Junk Silver Coins

What junk silver coins are

Junk silver is common, circulated US coinage that is worth buying for the silver inside it rather than for anything a collector would pay extra for. The word “junk” describes the collectability, not the condition or the metal. These are real silver coins, struck by the US Mint, still legal tender — they are simply too common and too worn for anyone to pay a rarity premium.

The bulk of it is dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier, which the Mint struck in 90% silver. A worn 1962 dime and a crisp one hold the same silver, so for junk silver purposes condition barely matters. That is the whole appeal: it is silver priced as silver, with none of the markup that comes with a collector coin or a freshly minted bullion round.

You will also see it called constitutional silver or 90% silver. Same coins, different names.

Which US coins count as junk silver

Four compositions matter. Everything else in your change is copper and nickel.

90% silver — the main event

Dimes, quarters and half dollars struck in 1964 and earlier. Every one of them is 90% silver and 10% copper, regardless of design:

Dimes — 0.0715 troy oz each

Barber 1892–1916, Mercury 1916–1945, Roosevelt 1946–1964.

Quarters — 0.17875 troy oz each

Barber 1892–1916, Standing Liberty 1916–1930, Washington 1932–1964.

Half dollars — 0.3575 troy oz each

Barber 1892–1915, Walking Liberty 1916–1947, Franklin 1948–1963, Kennedy 1964.

Weights shown are the circulated figures dealers use, which allow for silver lost to wear. A coin straight from the mint holds slightly more.

40% silver — Kennedy halves, 1965–1970

When the Mint dropped silver in 1965 it kept a reduced amount in the half dollar for six more years. These hold 0.1479 troy oz each — well under half what a 1964 Kennedy holds, so never mix the two when you are counting.

35% silver — war nickels, 1942–1945

Nickel was needed for the war effort, so the Mint put silver in the five-cent piece instead. Each holds 0.05626 troy oz. The tell is a large P, D or S mint mark above the dome of Monticello on the reverse — the only time Philadelphia ever used a P on a nickel. No large mint mark, no silver, and 1942 nickels were struck both ways.

Silver dollars — usually not counted as junk

Morgan dollars (1878–1921) and Peace dollars (1921–1935) are 90% silver and hold 0.765 troy oz each. But almost all of them trade above melt because collectors want them, so they are priced as coins rather than as metal. If you are buying ounces, they are an expensive way to do it.

The exceptions worth knowing

• 1976 Bicentennial quarters, halves and dollars are clad — except the 40% silver versions sold in collector sets, which carry an S mint mark.
• Eisenhower dollars (1971–1978) are clad in circulation. The 40% silver ones were S-mint collector issues.
• Silver proof sets from 1992 on contain silver dimes, quarters and halves with an S mint mark. Modern dates, real silver.
• American Silver Eagles carry a $1 face value but are .999 bullion, not junk silver.

How to tell silver from clad

1. Read the date

This settles almost every case. Dimes and quarters: 1964 or earlier is silver. Half dollars: 1964 or earlier is 90%, 1965–1970 is 40%, 1971 onward is clad.

2. Look at the edge

The fastest test when the date is worn smooth, and the one to use when you are sorting a jar. A silver coin shows a solid grey-white edge the whole way round. A clad coin has a copper core, so you see a copper stripe running through the middle of the edge. Stack a handful on their side and the silver ones stand out immediately.

3. Weigh it

A kitchen scale reading to 0.1 g settles the rest. Silver coins are heavier than their clad replacements:

The 40% row is why a scale earns its place: 11.50 g against 11.34 g is a difference you cannot feel but can read. War nickels are no help here — they weigh 5.00 g, exactly the same as an ordinary nickel, so the mint mark is the only test.

4. Listen to it

Balance the coin on a fingertip and tap it. Silver rings with a clear, sustained high note; clad gives a duller, shorter sound. It works, but it is a confirmation, not a first move.

A magnet tells you very little here. Silver is not magnetic, but neither is copper-nickel clad, so a coin that ignores a magnet has only proved it is not steel.

How much silver is actually in them

The number that runs the whole market is this: $1 of face value in circulated 90% dimes, quarters or half dollars contains 0.715 troy ounces of silver. Ten dimes, four quarters, two halves — the silver comes out the same, because the Mint struck them to a consistent standard.

That is why junk silver is bought and sold by face value rather than by the coin. A $100 face bag holds roughly 71.5 troy ounces. A $1,000 face bag holds about 715, and weighs somewhere near 55 pounds.

To turn that into money, multiply the silver weight by the spot price. The junk silver melt value calculator does it for you — enter today’s spot price and how many of each coin you have, and it totals the silver weight and the melt value.

When a “junk” coin isn’t junk

Bags of junk silver are sorted by weight, not by date, and scarce coins do occasionally survive in them. A few are worth many times their silver:

• 1916-D Mercury dime — 264,000 struck, against 22 million at Philadelphia the same year.
• 1942/1 Mercury dimes — an overdate, visible under a loupe.
• 1932-D and 1932-S Washington quarters — the two keys of the series.
• 1916 Standing Liberty quarter — a first-year issue with a tiny mintage.
• 1921 Walking Liberty halves — low mintages at all three mints.

The odds are long, but the check costs nothing: read the dates before you sell a bag to a dealer who will price it by weight. And leave the coins alone — cleaning strips the surface and destroys collector value. It does nothing for melt value either, so there is no upside.

Key dates are also the most counterfeited US coins. If you think you have found one, get it authenticated rather than trusting a photograph.