What junk silver is worth
Junk silver is circulated US coinage valued for its silver content. Dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 and earlier are 90% silver. Kennedy halves from 1965–1970 are 40% silver.
Melt is a reference for the metal inside. Dealers may buy below or around melt depending on market, quantity and condition. Rare dates can be worth far more — check before selling.
Check dates & silver content
US silver coins were .900 fine from 1837. The Coinage Act of 1965 removed silver from circulating dimes and quarters; circulating half dollars lost their silver in 1971.
Morgan dollars (1878–1904, 1921) and Peace dollars (1921–1928, 1934–1935) weigh 26.73 g at .900 fine.
Silver war nickels (1942–1945) are 35% silver, 56% copper and 9% manganese. Not every 1942 nickel is silver: look for the large mintmark above Monticello.
Common questions
How much silver is in a dime, quarter or half dollar?
At minted weight, a 90% silver dime contains 0.0723 troy oz, a quarter 0.1808 troy oz, and a half dollar 0.3617 troy oz. These are rounded figures; the calculator keeps full precision.
Why do some dealers use 0.715 oz per $1 face?
The minted specification is about 0.7234 troy oz per $1 face of 90% dimes, quarters and halves. Some dealers use 0.715 to allow for circulation wear. Turn on Worn-coin rate in Advanced to use that convention. It does not affect dollars, 40% halves or war nickels.
Are 1965 and later quarters silver?
No. Circulating US quarters dated 1965 and later are copper-nickel clad. Kennedy half dollars dated 1965–1970 are the 40% silver exception among these coins. Silver was removed from circulating half dollars in 1971.
Where does the spot price come from, and how often does it update?
The price comes from gold-api.com, with Coinbase and Swissquote as collection fallbacks. Our price file refreshes every 15 minutes; this page checks every 5 minutes while visible and tries gold-api.com directly if the file is unavailable or over 2 hours old. Old prices are marked “may be stale”. You can enter a manual price in Advanced.
How we calculate
- silver ozt
- coins × weight (g) × fineness ÷ 31.1034768
- melt value
- silver ozt × spot price
- dealer pays
- melt value × your % ÷ 100
We default to minted specifications. For circulated 90% dimes, quarters and halves, the optional worn-coin rate uses 0.715 ozt per $1 face instead of about 0.7234. This common dealer convention allows for wear; it is not a measurement of your coins.
Dollar amounts round to cents and total silver to 3 decimals, only for display.
Specifications & price sources
- U.S. Mint: Historic Coin Production — .900 fineness from 1837; 1965 and 1971 changes.
- U.S. Mint: Silver Dollar Coinage — Morgan and Peace dollars, 26.73 g and .900 fine.
- U.S. Mint: Half Dollar — silver removed in 1971.
- NGC: Coin Melt Values — weight and silver-content cross-check.
- Spot: gold-api.com, with Coinbase / Swissquote fallbacks. Price file refreshed every 15 minutes.