Silver Certificates once backed by silver
I still occasionally encounter a Silver Certificate in circulation. How were these redeemed?
A Silver Certificate was truly a certificate. There was a dollar in silver dollars meant to be on hand for each dollar in Silver Certificates that were issued. Once a Silver Certificate had been redeemed for that specie it had to be withdrawn. Another could be issued if once again the appropriate value in silver dollars was on hand at the government, but the redeemed note was no longer negotiable. Eventually the program was changed so Silver Certificates were to be redeemed in silver bullion. Beginning June 24, 1968, Silver Certificates were to be redeemed for their face value in Federal Reserve bank notes only. FRNs are not redeemable for anything. In other words your specie eventually became redeemable in fiat money. Some bargain?
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What method do you suggest is best for evaluating prooflike coins?
I’ve always understood standing the coin on the edge of a ruler, then seeing just how many inches of the ruler can be read through the reflectivity of the coin surface will determine the depth of the prooflike surfaces. This, of course, won’t work if your coin has already been slabbed by a third-party certification service. If you are considering purchasing a slabbed prooflike coin, ensure the coin was certified by a well-recognized service for this reason.
How should I treat a coin that has prooflike qualities on only one side?
Some third-party certification services will only recognize a coin as being prooflike if both sides have prooflike qualities. How you consider such a coin is still up to the individual. We know there are coins with what we call split grades, one side being superior to the condition of the other. Can prooflike coins be recognized this way as well? Perhaps someday.
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