Junk Silver: What are those coins worth?

A quick note about junk silver values...

My son was examining the 1944 Washington quarter I found in a box of old junk and asked me what it was worth.

Well, the face value is .25, but the silver value is, based upon silver pricing over $40.00 an ounce is about $7.00!

Those pre-1965 Roosevelt and Mercury head dimes? Try just under $3.00 a piece!

How about that 1964 Kennedy half? Try $15.00 a pop!

OK, so junk silver was a great investment or collector's hobby as the price has risen dramatically over the past few years. But what about the future?

Experts say as long as the money supply, i.e. dollars, remain printed based upon borrowing and debt, their value will only go down and the price of commodities, like gold and silver, including junk silver, will only go up. If inflation, the diminished buying power of the dollar, grows, silver and gold will continue to rise.

It's anybody's guess what will happen at this point as there are many variables in the world economy to conider. But the fact is silver, especailly junk silver, has offered a good return on the money over the past few years. Keep digging through that change. There's a fortune in pre-1964 silver out there!

Junk Silver: Best Junk Silver Coins to Buy

Junk silver is incredibly popular for investors right now because of the rising price of gold, the lower value of the dollar and the possibility of inflation. However, there are many junk silver coin purchase options and it is critical buyers make the right choices.

Junk silver coins are any US silver dime, quarter or halve minted before 1965 and which have 90% of their weight in real silver. Coins minted after this date are called clads and have either very little or no silver content and are primarily comprised of copper, zinc and other metals.

For many, junk silver investment can include older US coins like Morgan silver dollars, Franklin halves, Barber and Mercury head dimes. However, new investors might do well to limit their purchases to newer US junk silver coins. Here's why.

Newer junk silver coins, those minted between 1960-1964, have 90% silver content, but many were circulated less than the older coins listed above. Thus, they may have most of their silver content and less loss due to circulation.

Further, Barber and Morgan coins are highly sought by coin collectors making the bid price sometimes higher than than the silver value.

1960-1964 silver coins include the Roosevelt dime and the Washington quarter (both still in use today) and the Kennedy halve (1964 only). Franklin halves, minted from 1948 to 1963, are 90% silver, but often desired by collectors unlike the "plain" Kennedy halve.

Interestly, when the government announced that coins would have less or no silver content, thousands of American quickly scooped up all the common coins, Roosevelt, Washington and Kennedy, and put them away. So they have less wear and retain most of the silver content.

New investors might want to limit their junk silver purchases to these coins as they are still common, have less numistatic interest and possibly have most of their silver content due to less circulation.

Junk Silver: US Silver Eagle vs Junk Silver

Silver prices are going through the roof. Yesterday's price nearly touched $22 an ounce. That is leading many investors to consider purchasing silver to add to their portfolio.

For new investors, there are a number of options for first time silver investors - bullion, coins and junk silver.

Bullion is best described as silver ingots. Bars of silver minted and priced by weight.

Coins can be minted or common date, but let's consider coins to be government minted such as the US Silver Eagle. These are beautiful coins in one ounce denominations with a one dollar face value but are priced according to the latest spot silver prices.

Junk silver is common date US quarters, dimes and halves minted 1964 and earlier. Junk silver is priced by silver weight (90% of total weight) and listed as "face value". So ten dollars face value junk silver quarters would be 40 US quarters and priced at the 90% per ounce of the going spot silver price.

So which is preferrable? In my opinion, and I am not a professional investment councelor, but merely a collector, I would put my money on junk silver. Why?

- Junk silver has face value to the holder and the receiver. Everyone knows what a quarter or a dime is and what it is worth.

- Junk silver is portable. It is difficult to make change with a silver ingot.

- Junk silver is money even if silver prices drop. A junk silver quarter will always be worth twenty five cents at minimum.

- Junk silver will attract less attention. A Silver Eagle or bar might get the notice of the the wrong people; an old dime is an old dime.

