How to Find Silver In Change

Silver is the least expensive of the precious metals and can be a great investment. Here’s how to find silver in everyday change.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. 

   1964 was the last good year for American coins
   
   1964 was the last year most American coins were made from silver. That’s right kids, quarters and dimes used to be made of 90% silver.

2. 

   These coins are called “junk silver.” But they are anything but junk.
   
   What does this mean? Simply, that a quarter from 1965 or later is worth exactly 25 cents. However a quarter from 1964 or before is worth the value of the silver it is made from. As of this writing silver is $12.95 an ounce. That means that a pre 1965 dime is worth about 94 cents. A pre 1965 quarter is worth about $2.34. That’s right $2.34.
   
   $2.34 is the “melt value” of the coin. That’s how much raw silver one would have if one melted the coin down into bullion.

3. People who don’t collect coins are often surprised to find out that a quarter could be worth more than 25 cents. The next thought to cross most people’s minds is to look at the change in their pockets. Surely there must be a couple of those silver quarters around here somewhere.
   
   What most people quickly realize after looking at their change for a couple of days is that pre 1965 quarters and dimes are hard to find. One won’t come across many in day to day transactions. Most of them were horded away years ago. It’s always worth it to look at your change though because you will find a good coin occasionally, just not often. But there are places to look.

4. 

   First dump out your coin jar and sift through it for coins of value. Half dollars from 1970 and before also have silver in them so keep that in mind as you look. You might find a couple of good coins in such a stash.
   
   Go say high to grandma
   
   If you’ve still got grandparents ask for permission to look through their coin jar. If you’re lucky they’ll have an old one sitting in a closet somewhere. If there’s any dust on the coins you may have hit the jack pot. It is in stashes like this one is most likely to find the good stuff.
   
   Happy hunting.

Resources

• Econoland: Cool Economics
• Coin Melt Values

[Upon-Request]

on 4/19/2009 Thanks for explaining the difference in pre- and post-1965 coins! 5*

[gururaul]

on 4/1/2009 I've heard about 1964 coins a few years back. I've had a tough time finding these coins but it is possible. A woman in a mall was paid by one. I told her what it was. She sent it to the bank anyway.