Junk Silver Guide

Index

• Introduction
• What Is Junk Silver?
  • Junk Silver Coin List
  • Junk Silver Alternatives
• Buying Guide
  • Where To Find Junk Silver
  • How To Deal With Sellers
  • How Much To Pay
  • Junk Silver Calculators
  • What To Avoid
• Counterfeit Coins
• Grading Coins
• Silver Calculators
• Caring For Junk Silver
  • Cleaning Junk Silver
  • Storing Junk Silver
• Glossary
• Appendix
• Helpful Links
• Disclaimer
• Contact Me

Introduction

Welcome to The Junk Silver Guide. I hope this guide will serve as a comprehensive reference to help you learn all about junk silver. By following this guide you can easily identify junk silver coins and get the best deals when buying junk silver.

In this guide I'll answer in simple terms:
What is junk silver?
What does junk silver look like?
Where can I buy junk silver?
How much is junk silver worth right now?
How do I calculate the value of junk silver?
How do I care for my junk silver?
and much more.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I'm not a silver expert, I don't sell silver and I'm not trying to give investment advice. However, I believe silver is a great way to preserve wealth, and therefore I'd like to help people diversify into silver (and gold).

Sources

The silver prices on this website were gathered from quandl.com on 2023-12-29 (YYYY-MM-DD) .

What Is Junk Silver?

All U.S. dimes, quarters, half dollars and silver dollars minted 1964 and earlier contain 90% silver and are known as "junk" silver coins because they don't have numismatic value to collectors (they're not rare, old, minting mistakes, proof coins, commemorative coins, etc.)

Nickels minted during WWII (1942-1945) are known as "war nickels" and contain 35% silver. War nickels are generally regarded as inferior to junk silver, possibly due to the lower silver content or their often unattractive appearance (they tend to develop a thick, dull, green / black tarnish). However, due to the lower demand they often sell for lower premiums than junk silver. I'd recommend picking up some war nickels if you can get a good deal on them, but I would only allocate a small part of my silver investment to them.

Various other coins are 40% silver (most commonly 1965-1969 Kennedy half dollars), but there's generally less demand for 40% coins making them more difficult to sell and a poorer investment, so I won't discuss them.

Some people (mostly sellers on eBay) insist that junk silver is not actually "junk". The semantics vary depending on who you ask. A serious coin collector will certainly consider a typical junk silver coin as a worn out, well circulated, beat up piece of junk. The same coin wouldn't be considered junk to an investor only concerned about the silver content.

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Junk Silver Coin List

The following is a list of the most common American junk silver coins:
(click images to enlarge them)

Junk Silver Coins	Details
	Morgan Dollar Minted: 1878-1904, 1921 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight: 0.7735 troy oz Note: Often sells with a higher premium due to collectibility. Current silver melt value: $18.40
	Peace Dollar Minted: 1921-1928, 1934-1935 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight: 0.7735 troy oz Note: Often sells for a few dollars over silver value due to collectibility. Current silver melt value: $18.40
	Barber Half Dollar Minted: 1892-1915 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight: 0.3617 troy oz Note: Often sells for a few dollars over silver value due to collectibility. Barber half dollars, quarters and dimes had the same face image. Current silver melt value: $8.60
	Walking Liberty Half Dollar Minted: 1916-1947 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight: 0.3617 troy oz Note: Same face as the American Silver Eagle bullion coin. Current silver melt value: $8.60
	Franklin Half Dollar Minted: 1948-1963 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight: 0.3617 troy oz Current silver melt value: $8.60
	Kennedy Half Dollar Minted: 1964, 1965-1970 Silver Content: 90% (1964), 40% (1965-1970) Silver Weight: 0.3617 troy oz (90%), 0.1479 troy oz (40%) Current silver melt value: $8.60 (90%), $3.52 (40%)
	Barber Quarter Minted: 1892-1915 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight: 0.1808 troy oz Note: Barber half dollars, quarters and dimes had the same face image. Current silver melt value: $4.30
	Standing Liberty Quarter Minted: 1916-1930 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight: 0.1808 troy oz Note: The date was printed too high and is often worn off. 1916 version had Lady Liberty with a bare breast. She was covered in subsequent years. Current silver melt value: $4.30
	Washington Quarter Minted: 1932, 1934-1964 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight: 0.1808 troy oz Current silver melt value: $4.30
	Seated Liberty Dime Minted: 1836-1891 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight: 0.0723 troy oz Note: Rarely found and often sells with a higher premium. Current silver melt value: $1.72
	Barber Dime Minted: 1892-1916 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight: 0.0723 troy oz Note: Barber half dollars, quarters and dimes had the same face image. Current silver melt value: $1.72
	Mercury Dime Minted: 1916-1945 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight: 0.0723 troy oz Current silver melt value: $1.72
	Roosevelt Dime Minted: 1946-1964 Silver Content: 90% Silver Weight: 0.0723 troy oz Current silver melt value: $1.72
	War Nickel Minted: mid 1942-1945 Silver Content: 35% Silver Weight: 0.0563 troy oz Note: A subset of the Jefferson nickel series. Counterfeit and non-silver nickels lack the mint mark above Monticello's dome. Current silver melt value: $1.34

Silver Bullion

Silver bullion rounds and bars are another option. They're generally 99.9% pure silver. They may be minted by the government (Silver Eagles) or by a private mint (rounds and bars). I recommend staying with the government minted coins because they are more recognizable and trusted. Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver, but is seldom used in coins and bullion.

Silver Bullion Coins and Bars	Details
	Silver Eagle Minted: 1986-current Silver Content: 99.93% Silver Weight: 1 troy oz Note: The official American silver bullion coin minted by the U.S. Mint. Current silver melt value: $23.79
	Sunshine Minting Silver Round Note: This is a privately minted silver bullion round.
	Silver Bullion Bars Note: These are privately minted silver bars.

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Alternatives To Junk Silver

Junk silver may not be the best type of silver for everyone. Fortunately, silver is available in several different types to suit different needs. The following table summarises the different types of silver that's available. Please note that these are generalizations that may change on occasion.

Referring to the following table:

• Premiums: The typical premiums you can expect to pay relative to the other types of silver.
• Recognizable: How easy an average person can identify the silver and it's origin.
• Counterfeit Risk: Some types of silver are more often counterfeited, and more difficult to detect.
• Liquidity: The ease of buying and selling.

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