- Junk silver is historic.

I love Silver Eagles. They are beautiful coins worthy of any investor or collector. Ingots are suitable for the safety deposit box or safe. But junk silver is my favorite for the practical and possibly, cash short investor, to get started with.

Junk Silver: Gold and Silver prices up

Gold prices have surged over the $1000.00 per ounce mark in international news. Expect to see more Cash 4 Gold commercials on TV anytime now. But with the good news for gold, we have similar good news for silver.

A little over a year ago, silver was sitting around $9.00 an ounce. Today, it is nearly double that price at $17.10 the last time I checked. That was a great investment if you purchased silver bullion, rounds or my personal favorite, junk silver. Junk silver is anything but junk. As you know, those are pre-1965 U.S. quarters, dimes and halves which contain 90% real silver content.

Where can one get their hands on some junk silver right now? Your best bet will be the local coin shop, jewelry store or "gold and silver exchange" retail outlet in their town. The exchanges advertise heavily and usually feature gold, diamond and silver jewelry, used Rolex's, gold and silver bullion in small amounts and plenty of junk silver coins.

Generally, most exchange shops will buy silver coins for a price below premium or for "melt value". However, they often keep a stash of coins on hand for investors to purchase. A good starter investment for junk silver could be a single roll of dimes or quarters. Pick up a couple of dime rolls and keep them in a safe place at home (piggy bank is a bad idea). Make sure little hands and curious eyes don't find those junk silver coins as they are legal tender for candy, sodas and cigarettes and all too often find their way to the 7-11 and spent by mistake.

Gold is a great investment, but at $1K an ounce, is out of range of many of us. Junk silver is a low cost and safe way to invest in precious metals for anyone.

Junk Silver: Silver prices rising again

Silver prices are on the rise again making investments in junk silver a good option for the new silver investor.

Summer, 2008, silver rose to nearly $20.00 an ounce before sliding down to $9.00 in the fall. There was some indication that the economic problems with banks and housing may have precipitated the rise in precious metals like silver. However, as the political situation stabilized in the U.S. silver prices dropped.

Reality has set in; the financial situation, the falling value of the dollar and increased government deficit spending has renewed interest in silver and gold and the pricing shows it.

Kitco has spot silver just under $16.00 an ounce this morning. If prices go higher in the future, this might be a good time to invest in silver.

First time investors should consider the value of junk silver. Junk silver means pre-1964 U.S. common date coins such as quarters, halves and dimes. These coins contain 90% pure silver and what's more, they are commonly available to buyers.

Ebay, coin and specialty jewelry stores are good places to get junk silver. A good amount to start with is with a roll of Roosevelt or Mercury head dimes. Even if the price of silver drops to less than a dollar an ounce, dimes still have "face value". They are still worth ten cents and are legal tender for all purchases.

With an uncertain economy and a recession, it may be a good time to invest in precious metals - junk silver is a great way to start.

Junk Silver: The incredible value of junk silver

Unlike "silver rounds" or even gold bars and bullion, junk silver has an advantage to the investor in these trying times.

Most precious metal investments are comprised of bars or coins. Bars are found in weights such as one, five or ten ounces. The bar is merely an acceptable means of trade and transport of gold or silver bullion.

The coins are usually a special pressing or mold with artistic or historical value for instance, to commemorate a person or event. You see these frequently advertised in magazines or on late night television.

The problem with precious metals in bar or coins is that their value is determined by the market rate for the metal at the time and that the buyer and seller agree upon their value. An educated consumer and merchant are required to give the bullion value.

Junk silver has both bar and coin beaten with one simple fact; junk silver comes in a face value coin which can be used for daily transactions at nearly any retail outlet.

Even if silver drops to a dollar an ounce, a 1964 dime will still be worth ten cents. A 1943 Washington quarter will still be worth twenty five cents and so forth.

