Larry (IL)
Well-known member
This is a post I made on another forum about circulating mercury dimes and I thought it was worth posting here too. It kind of made me stop and think by the time I finished typing it. Plus I kind of rambled on after answering his question..........
"I remember Merc dimes in pocket change when I was a kid in the 50's and early 60's. Although some Merc hording was done I'm sure, it was just another dime at the time and nothing special about them. I remember some silver coin hording in general when the clad coins started in 1965, but silver still circulated into the early 70's until the price of silver started to rise well above melt value. By 1980 silver coins in circulation just didn't exist due to the unheard of prices of $20 an ounce silver. (Remember the Hunt brothers?) Keep in mind that in 1980 $20 an ounce silver is equivalent to $50 an ounce of silver today. Yes, inflation is well over 2.5 times 1980's prices in 2010 and it is almost 2011. (Oh my)
[attachment 181774 silver.gif]
Needless to say, the early 80's was a boom time for metal detector sales and for some people, metal detecting was more than a hobby. Many considered it a part time job and to some who lost their jobs, it was their livelihood. The buying power of a silver dime back in the 80's is like finding a $5 bill every time you dug one in today's inflation and there was a lot of silver in the ground back then too. A lot of our city park hunting bans go back to the early 80's when silver coin hunting was so popular".
"I remember Merc dimes in pocket change when I was a kid in the 50's and early 60's. Although some Merc hording was done I'm sure, it was just another dime at the time and nothing special about them. I remember some silver coin hording in general when the clad coins started in 1965, but silver still circulated into the early 70's until the price of silver started to rise well above melt value. By 1980 silver coins in circulation just didn't exist due to the unheard of prices of $20 an ounce silver. (Remember the Hunt brothers?) Keep in mind that in 1980 $20 an ounce silver is equivalent to $50 an ounce of silver today. Yes, inflation is well over 2.5 times 1980's prices in 2010 and it is almost 2011. (Oh my)
[attachment 181774 silver.gif]
Needless to say, the early 80's was a boom time for metal detector sales and for some people, metal detecting was more than a hobby. Many considered it a part time job and to some who lost their jobs, it was their livelihood. The buying power of a silver dime back in the 80's is like finding a $5 bill every time you dug one in today's inflation and there was a lot of silver in the ground back then too. A lot of our city park hunting bans go back to the early 80's when silver coin hunting was so popular".