By Mark Benvenuto, Coins Magazine November 16, 2009

When It comes to gift buying during the holiday season, some people just freeze up. Perhaps the thought of gifts for a big family paralyzes them. Perhaps it’s just not knowing what a special person likes. Perhaps, in an economy like we’ve had for the past year or so, it’s simply a matter of cost.

Whatever the reason, some people just don’t like the holidays. So let’s take a bit of the angst out of the season, and a bit of the sting out of the wallet, and come up with five fantastic silver presents that just about anyone will enjoy.



1. A silver American Eagle or Canadian Maple Leaf.

In a tight economy a one-ounce silver American Eagle remains an attractive piece with a wonderfully small price tag. The uncirculated Eagles are simply tagged to the price of silver bullion, meaning you can most likely buy one for around $20. And, while it might be considered just as bullion by some, it is one of the most beautiful of American coins.

Going one step up on the totem pole, a proof version of the silver American Eagle is also always available, and the price remains pretty affordable.

Our northern neighbor actually has a somewhat longer history for bullion coins than we do, but that’s nothing to worry about. Rather, it’s an opportunity to get your hands on a Canadian Maple Leaf, in this case meaning the one-ounce silver bullion coin of Canada.

Just like the silver Eagles, Maple Leafs come in an uncirculated version, as well as the proofs, marketed for collectors. The prices are generally about the same as the silver Eagles as well.

So, as a first option for an inexpensive but attractive silver gift for any friend, relative, or loved one this holiday season, try one of these bullion pieces. You’ll be hard pressed to spend even $50.



2. A Walking Liberty or Franklin half dollar.

If the artwork of Adolph Weinman piques your interest, why not go back further in time, to the point when the Walking Liberty design was being used in circulation on half dollars. Minted from 1916-1947, Walking Liberty halves are beautiful coins.

Do you have a relative or friend who was born in that time frame? Perhaps you can present them with a birth-year half dollar. Or, do you have a younger friend who might be intrigued by this time in history? The same gift might garner the same response.

The prices of some Walking Liberty halves might be a bit of a turn off, especially if they are in excellent grades, and you are trying to rein in your holiday spending. Although there are plenty of affordable examples, if you are looking for top quality half dollars at bottom level bottom lines, as it were, you might also look at the Franklin half dollars.

Franklin halves always seem to live in the shadow of the Walking Liberties. But that’s not a bad thing when you are trying to find highly attractive gifts at affordable prices.

Franklin halves can often be purchased as proofs, and can routinely be purchased in grades such as Mint State-65 or -66. By any measure, these are attractive coins. By the measure of $50, they are pretty affordable as well.



3. A silver one-ounce coin from any nation.

I’ve mentioned plenty of U.S. silver, and given a nod to the Canadian Maple Leafs as well, but I would be remiss if I forgot to mention a neat gift idea that still comes in a one-ounce form: foreign bullion coins. You can get pieces from Austria, Australia, China, England, and many other nations. Plus, all of them come in at or near the price of silver bullion.

This might seem like a bit of an odd gift to give, but think of a few odd possibilities. The perfect example is a white elephant party. If you’ve never been to one, the idea is generally to show up with a wrapped, unknown gift, then swap it with someone. They then swap it, and the process repeats itself. When there are enough people involved, the swaps become numerous enough that everyone has held a present a couple of times. Then, when they are opened, you get everything from surprises to groans. Wrap your Chinese silver panda in a large box that disguises what it really is and the bet is you won’t get a groan when the time comes.



4. A Morgan or Peace silver dollar.

If you are the type of collector who likes to get others interested in the hobby, another great way to do it is to give out Morgan or Peace silver dollars. Both were minted in huge quantities for most of the years of their run.

Morgans, minted from 1878-1904, then again in 1921, have enough history to them that just about any new or potential collector will enjoy them for their age and sense of history. Peace dollars, pounded out from 1921-1928, then again in 1934 and 1935, may have less history to them but are generally considered the more beautiful of the two designs.

Like the half dollars I mentioned, the cost of Morgan and Peace dollars can be anywhere from close to bullion up to the rather pricey, depending on grade and rarity.

If you have relatives or friends who just might become collectors, an example of a common date in uncirculated might be a good choice, as the coin will be quite eye-catching, and the cost to you will still be modest. The $50 price tag I have used before can still be a good guideline here, as there are so many Morgan and Peace dollars from which to choose.

If a Morgan or Peace dollar as a gift still seems to you like something that wouldn’t resonate with a newer or younger collector today, there is one final hook that became available quite recently that could make a person take a very close look at a silver dollar. The movie, “The Final Destination” (a rather gory, action packed thriller), has a character in it who believes he’ll never die because of his lucky coin. You get to see that coin in a few scenes. He even slaps it on a table in one. It’s a Peace dollar.



5. A silver U.S. proof set.

The U.S. Mint may be the largest coin dealer on the planet. It sells uncirculated sets, proof sets, just about any combination of quarter and Presidential dollar sets you can think of, and, yes, it even sells a proof set in silver.

These silver proof sets are one of those great gifts for the person you didn’t expect to show up at the holiday party, but they also work in a hundred other ways. They, too, cost about $50, and they look absolutely beautiful. As well, they have been available for much of the year.

Taking a small detour from my “all silver” theme, you can also buy the annual proof sets in the same metal as our circulating coins. Perhaps obviously, these base-metal coins are going to cost less, between $20 and $30. But they are still wonderful to look at.

Some people make it a habit to buy a few proof sets as soon as they can during the year to give as gifts when friends have babies. That effectively makes them into a birth-year set. But even if you have a friend who has had a child earlier in the year, a proof set can still make a shiny, attractive holiday gift set for them.

One final proof set note: If you know someone who is a fan of the state quarters, the Mint has produced and marketed proof sets of just the quarters. This is an even less expensive gift, but one that still has all the glitter of the best that the Mint can make.



6. The most recent Krause Publications Standard Catalog of World Coins.

OK. Now I’m beyond five items, and this late horse out of the gate definitely isn’t an actual silver coin. But this book is certainly worth its weight in silver.

Sometimes called “the phone book” by collectors, because of its size and mass, the SCWC gives a good dollop of basic information about every country it covers—including the United States—and accompanies that with plenty of price listings for just about every coin a person can think of.

With the proliferation of bullion coins being issued from an ever growing number of countries, the catalog has become heavy enough that it now is arranged as one volume per century. So you can get a 20th-century volume if you wish, and can add a 19th-century volume if you’d like, or if you know a friend who’d enjoy it.

The SCWC can be a wonderful gift for a young collector, or for anyone who has recently been bitten by the numismatic hobby bug. There is a wealth of knowledge between the pages, and that can open new doors, as it were, getting a collector to think about new series and new countries to try to collect. Perhaps you have a friend who knows his or her family comes from Hungary. Guess what? The catalog covers it.

Perhaps you, a relative, or a friend lived overseas for a time. Give them the catalog with a special bookmark at the page marking the country that was their adopted home for a time. There truly is a world of fun within the pages of these Krause catalogs. And the best part is that the price is still only about $50.

Well, we’ve seen that there are some rather sharp-looking coins, as well as a tremendously worthwhile book or two, all for some sharp prices. Nothing I’ve mentioned will break the bank, and almost all of it will bring a smile to someone. Enjoy the holidays, and enjoy the collecting.

More Resources:

• Standard Catalog of United States Obsolete Bank Notes 4-CD Set, 1782-1866

• Fascinating Facts, Mysteries & Myths About U.S. Coins

• 2010 Standard Catalog of World Coins 2001-Date, 4th Edition

• State Quarters Deluxe Collector's Folder