“Junk silver” means circulated silver coins that are worth more for their silver than to collectors. The name is not an insult: these are ordinary dimes, quarters and halves from before 1965, bought and sold by the bag for their metal.
Which coins count as junk silver
- 90% silver: US dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 and earlier, such as Mercury and Roosevelt dimes, Washington quarters, and Walking Liberty, Franklin and 1964 Kennedy halves.
- 40% silver: Kennedy half dollars dated 1965–1970.
- 35% silver: 1942–1945 war nickels with a large mint mark above Monticello.
- Silver dollars are usually sold separately because many carry collector premiums.
Priced by face value
Dimes, quarters and halves of 90% silver were made to the same standard, so each dollar of face value holds the same silver whatever the mix: about 0.7234 troy oz. That makes it easy to price junk silver by face value.
- $1 face (10 dimes, 4 quarters or 2 halves): 0.7234 troy oz
- One roll of dimes ($5 face): 3.617 troy oz
- One roll of quarters or halves ($10 face): 7.234 troy oz
- A “bag” of $1,000 face: 723.4 troy oz when new, often figured at about 715 oz to allow for wear
For 40% Kennedy halves, $1 face (two coins) holds about 0.2958 troy oz. For war nickels, $1 face (20 coins) holds about 1.125 troy oz.
Working out today’s value
Enter a face value in the coin melt calculator (choose “Face value” as the count), or see the per-coin values in the silver coin melt values table.
Before you sell
Junk silver is the common stuff, but scarce dates hide in it. Check each coin’s date and mint mark, and set aside anything unusual, such as better-date Mercury dimes or coins in uncirculated condition, before selling the rest by weight or face.