Junk Silver Bags

United States dimes, quarters, and half dollars minted in 1964 or earlier are commonly called “junk silver.” Because these coins actually circulated for many years, they look weathered and are made of 90% silver for extra toughness. This also means they are excellent for barter. A bag of junk silver will provide you with real silver in a recognizable form that can be easily traded for essential needs in case of a major currency crisis. These silver coins are also a great educational gift to explain the value of real money to friends and family. Many people do not realize that a pre-1964 quarter is worth many times the value of a quarter minted today!

Each coin is composed of 90% pure silver and 10% copper. In keeping with industry custom, we offer junk silver bags with $1000 and $500 “face values,” which refers to the nominal price of the coins. These bags contain 715 and 357.5 ounces of silver respectively, which is where the real value resides. To determine how much you are paying for the silver in the coins, divide the price of the bag by the number of ounces it contains – or ask one of our precious metals specialists to give you the price per ounce of silver.

When ordering a bag of junk silver, you choose which size of coin you’d like – dimes, quarters, or half dollars. Half-dollar bags generally carry a higher premium, because half dollars are less common – the US Mint has always produced many more dimes and quarters than it does half dollars.

These are the most common types of coins found in junk silver bags:

• 1916-1945 Mercury Silver Dimes
• 1946-1964 Roosevelt Silver Dimes
• 1932-1964 Washington Silver Quarters
• 1916-1947 Silver Walking Liberty Half Dollars
• 1964 Silver Kennedy Half Dollars

You’ll find the specifications of each coin denomination to the right.