Question: I would like to have my silver dimes, mercury dimes and barber dimes refined. How much are they worth? From Gary in Raleigh, North Carolina

Hi Gary,

Thanks for your question. To start we would need to know a few more things about your coins to give you a better idea about the silver value for them.

(1) The type and date factor into the value of your coins because different coins were made with different amounts of silver at different points in time. That is why coin dealers make an entire living know which coins hold the most value. Can you tell what the dates are on your coins?

Here are some common types of coins that we refine: Refine Silver Coins. You will also find the amount of silver that is available in each that you can multiply with the current price of silver to get a market price of the silver value in your coin.

Doing this research can not only let you know how much silver is available for recovery, but you should also make sure that your coins do not have collectible value that is worth more than the silver value. For example, if your barber dimes are 1895-O they could be worth between $250+ depending on the condition. Other barber dimes that have been known to have collectible value include the 1892-S, 1901-S and 1904-S. A fun story about the Barber dimes is that the 1894-S is one of the most valuable coins ever produced by the United States mint. Only 24 were produced. In 2007 one of them sold for $1.9 million.

Of course the majority of Barber coins are not going to fall within the collectable group of coins mentioned above. Most Barber coins that are made with 90% silver and 10% copper are ideal for refining.

(2) The amount of coins that you have is also a factor when you want to refine for the silver content. This is because so much energy has to go into refining silver coins that the more material you have to refine at once, the higher your return will be.

1916-1945 Mercury Dime (below)

1946-1964 Roosevelt Dime (below)

*Images displayed are only a representation of the items described in this blog post and may not be true images of the items in question.

Please keep in mind that we are not a coin dealer and cannot give estimates based on the value of collectable, rare or vintage coins. As a precious metal refiner, we only give estimates based on the weight of items and the amount of precious metal available for recovery.

While we are happy to give estimates on precious metal items, we are NOT antiques dealers, researchers, or retail sellers. As a precious metal refiner, we only consider the weight and amount of precious metal available to extract during the smelting and refining process.