This is somewhat off topic, but I actually disagree that precious metals are any more valuable than paper currency in the midst of a crisis. They may have some value, but when people are trying to defend or feed their family in the midst of widespread unrest, silver and gold don’t really do them any good.
I would propose that some of the most valuable currencies during the “end times” are ammunition and alcohol. Both have long, stable shelf lives, both are in high demand during a crisis, and are also easily traded for things like perishable food or labor.
I have already posted, up thread, links disproving that. I assume you did not click. I will make this acknowledgement and concession:
Since all monster boxes contain the same amount of silver by weight, when only the price of silver is taken into consideration they all would have the same value. However importantly:
That analysis disregards numismatic considerations. And when arriving at the price of any monster box, you must consider both cost of raw silver and the numismatic value of the coins.
I will trade you and glitch99 even up for all the MS70 American Silver Eagle coins you can gather together. Your payment will be in the form of American Silver Eagle coins with my choice of year and grade. Since according to you all American Silver Eagle coins are virtually of equal value, regardless of grade or year, it would be a fair trade. What the heck, grade and year are numismatic qualities which you claim are essentially meaningless in the instance of American Silver Eagle coins.
Not wanting to cheat you and @glitch99 I might even be persuaded to throw in a tiny premium. After all, I’m a mensch.
I suppose I should have been more clear, so let me amend – ungraded coins, such as those found in a sealed monster box, have very little numismatic value. I thought it was obvious we were talking about the monster box and not about graded coins in slabs that sell at a premium.
What the dealers do with monster boxes is to cherry pick. They know coins and can identify the small number of MS69 and MS70 coins upon examination. In my opinion, for older monster boxes like mine, it’s a VERY small number of such coins because of all the handling which has taken place over the years.
This is basis for my suggestion, up thread, to buy the newest coins available and then just sit on 'em. The fact newer monster boxes sell for less money is an added benefit.
For the record, I could not discern the difference between an MS70 coin and an MS69 coin if my life depended on it. But the “coin people” have this ability. I’m not a coin person.
That is merriment, I realize. However, on a serious note:
If you buy a monster box, regardless year, just let it be. Do not move the box around any more than necessary. If it becomes unavoidable to move your monster box from place to place, do so very, very gently.
Remember, the coins inside are able to move about ever so slightly. In so doing they are contacting and rubbing against other coins. It’s not a sure thing to begin with. But if you are fortunate enough to have a few MS70 or MS69 coins in your monster box, they are unlikely to survive rough handling of the box.
I doubt anyone without a powerful lens or microscope has that ability. I have a bunch of MS69s and a few MS70s and some of the 70s look worse than the 69s under a 20x lens (specks, milk spots, etc). I would think that the time someone would have to spend looking through the boxes is unlikely to be worth the potential profit. But I’m not a pro and I could very well be wrong.
The monster box contains 25 smaller boxes, each holding a stack of 20 eagles. Are they not packed tightly enough so that handling doesn’t cause any damage to the coins inside? I would expect the 20-stacks to have some kind of a cushion and just be held by pressure from the lid.
I think I know why there’s such a price difference – the 2022 Eagles are a pre-sale. So the dealer is just getting your money for free in advance (and probably hedging against silver price increases). They don’t have them on hand so no need to pay for storage, thus the buyer gets a discount.
ALSO… if someone wants a monster box of silver, I’d get the Canadian Maples. It has multiple advantages:
It trades at a smaller premium to spot, and my favorite dealer’s sell/buy price spread is only 15% (vs ~24% for the Eagles).
Each Maple has a CAD$5 face value, while each Eagle is only USD$1
I posted that back in November. That was then. This is now.
Price of the monster box featured in the OP is WAY off!! I dunno why. Maybe the seller is latching onto those 2022 coins. After all, he is allowed to ship any year he wants to ship.
But whatever the reason, that OP monster box is right now selling down around $16.3K. Cheap!! Cheap!!
So forget twenty grand. The OP coins are “on sale”.
Pursuant to that, I happened to stumble across a website offering more detail. Notice the entirely mundane valuations for (most) silver eagles south of MS68-MS69. But also notice the higher graded coins can be worth 1.5+ times just the value of the coins as silver.
Also notice the “off price” valuations of the 2020 coins. Reason? I dunno. But anyone buying simply for value of each coin as a hunk of silver should look at the (relatively) cheap 2020 coins it seems to me.
As I mentioned up thread, if your monster box happens to contain a few high grade coins you will be in the chips. This confirms why dealers comb through unopened monster boxes, like mine, in hope of discovering hidden treasure.
Once your monster box has been unsealed and opened, that same dealer will assume any high value coins have already been removed and replaced.
You are correct to be skeptical of @shinobi’s claim. The coins in monster boxes rub up against each other so they are essentially guaranteed not to be in gradable condition.
But I certainly would not go so far as offering a guarantee. From the reports I’ve seen, there is opportunity for cherry picking by people with the requisite skills.
