Good-buy target · 15% underhow far under melt counts as a win
tap a coin or bar to identify & price it
Actually selling
eBay sold comps · tap to price
Median of recent eBay sold listings (outliers trimmed) — a real market read, not a live tick. Refreshed nightly. Melt is still your floor.
On the hunt
high-upside finds that beat melt — tap to price one
Know before you buy
the field guide — stack the odds before you bid
✅ Do
Weigh everything. A cheap gram scale settles most arguments — price by the actual weight, not the seller's claim or a worn stamp.
Buy bullion near melt. Melt (weight × purity × spot) is the floor a plain coin, round or bar won't fall below. The closer to melt you buy, the safer you are.
Read dates & mint marks first. One key date — a CC Morgan, a 1916-D dime, a war nickel — can dwarf a whole lot's melt. Sort before you bid.
Test it. Silver rings (a long ping, not a thud); real gold & silver are non-magnetic; calipers catch fakes that are too thick or light.
Verify slabs & cards. Look up a PCGS/NGC cert number on the grader's site; keep sealed PAMP/Geiger assay cards sealed — cutting one kills the premium.
Check what actually sold. Use eBay's Sold filter (or the board above) — asking prices are fiction; sold comps are the real market.
⛔ Don't
Don't mix up the two prices. Never pay collector money for a melt coin, or melt money for a scarce one — know which you're holding before you bid.
Don't fall for the fakes' words. "Copy," "tribute," "layered," "clad," ".999 plated," "HGE" — all worthless base metal. Real bullion says its weight & fineness.
Don't skip authentication on big vintage bars. Engelhard, Johnson Matthey & PAMP are the most-counterfeited — verify stamp, weight & serial before you pay the premium.
Don't overpay for novelty. 1-gram pieces, mini-fractionals & copper bars run 2–4× melt — you're buying the piece, not the metal.
Don't clean coins. A wipe or dip can halve a collectible's value. Leave the patina; let a grader judge it.
Don't forget the add-ons. Auction buyer's premium (often 15–25%) and sales tax stack on top — fold them in before you set your max bid.
📐 Melt is the floor
Melt = weight × purity × spot. A bullion piece is worth at least this. "Est. value" adds a typical premium on top.
🪙 90% junk math
$1 face of pre-1965 silver ≈ 0.715 ozt. So $10 face ≈ 7.15 ozt. Fast melt without weighing each coin.
💵 Spot vs. retail
Spot is the wholesale metal price. You buy over spot and sell under it — the gap is the dealer's spread.
🧲 Quick fake tests
Magnet (real Au/Ag won't stick), ping/ring test, calipers for size, and the ice test — silver melts ice fast.
🥈 War nickels
1942–45 nickels are 35% silver — big mint mark over Monticello. Every other nickel is just copper-nickel.
🔒 Slabbed = liquid
A certified PCGS/NGC grade sells fast and near guide. Raw? Confirm the grade yourself — one point can double the price.
Educational reference only — not investment, tax, or grading advice. Confirm authenticity, grade & live sold prices before you buy. Melt figures use the live spot above; premiums are ballparks.
Coin grading, decoded
the 1–70 Sheldon scale — why one point can double the price
Collectible coins are graded 1 to 70 on the Sheldon scale — the higher the number, the better the condition. MS-60 is the wall: below it a coin is circulated (shows real wear); at 60 and up it's uncirculated / Mint State (no wear, judged on marks, strike & luster). Grade is set by a service like PCGS or NGC and sealed in a tamper-proof "slab." On a scarce coin, a single grade point can multiply the price — so the number on the label is everything.
P-1 · FR-2
Poor – FairBarely identifiable, smooth from wear. Value is metal / filler only.
G-4 · VG-8
Good – Very GoodHeavily worn but rim & date readable. Most circulated "junk" — trades near melt unless it's a key date.
F-12 · VF-30
Fine – Very FineModerate, even wear; all major details clear. Collectible on better dates & types.
EF-40 · AU-58
Extremely Fine – About UncirculatedOnly light wear on the highest points, near-full detail & luster. A real step up in price.
MS-60 · 62
Mint State — basic uncirculatedNo wear at all, but noticeable bag marks or a weak strike. The entry to uncirculated.
MS-63 · 65
Choice – Gem BUClean, eye-appealing, strong luster. The sweet spot most collectors chase — premiums jump here.
Specially struck with mirror fields & frosted devices — not a grade, a method. Graded on the same 1–70 scale; PR-70 is a perfect proof.
⚠️ "Details" grade
Cleaned, scratched, bent or altered coins get a Details / "genuine" grade with no number — worth far less than a clean example. Never clean a coin.
🏛️ Who grades
PCGS & NGC are the trusted two; a green CAC sticker means premium-quality-for-grade. Off-brand slabs (fantasy holders) don't carry the same trust.
🔎 Verify the slab
Type the cert number into the grader's site (or scan the barcode) — confirm the coin, grade & photo match before you pay the graded premium.
Grades above are common-usage summaries — the grading services publish the official standards. In the pricing pop-up, tap a condition chip (Circ → MS-67+) to see how each tier moves the estimate.
Casting Shot Cost
buy-side · spot + premium
Metal value$0.00
+ premium 6%$0.00
Your cost$0.00
Tap any coin or bar to identify it, price it, check key dates, and add it to your Stack to track holdings' live melt & value.
Melt (floor) = live spot × metal content; Est. value adds a typical grade/resale premium — a ballpark, not a live
price guide, so confirm on PCGS or eBay sold. Live spot from gold-api.com every 60s, cached on-device for spotty signal.