Junk silver and old change
US silver coin melt values
The major US silver coin series typically valued for melt — what each one holds, and what that is worth at the live silver price. Dimes, quarters and halves dated 1964 and earlier are 90% silver; 1965 and later are not, with two exceptions covered below.
A dollar of face value is a dollar of face value
The Mint struck the 90% dime, quarter and half to one weight standard, so ten dimes, four quarters and two halves each hold the same silver. That is why junk silver is bought and sold by face value rather than by the coin — and why you can price a jar without identifying a single date.
- 10 dimes0.7234 ozt
- 4 quarters0.7234 ozt
- 2 half dollars0.7234 ozt
- 1 silver dollar0.7735 ozt
Each row is one dollar of face value. The three subsidiary denominations hold identical silver; the dollar was struck to its own standard and holds 7% more.
The silver price shown was recorded when this page was published. Figures calculated from it appear once the live price loads, so nothing here is worked out from a number the market may have left behind.
Price a lot by face value
Add up what the coins say, not what they weigh. Four quarters, ten dimes and two halves are each one dollar of face value.
Circulated — what dealers pay on
0.715 ozt per $1 face · 7.150 ozt
—
As struck — uncirculated
0.7234 ozt per $1 face · 7.234 ozt
—
90% silver coins
| Coin | Years | Silver content | Melt value | Per $1 face |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barber dime90% silver | 1892–1916 | 0.0723 ozt | — | — |
| Mercury dime90% silver | 1916–1945 | 0.0723 ozt | — | — |
| Roosevelt dime90% silver | 1946–1964 | 0.0723 ozt | — | — |
| Barber quarter90% silver | 1892–1916 | 0.1808 ozt | — | — |
| Standing Liberty quarter90% silver | 1916–1930 | 0.1808 ozt | — | — |
| Washington quarter90% silver | 1932–1964 | 0.1808 ozt | — | — |
| Barber half dollar90% silver | 1892–1915 | 0.3617 ozt | — | — |
| Walking Liberty half dollar90% silver | 1916–1947 | 0.3617 ozt | — | — |
| Franklin half dollar90% silver | 1948–1963 | 0.3617 ozt | — | — |
| 1964 Kennedy half dollar90% silver | 1964 only | 0.3617 ozt | — | — |
| Morgan dollar90% silver | 1878–1904, 1921 | 0.7735 ozt | — | — |
| Peace dollar90% silver | 1921–1935 | 0.7735 ozt | — | — |
40% and 35% silver coins
| Coin | Years | Silver content | Melt value | Per $1 face |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965–1970 Kennedy half dollar40% silver | 1965–1970 | 0.1479 ozt | — | — |
| Eisenhower silver dollar40% silver | 1971–1976 | 0.3162 ozt | — | — |
| Jefferson war nickel35% silver | 1942–1945 | 0.0563 ozt | — | — |
Sorting a jar
Check the edge before you check the date. A 90% silver dime, quarter or half shows a solid silver-grey rim; a clad coin shows a copper stripe through the middle of it. A whole roll can be checked on edge in seconds.
War nickels are the exception to every rule here: they are found by the large P, D or S mintmark over Monticello, which no other Jefferson nickel carries.
How this is calculated
Struck weight in grams × alloy fineness ÷ 31.1035 × the live silver spot price. Every silver weight on these pages is derived from how the coin was struck rather than copied from a table, and a test checks each one against the published figure.
Nothing is rounded until it is displayed, and no figure is shown at all when the spot price is unavailable or the feed reports itself delayed.