How to Determine the Value of Junk Silver
In times of economic instability, the value of precious metals tends to fluctuate greatly. If you are considering selling a collection of junk silver coins---coins valuable only for their precious metal content---or broken and mismatched silver jewelry, it is important to have an understanding of the value of those items to ensure that you will be offered a fair price. Understand the relationship between purity and weight to determine the value of your junk silver.
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Instructions
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Weigh your junk silver coins or jewelry using the most accurate digital scale that you have access to, then convert the weight to troy ounces. One oz. is equal to 0.9115 troy ounces, and 1 troy ounce is equal to 31.1 grams.
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Multiply the weight of your collection in troy ounces by the purity of the silver to determine the number of troy ounces of pure silver. For example, sterling silver jewelry has a purity of 0.925. Silver U.S. half dollars, quarters, and dimes minted in 1964 and before are 0.900 pure, and U.S. half dollars minted between 1965 and 1969 are 0.400 pure.
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Visit one of the websites listed in the "Resources" section of this article to obtain the current value of silver. Multiply the value of silver by the weight of your collection in troy ounces to determine its approximate value.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are selling coins and do not have access to a scale, you can use this general rule to estimate the amount of precious metal in your coins: $1.00 in face value of 90 percent silver coins contains approximately 0.715 troy ounces of pure silver, while $1.00 in face value of 40 percent silver coins contains approximately 0.295 troy ounces. Multiply the number of troy ounces by the current value of silver to determine the value of the metal.