A junk silver bag of quarters with a face value of $1000.00 will contain 4000 quarters. While the price of the bag may vary between 9 and 12,000.00 over the past couple of months due to the price of silver, the face value of each of those 4000 quarters is still twenty five cents.

This is a hard to beat fact about junk silver that other forms of precious metals are hard to beat. Junk silver keeps a value no matter what the silver market is running at the time.

And that is another reason junk silver is such a great investment.

Junk Silver Quarters

This is a "junk silver" quarter. Hardly junk considering with current silver prices, this 90% silver content quarter is worth about a dollar.

The Washington quarter was minted between 1932 and the present with several changes. Most notably, was in 1965 when the coin went from 90% silver to zinc, copper and other base metals known then as the "Johnson Sandwich" for Lyndon Baines Johnson, then the president of the United States.

Prior to 1965, the Washington quarter contained silver and was minted in large numbers - as many as 704 million in 1964 alone.

Many silver coins including the Washington quarter were melted by the federal government in an effort to reclaim the silver. However, many are available if you look carefully.

- For instance, I found a 1946 Washington quarter in the change tray at a Coinstar machine a few months ago.
- My daughter found one in my change from a gasoline station last summer.
- I found another in a change jar recently.

Many are reporting receiving pre-1964 quarters as consumers empty their change jars for essentials like gas or food due to the economic problems in our country.

Keep your eyes out for one of these beautiful coins with a high value.

Junk Silver: Coinstar Find - 1964 Silver Dime

My son, daughter and I went to the supermarket after basketball practice on Tuesday.

My son, always on the prowl for loose change, looks below the self checkout registers as I pay for my groceries. He usually comes up with a quarter, dime or penny for his troubles.

When we leave the supermarket, he always checks the Coinstar machine for change. There are a number of places to look as most people swapping their coins in are sloppy or in a hurry and overlook coins they may have dropped.

My son always checks the tray on top where people drop their coins in. Sometimes he finds an odd penny or two there.

He looks under the Coinstar machine, naturally, and is often rewarded with some coin or another.

But the best place to look is in the Coinstar return tray. Why?

Because rejected coins fall into the return tray and many times, the customer in a hurry leaves their rejects behind.

Certain coins are rejected by Coinstar machines such as dirty, damaged or sticky coins. Foreign coins. Silver and new "gold" dollars i.e. President coins.

And silver coins.

That's right, junk silver coins are rejected by Coinstar machines. I found a 1946 quarter in the reject tray a couple of months ago.

This time, my son found three foreign coins and lo and behold, a beautiful 1964 Eisenhower silver (90%) dime!

So the next time you stop off at the grocers, check out the Coinstar machine.. You never know what you might find!

Some great advice regarding junk silver

I found another great website with practical advice regarding junk silver, not only as an investment, but as preparation for use as a currency when and if our current money loses its value.

First, our current money, the dollar, is backed by the full faith and trust WE have in the federal government. If you have lived here your entire life like I have, you know there have been several instances where trust in the government has been tested.

Further, our dollar is based upon nothing tangible; not gold, land, oil or silver, nothing.

In short, we are indeed trusting that the federal government will make good on its promise that the dollar can be used, for all debts, public or private.

If you have concerns, consider silver as a safeguard in the event the dollar loses much of its value. For this particular purpose, junk silver is ideal.

Junk silver are U.S. coins, dimes, quarters and halves, minted before 1965, and which contain 90% real silver in their content.

Yes, there are silver dollars, but the U.S. ceased minting silver content dollars in 1921 and they are seldom available unless one purchases direct from a coin or jewelry store.

Junk silver has real value and is easily recognizable. While Walmart may not know their value, the merchant who survives a real economic meltdown will.

Read the article I mention here and let me know what you think.

Junk Silver: Pre-1964 coin value

If you have some pre-1964 junk silver coins on hand and are curious as to their value, look no further than Coinflation for up to the minute pricing.

Coinflation has great tool which shows the coin, the face value, and the silver value of the coin.

