Junk Silver Value: What Are 90% Silver Coins Worth?

What junk silver means

Junk silver is a dealer's term for ordinary circulated U.S. coins bought and sold for their silver, not their rarity. The word junk does not mean worthless. It means the coins are common enough that metal sets the price.

Most junk silver is 90% silver: dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 and earlier. That covers Mercury and Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters, and Walking Liberty, Franklin and 1964 Kennedy halves. Barber coins from around the turn of the last century are 90% silver too, though worn ones often bring a little more than plain melt.

Two other groups often get lumped in: 1965 to 1970 Kennedy halves at 40% silver, and 1942 to 1945 war nickels at 35% silver.

The silver math, step by step

Dealers price 90% coins by face value, not by counting individual coins. Ten dimes, four quarters or two halves all add up to one dollar of face value, and each dollar holds about 0.715 troy oz of silver.

The formula is face value times 0.715 times the spot price of silver. Say you have twenty dollars in face value of pre-1965 quarters. Twenty times 0.715 gives you the troy ounces of silver. Multiply those ounces by today's spot price and you have melt value for the whole pile.

The figure is a little lower than the original mint weight because circulated coins lose a bit of metal to wear. That is the reason the trade uses 0.715 rather than a higher number.

Want a real number? See how Chris handles silver coins, or call (469) 599-3283.

40% halves and war nickels

Kennedy halves dated 1965 to 1970 hold less than half the silver of a 1964 half. Each one has 0.1479 troy oz. To value them, multiply the number of coins by 0.1479 and then by spot. Halves dated 1971 and later are clad and worth face value, apart from special collector issues.

War nickels are easy to miss. During the war the Mint pulled nickel from the five-cent piece and used a silver alloy instead. You can spot them by the large P, D or S mint mark above Monticello's dome on the back. Each one holds 0.0563 troy oz, so count them and multiply by that figure and spot.

Silver dollars are a separate category

Morgan dollars (1878 to 1904 and 1921) and Peace dollars (1921 to 1935) are 90% silver, but they are rarely sold as junk. Each one holds 0.7734 troy oz, and collector demand means even worn common dates often bring more than melt.

Keep silver dollars out of the face value pile. They are counted one coin at a time, checked for date, mint mark and grade, and priced on their own.

Better dates hiding in junk silver

Not every old dime or quarter is common. Some early dates and branch mint coins were made in small numbers, and they can be worth far more than the silver in them, even worn. Mercury dimes and Washington quarters from the earliest years of each design are worth a second look.

Condition matters as well. A Walking Liberty half or Standing Liberty quarter with full, sharp detail is a collector coin, not junk. So is any coin that looks like it never spent a day in a pocket.

A good dealer sorts before quoting. That takes a few extra minutes, and it is the difference between selling a scarce coin at melt and selling it for what it is.

• Pull out any coin with a date before 1920 for a closer look
• Set aside coins with strong detail and original luster
• Watch for mint marks on early Washington quarters and Mercury dimes
• Keep full rolls and bank-wrapped coins unopened until someone sees them

Telling silver from clad in seconds

Look at the edge first. A clad dime or quarter from 1965 on shows a copper stripe between two silver-colored layers. A 90% silver coin is the same color all the way through.

Sound and color help too. Silver coins tend to look softer and grayer with age, while clad coins stay bright or turn a flat, dull tone. When a stack is mixed, the date settles it.

• Copper stripe on the edge means clad and face value
• Solid silver edge on a dime, quarter or half dated 1964 or earlier means 90%
• Kennedy halves dated 1965 to 1970 have a paler edge and hold 40% silver
• Large mint mark above Monticello on a 1942 to 1945 nickel means 35% silver

How dealers weigh and count junk silver

For a jar or a bag, most dealers count face value by coin type, check for better dates and price the rest on silver content. Larger lots are often weighed, since a known weight of 90% coins equals a known face value, and the weight confirms the count.

Rolls are a special case. Original bank-wrapped rolls of silver coins can hide uncirculated pieces, so they should be opened carefully in front of the dealer, not at home.

Ask to see both numbers. A fair buyer tells you the face value counted, the silver figure used and the spot price that day, so you can check the math at home.

Selling a jar of silver coins in Dallas

Junk silver tends to come in containers. A mason jar from a pantry in Pleasant Grove. A pickle jar of halves from a garage off Buckner Boulevard. A felt bank bag that sat in a closet in Oak Lawn for forty years. It all looks the same at first, and that is exactly why it deserves a careful sort.

When you bring a container like that to Chris, he dumps it onto a tray and splits it by type: 90% dimes, quarters and halves in one group, 40% Kennedys and war nickels in another, clad coins pushed aside, and silver dollars pulled for their own look. Then he goes through the silver for dates and mint marks before anything is counted as melt.

Metal content is confirmed on an XRF reader that shows the result on screen, with no acid touching your coins. Larger lots go on a scale inspected by the Texas Department of Agriculture so the weight backs up the count. The silver offer is tied to today's live spot price, and any better dates are priced to current dealer demand. Everything lands on a written offer.

You decide from there. Accept, and you are paid that same visit by cash or check, or by wire for a big lot. Decline, and the coins go back in your jar with the written list in your pocket. Remember a driver's license or state ID; Texas law requires buyers to record it. A word on timing. Silver prices move every day, so a jar that was worth one figure last spring may be worth a different one now. That is why the offer is pegged to the live spot price at your appointment, and why Chris shows you the spot figure he used. Sellers come in from Richardson, Garland, Mesquite and all over Dallas, often after hearing that the bank down the street will only take silver at face. Chris works by appointment, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Reach him at 469-599-3283 and expect a callback that same business day.