Hi, I wish to sell some pre-1964 silver coins with a face value of $153.50. Can you give me a feel for how much these are worth and where I can sell them? – Thanks. From Jon in Ottumwa, Iowa

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your question. Not all US coins minted 1964 and before contain the same amount of silver. Dimes, quarters, half dollars and nickels all vary in the amount of silver they contain. So just giving the face value of your silver coins is not enough information to return an accurate estimate about how much the silver in your coins is worth, but I can try to provide you some information that may help.

To give you an idea for their value here is a list of some common pre-1964 coins with their silver content:

(1942-1945) Silver War Nickel 0.0563 Standard Ounces of Silver in Mint Condition

______

(1916-1945) Mercury Dime 0.0723 Standard Ounces of Silver in Mint Condition

______

(1932-1964) Washington Quarter 0.1808 Standard Ounces of Silver in Mint Condition

______

(1964) Kennedy Half Dollar 0.1479 Standard Ounces of Silver in Mint Condition

______

(1878-1921) Morgan Dollar 0.7735 Standard Ounces of Silver in Mint Condition

______

So as you can tell, the amount of silver in each of these coins is different. Because of this, the value of the coin will differ. Typically we return 90% of the fine silver value in weight on US silver quarters and dimes minted before 1964. For US silver nickels minted before 1964, however, we can only return 40% of the silver value because the large amounts of copper alloy in these coins requires significantly more energy (cost) to refine.

Also keep in mind that listed above is the amount of silver for coins that are in mint condition.  The weight variance between uncirculated and excessively circulated coins can, in some cases, exceed a 10% drop in silver content.

You can visit our website for a larger list of silver coins that we can refine. Additionally we have posted other information about more specific silver coins on our blog.

About US Silver Dimes
About Silver Morgan Dollars
About Silver Washington Quarters and Half Dollars
About Silver War Nickels