The 1901-S is the rarest of the first-year 20th century Barber halves, and it boasts the lowest mintage of the three at barely more than 847,000 pieces. The Complete Guide to Certified Barber Coinage ranks this tricky issue third in Mint State rarity, surpassed only by the 1904-S and 1896-O emissions. Circulated examples demand a premium in all grades, and Mint State coins are rarely seen. The one offered here is virtually white, sharply struck and flashy, with plenty of eye appeal. The PCGS population is a mere 6 with 7 higher. Listed at $12,700 in the CDN CPG, $13,000 in the PCGS price guide and $12,500 in Trends.
The 1883 Morgan dollar is a challenging issue in the Deep Mirror Prooflike category, particularly in high grade. Premium Gems, such as this are rare. The example herein offered is brilliant and displays considerable cameo contrast on each side. In hand, it is far more impressive than seen in our images. Additionally, while our pictures make it appear as if it has some toning, it is actually color free. The PCGS population is only 14 with 2 higher, both of the latter being MS66+ examples.
Offered at $10,925
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The three 1921 Walking Liberty half dollars, Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco, are the classic key-date issues for this series. While the 1921-S is rarest in high grades, the 1921 and 1921-D issues had the two lowest mintages in the series at 246,000 and 208,000, respectively. While the PCGS population data suggests that some other issues are more elusive in MS65 or finer grades, the 1921 figures are likely inflated due to a higher number of resubmissions. This particular example offers glowing luster, delicate patina and atypically clean surfaces. Only 13 have been graded higher by PCGS, 8 of which are MS65+. Listed at $21,800 in the CDN CPG, $23,500 in the PCGS price guide and $23,000 in Trends.
Offered at $18,560
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POSTED BY SRSROCCO IN MINING, NEWS, PRECIOUS METALS ON MARCH 20, 2019 — 11 COMMENTS
With the latest release by the USGS, silver production in the U.S. is now the lowest in more than 70 years. We have to go all the way back until the year after World War II ended to see U.S. silver production less than it was in 2018. While many reasons can be attributed to the decline, the main factors are falling ore grades and mine economics.
Unfortunately, there just aren’t too many economic silver deposits in the United States, especially with the high level of environmental and governmental regulations. Instead of dealing with all the bureaucracy, companies are looking to Mexico and South America to open new silver projects.
Regardless, U.S. silver production declined by more than 100 metric tons last year, or 10% in 2018, mainly due to the ongoing closure of the Lucky Friday Mine in Idaho. The Lucky Friday Mine has been shut down ever since the United Steelworkers went on strike on March 13, 2017. However, the dropoff in silver mine supply can’t all be blamed on the Lucky Friday Mine. Domestic silver production has been trending lower for the past two decades:
In 2000, the U.S. produced 63.7 million oz (1,980 metric tons) of silver compared to just 29.7 million oz (923 metric tons) last year. Thus, U.S. silver production has fallen by more than 50% in less than two decades. Silver production in the U.S. ramped up significantly during the 1990s due to the McCoy-Cove Silver Mine in Nevada. At its peak, the McCoy-Cove Mine supplied 20% of the total U.S. silver production:
I don’t have a chart of U.S. silver mine supply over the past 100 years, but I checked the USGS data, and in 1946, the country produced only 713 metric tons (mt) of silver. Interestingly, while silver production had declined due to the war focusing its efforts on other strategic metal mining (2,090 mt in 1941 to 903 mt by 1945), the significant drop off in 1946 was also due to mine strikes at base metal mines and smelters. Because most of the silver is a by-product of base metal mining, the strikes had a profound impact on overall production.
So, even though the shut-down of the Lucky Friday Mine reduced U.S. silver production by 3-4 million oz, it doesn’t account for the additional 30 million oz lost since 2000.
At some point, Americans will become aware of the monetary properties of gold and silver. However, when they finally do, domestic silver mine supply will likely not be enough to satisfy the demand.