For instance, a Mercury head dime, one of the most popular junk silver coins, has a 90% coin silver content. Coinflation shows that the Mercury has a face value of .10 and as of today, at $10.56 an ounce, has a silver coin value of .76.

Coinflation can be a great tool to use before buying junk silver online or at your coin or jewelery store as it will provide the current pricing of the coin. Remember to add a dealer premium to the sale - your retailer, both online and in person needs to make some profit on the deal.

Check out Coinflation here for more up to the minute junk silver pricing.

Junk Silver: Silver dollars

Silver dollars have gone through quite an evolution the past 100 years.

Once upon a time ago, they were actually made from silver and were valued upon the going price of silver. So a silver dollar could change sizes based upon the market value.

That changed when Congress set fixed prices for precious metals and made the silver dollar a real piece of backed currency.

The current silver dollar has two problems; it is not silver in color and has no silver content. Dollar coins are actually clads (metal discs clad in some type of metal and made of other base materials).

Silver coins of any denomination containing a majority of silver, 90% silver content, were minted until 1964. After that date, all coins went to a fraction of silver and became known as clads.

The Susan B Anthony silver dollar replaced the Eisenhower dollar coin and had no silver content.

The Eisenhower silver dollar was minted in 1971 had none if any silver content.

The Eisenhower dollar coin was the first dollar coins since the Peace dollar coin. It was called the Peace dollar because the obverse featured the word PEACE on the bottom portion of the coin.

The Peace dollar ceased being minted in 1936 making it the last real silver dollar coin.

Earlier silver dollar coins include the Walking Liberty and Morgan. The Morgan still turns up in collections and can be purchased over the counter from most coin retailers.

Junk Silver Coins

When investing in precious metals, we are often led to believe we are required to invest in gold bars or ingots.

However, there is a better and more affordable way to invest in silver - junk silver coins.

First, junk silver does not mean "worthless" in the sense of having no monetary value. Rather, junk silver coins have little numismatic value to coin collectors. However, junk silver coins are dimes, quarters, halves and dollars minted before 1965 which have 90% pure silver content.

Often you will see them listed as pre-1965, pre-1964, or common date silver U.S. coins.

Junk silver coins include the following:

Dimes - Roosevelt and Mercury head dimes minted before 1965






Quarters - Washington quarters minted in the same time frame, pre-1965..



Halves - While the 1964 Kennedy half contains 90% silver, the Franklin half, minted from 1948 t0 1963 is often more available because of the quantity minted during those years.



Dollars - There were only a limited number of Peace dollars minted in 1964 and those were not authorized into circulation. Eisenhower dollars were not released until 1971 and only a few contain 40% silver and the rest are clad. The only junk silver dollar coins are Peace and Morgan silver dollars.



Junk silver coins represent an easy way to invest in precious metals because they can be purchased one coin at a time, in rolls or in bags.

The cost of these coins is determined by the current rate silver is trading at plus a small premium for the dealer.

Buy Junk Silver

The other day I posted about where to buy junk silver, today I wanted to mention why buy silver.

Buying junk silver is a wise investment for your portfolio, as a hedge against inflation and because of the uncertainty of our economy.

The dollar is rapidly diminishing in value and putting your money into tangibles has never been more popular.

Tangibles includes precious metals like junk silver.

Before you forget, junk silver is used to describe pre-1965 U.S. silver coins with little numismatic value, but which have 90% silver content. These coins include dimes, quarters, halves and silver dollars from this time period.

So again, why buy junk silver?

As the dollar erodes in value, what you purchased yesterday may cost a little bit more tomorrow. Silver is bargain priced right around $10.00 an ounce. Which makes buying junk silver inexpensive and a bargain.

Buy junk silver from your local coin or jewelry shop, pawn shop, online at Ebay or at reputable online coin and metal dealers.

Take the plunge an buy a roll of pre-1965 dimes, quarters or halves today and protect your hard earned money.