Everything You Need To Know About
U.S. Junk Silver Coins
90 Percent Silver Coins
40 Percent Silver Coins
There are many reasons for folks to collect or invest in silver coinage versus pure bullion coins, rounds, or bars. The biggest of these is the ease of identification and quantification. Because of the threat of counterfeiting and the quest of the U.S. Mint to produce coins that are as exacting and identifiable to thwart that possibility, the coins are easily traded with confidence. If you are interested in buying or selling any other types of bullion coins, rounds, or bar material, please visit our Gold and Silver Bullion page.
Click here if you are ready to buy or sell U.S. Junk Silver Coins, 90 Percent Silver Coins, or 40 Percent Silver Coins.
Buying or Selling 90% and 40% Silver Coins
Since the silver dimes, quarters are already in a recognizable form of a coin, it is easy to just add them up. So these coins are commonly traded by their face value. It is common for 90 percent silver to be traded in $500 and $1,000 bag quantity. Weight, Dimes, Quarters, and Half Dollars in a $1,000 bag quantity equals 715 Troy ounces of pure silver, or for those of us using a bathroom scale, 49 pounds Avoirdupois of pure silver. Overall weight being 55 lbs.
Check out our article on “What to Avoid When Selling Your 90% Silver Coins“.
90% and 40% Silver Coin Math is harder than for Bullion Bars and Rounds
Pricing for 90 percent silver coins and 40 percent silver coins is based on current Silver Spot Price. Our silver coin buyers purchase silver quarters, silver dimes, and silver half dollars of all types, in any quantity. Whether you want to sell junk silver coins or buy junk silver coins, just provide us with some specifics and our silver coin buyer/bullion specialist will contact you with an up-to-the-minute offer.
Storage requirements
One troy ounce of silver is equal in weight to one troy ounce of silver. That’s simple enough. However from a value standpoint things change quickly. As an example, one troy ounce of silver is worth $24.00 when one troy ounce of gold is worth $1,850. So to put things into perspective. 77 troy ounces of silver is equal in value to one troy ounce of gold. So from a value, weight and volumetric standpoint gold is a heck of a lot easier to store than silver.
Key Date and Rare Date Coins to Watch For in Your 90% Silver Coinage
Just because your 90 percent silver coins may be referred to as “junk silver,” that does not mean they do not have some numismatic value. Countless times, our coin buyers have found rarer, more valuable coins mixed in with a batch of otherwise mundane 90 percent silver quarters and 90 percent silver dimes. It is virtually impossible to list every date and mint mark with additional collector value, but we can help! When we evaluate your junk silver collection, we will be sure to check for any numismatic coins that may be included, and pay you the proper collectible premium.
90 Percent Silver Dimes .715 ozt (of a Troy Ounce)
- Liberty Head or Barber Silver Dime – Barber dimes are fairly common, but some key dates (1901-S, for example) carry significant numismatic value above their silver content.
- Winged Liberty or Mercury Silver Dime – an iconic US coin, the Mercury dime was minted for nearly three decades, but specific dates and mint marks, such as the 1916-D, still carry considerable collector value.
- Roosevelt Silver Dime (Pre-1965) – you are safe here, there are virtually no key dates for these silver coins. Sell away!
90 Percent Silver Quarters .715 ozt
- Liberty Head or Barber Silver Quarter – an 1896-S or 1901-S Barber quarter can command a considerable premium over other Barber quarters from that era.
- Standing Liberty Silver Quarter – 1916, the first year of production of the Standing Liberty quarter, had very limited mintage, resulting in a greatly increased value.
- Washington Silver Quarter (Pre-1965) – while these US silver coins are very common, some rare dates and mint marks such as the 1932-D are quite valuable.
90 Percent Silver Half Dollars .715 ozt
- Liberty Head or Barber Silver Half Dollar – the 1892-O Barber half dollar is an especially valuable coin compared to other dates.
- Walking Liberty Silver Half Dollar – almost every mintage of the Walking Liberty half dollar coin from 1921 draws a considerable numismatic premium. Although the designs are similar, do not confuse the Walking Liberty half dollar with the modern American Silver Eagle bullion coin.
- Franklin Silver Half Dollar – while not as valuable as some older coins, some dates and mint marks for the Franklin half dollar still draw additional value. The 1950 proof issue can be considered the most valuable coin in this series.
- 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar – as this was the only year this coin was produced in 90% silver, there are no key dates here.
40 Percent Silver Kennedy Half Dollars .295 ozt
Applies to 1964 Kennedy Silver half dollars only. These are the only coins ever struck in 40 percent silver.
35 Percent WarTime Jefferson Nickels .05625 ozt
These coins were produced containing 35% silver as copper was in short supply due to the war effort. One of the few times in history where figuratively copper was worth more than silver.
Silver Content of United States Junk Silver Coins
| 90% Silver Dimes | .715 of a Troy Ounce |
| 90% Silver Quarters | .715 of a Troy Ounce |
| 90% Silver Half Dollars | .715 of a Troy Ounce |
| 40% Silver Kennedy Half Dollars | .295 of a Troy Ounce |
| 35% WarTime Jefferson Nickels | .05625 of a Troy Ounce |
Formula to Find Out Your Silver Coins Value
To find out the value of your junk silver coins take the face value times the percentage of pure silver.
Ozt equals troy ounce.
(Face Value) x (silver percentage) = (pure silver value)
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