Spotting Old Silver: Which Coins in the Jar Are Worth Weighing

There is a jar of change in a great many Florida garages and kitchen drawers, and a surprising share of it is silver. Telling the silver from the rest turns out to be simpler than most people expect, because the country drew a hard line in a single year.

Here is the line, which coins fall on the good side of it, and how the value gets worked out.

It all comes down to 1964

Through 1964, U.S. dimes, quarters, and half dollars were struck in 90% silver. From 1965 dimes and quarters became a copper-nickel sandwich, and the silver was gone. Checking the date is therefore the fastest sorting tool anyone has.

Half dollars are the exception worth knowing, since they held a reduced 40% silver content from 1965 through 1970 before going to base metal like the rest.

Roosevelt and Mercury dimes dated 1964 or earlier
Washington quarters dated 1964 or earlier
Walking Liberty, Franklin, and 1964 Kennedy half dollars
Barber dimes, quarters, and half dollars
Kennedy halves 1965 through 1970, at 40% silver

How the number gets built

Common silver of this sort is paid as a share of what its metal is worth, starting from the silver actually in the coins and the price silver trades at during the visit. Dealers often talk about it in face value, since a known face amount of 90% silver holds a predictable quantity of metal.

Quantity nudges the share upward, though there is no minimum. A handful is as welcome as a full bag, and each gets the same look.

Why the jar still gets gone through

Sorting by date finds the silver. It does not find the good coins. Now and then a thin-mintage year or an unusually clean piece sits in a group otherwise bound for the scale, and once it is weighed with everything else that value is simply gone.

That is the case for having a jar read rather than only weighed, and for not trying to pre-sort it at the counter yourself.

Key takeaways

Dimes and quarters from 1964 and back are 90% silver.
Half dollars stayed 40% silver from 1965 through 1970.
Value starts from the actual silver content against the market.
A jar still deserves reading, since better coins hide inside.

FAQ

Common questions

What is the quickest way to spot the silver?

Look at the date first. Dimes and quarters dated 1964 and back are 90% silver, halves are 90% through 1964 and 40% from 1965 to 1970, and from 1965 dimes and quarters turn to copper-nickel.

What would a full jar come to?

It tracks the total silver in the coins against the live market, with the amount nudging the share. Bring the jar in, it gets weighed, quoted against the day’s price, and gone through for anything better.

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