Things You'll Need:
- A sharp eye.
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Step 1
Always check your pocket change! Although it is getting harder to find silver in your spare change, it's still out there. Look at the date on each dime, quarter, or occasional half dollar. If the date is 1964 or older, you have a coin that is ninety percent silver. My step-father used to do this in the seventies, and after about four years had amassed six coffee cans full of silver coins!
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Step 2
Check the coin return in Coinstar machines. It's surprising how many people fail to check for rejects when cashing in their coins. Modern vending machines are set to recognize US coins by size and weight. Because the older coins have a different weight than modern ones, the older coins are often rejected by the machine. I have found two silver dimes, a silver quarter, and a steel nickel using this method.
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Step 3
Don't forget to look at your pennies! Pennies were made of copper until 1982. Any US cent minted before that time is worth about two cents because of the copper content.
Comments
dsarokin said
on 12/1/2008 Wow, I'm getting my kids to work on this, little money-grubbers that they are. Thanks for the info.
deepthinkin said
on 11/30/2008 Good info! I have a large jar full of coins that I just might have paw through to see what I have! Thanks!