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The only number worth comparing
Junk silver gets quoted a dozen different ways: per coin, per roll, “22× face”, per $100 bag, per ounce. Every one of those reduces to the same question — how much are you paying above the value of the silver itself?
That gap is the premium over melt. It is the number to shop on, because the melt value is identical everywhere. A pre-1965 dime holds the same silver whether it comes from a coin shop in Ohio or a warehouse in Texas. The only thing a dealer competes on is the markup.
The convention is that $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 — same silver either way. So:
- Silver spot price
- $60.00 / ozt
- Melt value of $1 face (× 0.715)
- $42.90
- Dealer asks, per $1 face
- $46.00
- Premium over melt
- 7.2%
Spot price used for illustration only. Silver ran from under $40 to over $120 an ounce between mid-2025 and early 2026, so any fixed dollar example goes stale fast — use live numbers in the tool below.
Premium checker
Paste in what a dealer is asking and see what you are actually paying over melt.
Look up the current silver spot price — then enter it above.
Face value is the coins’ stamped value — a $100 bag is $100 face, a roll of 40 quarters is $10 face. Add card surcharges here too; they often run a few percent.
Premium over melt
Enter a spot price, a dealer price and a face value to see the premium.
- Per $1 face
- —
- Melt per $1 face
- —
- Effective silver price
- —
Where to buy junk silver
There are three realistic routes, and they trade off price against speed and control.
Online bullion dealers
Best for price transparencyThe large dealers price against live spot, publish what they will pay you back, and ship insured. You can compare four of them in a browser tab in five minutes, which you cannot do with coin shops. The trade-offs: you do not choose your coins, orders below a shipping threshold get charged for postage, and paying by card usually costs a few percent more than paying by check or bank transfer.
Worth pricing against each other: JM Bullion, APMEX, SD Bullion, Money Metals Exchange and Monument Metals. Compare the same face value on the same day — premiums move.
Local coin shops
Best for small amounts and no waitNo shipping cost, no delivery wait, and you can look at the coins before you pay. A good shop will quote you a multiple of face on the spot. But pricing varies enormously between shops, small shops carry more overhead per ounce, and you have less leverage because you cannot see the next three quotes. Call two or three and ask what they are charging per $1 face before you drive anywhere.
eBay, auctions and private sellers
Occasionally cheapest, most workJunk silver is rarely counterfeited — it costs more to fake than the coin is worth — so the real risks are mundane: post-1964 coins slipped into a lot, worn-through “cull” coins sold at full weight, and shipping charges that quietly eat the discount. Read the date range in the listing, not the photo caption, and put the delivered total through the premium checker above before bidding.
Where we send most buyers
JM Bullion stocks 90% silver from $1 face up to $1,000 face bags, prices move with live spot, and shipping is free over $199 — which matters, because postage on a heavy, low-margin product is where small orders quietly get expensive.
Check their price against the premium checker anyway. No dealer is cheapest every week.
See today’s junk silver pricesAffiliate link — we may earn a commission at no cost to you.
What to actually buy
Dimes, quarters or halves?
Per dollar of face value they hold identical silver, so buy on premium, not denomination. Dimes give you the smallest unit if you ever want to sell a little at a time; halves are faster to count. Dealers sometimes charge slightly more for halves because people prefer them.
Bag size
Premiums fall as the lot gets bigger. A $1 face novelty bag carries a much higher markup per ounce than a $100 face bag, and a $1,000 face bag is usually the cheapest silver per ounce a retail buyer can get. Note the weight before you commit: $1,000 face is around 55 pounds of coin.
90%, 40% or war nickels?
Stick to 90% unless the discount on the others is real. 40% Kennedy halves (1965–1970) and 35% war nickels (1942–1945) contain silver, but fewer buyers recognise them and they are slower to sell on. They are worth it only when priced meaningfully below 90% on a per-ounce basis. The guide to which coins count as junk silver covers what each composition actually holds.
Skip silver dollars if you are buying metal
Morgan and Peace dollars are 90% silver, but they carry a collector premium on top of the silver. If you want ounces, they are an expensive way to buy them. If you want coins you enjoy owning, that is a different purchase.
Five checks before you pay
- Price the same face value at three dealers on the same day. Premiums move independently of spot.
- Add shipping and any card surcharge before comparing. A lower headline price with $30 postage is not a lower price.
- Convert every quote to a premium percentage. “24× face” means nothing until you know spot.
- Check the dealer’s buyback price now, not later. The gap between what they sell at and buy at is your real cost of holding.
- Confirm the date range in the listing. Dimes and quarters must be 1964 or earlier to be 90% silver.
Know the sell side before you buy
Dealers buy below melt and sell above it. That spread is normal, but it is not fixed — and junk silver’s spread has been unusually unstable since silver’s run in late 2025.
As prices spiked, the public sold old coins in volume, refiners backed up, and several stopped taking 90% coin altogether because sorting alloyed coinage is slower than melting .999 bars. Dealers holding coin they could not move cut their buy prices hard. At points in 2026, 90% silver changed hands below melt — good for buyers, painful for anyone trying to sell in a hurry.
The practical lesson is not to time it. It is to treat junk silver as something you may hold for a while, check the buyback quote before you buy, and never assume melt value is what you can get on any given morning. Melt is a reference point, not a bid.
Dealers also have reporting obligations on certain transaction sizes. Ask what a dealer reports, and speak to a tax professional about your own position — this page is information, not tax advice.
Common questions
What is a fair premium on junk silver?
In settled markets, retail 90% silver has often traded within a few percent of melt, with bigger bags at the low end and small lots higher. But that range has broken in both directions during the 2025–26 silver run, so treat rules of thumb with suspicion and check the actual number on the day you buy.
How much silver is in a $100 face bag?
About 71.5 troy ounces, using the standard circulated figure of 0.715 troy ounces per $1 of face value. A $1,000 face bag holds roughly 715 troy ounces.
Is junk silver cheaper than Silver Eagles?
Usually, yes, per ounce of silver. Junk silver carries no minting cost and no sovereign premium. Eagles are easier to sell one at a time and are recognised worldwide. If you are buying ounces, junk silver is normally the cheaper route in.
Where is the cheapest place to buy junk silver coins?
There is no permanent answer, which is why this page is a method rather than a single recommendation. The large online dealers are usually within a couple of percent of each other and swap places week to week. Check three, include shipping, and buy the lowest delivered premium.
Can I still get silver coins from the bank?
Effectively no. Pre-1965 coins were pulled from circulation decades ago and anything left is found by people searching rolls in volume. Buying from a dealer costs a small premium and takes minutes rather than years.
How do I value coins I already own?
Use the junk silver melt value calculator — enter the spot price and how many dimes, quarters, halves or dollars you have, and it works out the silver weight and melt value.