Hi Dennis,

I am pretty sure the results would be the same for the silver fineness. I say this because pretty much every mint was represented in this batch and I would think the solid $40's would be the same silver sheet punched out for the centers. However, my refiner does not pay the same rate for gold plated as non-plated. You would think the gold would make them worth more, but that is not the case. If a refiner can deliver .999 fine or better, they get a preferred rate from the mega-processors. Anything less than .999 ( and that would include some percentage of gold) is less than favorable and can make as much as a 5% difference in price. Decals probably would melt, but because we are talking 5%, he always does decals and plated separate from solid centers.

The cost to melt into a bar wouldn't be much, I will get that number for you. But, typically what I do is have him melt scrap, assay , and then I get a fine silver credit. I usually apply that credit to Academy 10 oz silver stacker bars. I pay him a slight premium for the bars. But, these bars are very liquid and super easy to sell. The melted silver... not so easy. I am trying to find out from him if he wants to do more strikes, usually the quantities are a little smaller than what he like to do, but let me work on him for more details.

Also, keep in mind that refining into bars allows you to sell when you want. If you took 500 strikes and cashed them in at coin shop today, you would get some percentage of spot in a dropping market. If you turn into .999 bars, (the Academy stackers are beautiful), you can almost always get close to spot from dealers and an easy premium from "retail" customers. Let me know if you want to see a photo of the bars I picked up.