Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 1/29/2010

Question
Friend in Liberia wants to buy pre- 1968 Liberian silver dollars. Says they may be pure silver or very high silver content. Any way to find out if this is true or what the silver content may be?  

Answer
Hi Jim, More info added at the bottom.
Liberian silver coins from the 1960's have the same silver content as US coins (.900 silver). The early coins from 1906 and before are .925 sterling silver.
But be careful with the years. If you are looking for silver, pre-1968 will not cut it. For all the Liberian silver denominations - 10 cents, 25 cents, 50 cents and $1, there are 3 pre-1968 years, but only two are silver. The 1966 coins are all made of copper-nickel alloy.
Your friend really should look for the 1961 and 1962 coins.
Thanks for the question! =)

PS: I can assure you my knowledge of these coins is completely reliable. I have purchased, owned and sold many Liberian coins including the silver ones mentioned in the initial response.
The best resource that is readily available is the Krause-Mishler "Standard catalog of world coins 1901 to 2000". You can find an older edition at most public libraries (at least in my home state of NY, this may not be the case in all states' libraries). The "Black Book of World Coins" will also have this information, though to a much lesser extend than the Krause-Mishler publication.
If you wish to see this information for yourself, e-mail me at BetweenEarthnSky@yahoo.com and I will send you scans from the book.
Thanks again.