'm definitely not an authority on grading Lincoln cents either and can only go by what I've seen and what I own. I know an MS-66 is only average and only when the grade reaches 67-68 Red does the penny start to really take off in value. I will post a pic of these 2-3 Lincoln's to see what anyone thinks about their possible grade. They are not "key dates" but they look a whole lot nicer than any 66 I own at present. It would be nice to have one or more of these that I picked from some original bank rolls many years ago, end up as "top pop" examples. Somewhere else in my boxes I have a few dozen other "cherry picked" Lincoln gems that from a "layman's" perspective, they looked practically "flawless.

There's not a day that goes by that I don't receive a "boatload" of fun from hanging out with a few coins. I'm sure that there are other hobbies that affect others this way. At least I hope for their sake, they do. Happy Collecting!

WKF