Live Metal Prices

Circulated 90% silver dimes, quarters and half dollars are commonly estimated at about 0.715 troy ounce of silver per $1 of face value. Multiply that figure by the current silver price at the top of this page to get today's approximate melt value.

A $10 face value of pre-1965 quarters (a 40-coin roll) contains about 7.15 troy ounces of silver, using the standard circulated bulk-silver estimate of 0.715 oz per $1 of face value. Multiply 7.15 by today's silver spot price for an approximate melt value, or use the calculator on this page.

A single 1964 Washington quarter contains about 0.18084 troy ounce of silver at its original specifications. Its melt value is that weight times today's silver price. A 1964 quarter in nice condition can be worth more than melt as a collectible, so it is worth having it checked before it is sold for scrap.

U.S. 90% silver coins dated 1964 and earlier contain, at original specifications, about 0.07234 troy ounce of silver in a dime (a 2.5 gram coin), about 0.18084 in a quarter (6.25 grams) and about 0.36169 in a half dollar (12.5 grams). Wear removes a little metal, which is why bulk lots are estimated at 0.715 oz per $1 of face value rather than the theoretical 0.7234.

A Morgan dollar (1878 to 1921) or Peace dollar (1921 to 1935) is 90% silver and contains about 0.77344 troy ounce of silver in a 26.73 gram coin. Multiply that by the current silver price for the melt value. Many Morgan and Peace dollars are worth more than melt as collectibles, depending on date, mint mark and condition.

Kennedy half dollars dated 1965 through 1970 are 40% silver, weigh 11.5 grams and contain about 0.1479 troy ounce of silver each. Kennedy halves dated 1964 are 90% silver and contain about 0.36169 ounce. Regular-issue Kennedy halves dated 1971 and later are copper-nickel clad and contain no silver.

Some are. Nickels struck from 1942 through 1945 contain 35% silver (with 56% copper and 9% manganese) and are identified by a large mint mark (P, D or S) above Monticello's dome on the back. Each contains about 0.05626 troy ounce of silver. Nickels from other years are copper-nickel and contain no silver.

No. Dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollar coins dated 1964 and earlier are generally 90% silver. Cents and regular nickels from those years are not silver: cents are copper (steel in 1943) and nickels are 75% copper and 25% nickel, except for the 35% silver wartime nickels of 1942 to 1945. Kennedy half dollars from 1965 to 1970 are 40% silver.

No. U.S. dimes and quarters dated 1965 and later are copper-nickel clad, with a pure copper core between outer layers of copper-nickel, and contain no silver. A very few 1965 coins were struck on leftover silver blanks by mistake, so a 1965 coin that weighs like a silver one (6.25 grams for a quarter, 2.5 grams for a dime) is worth having examined.

Mostly no. Eisenhower dollars made for circulation from 1971 through 1978 are copper-nickel clad. A 40% silver version, containing about 0.3161 troy ounce of silver, was made only for collectors with an S mint mark in 1971 through 1974 and 1976, sold in uncirculated and proof sets.

An American Silver Eagle contains one full troy ounce of 99.9% fine silver, so its melt value equals the current silver spot price. Because it is a government-minted bullion coin, it usually sells for more than spot, and certain dates and high grades carry collector premiums on top of that.

Junk silver is a trade term for circulated U.S. coins that are valued mainly for their silver content rather than as collectibles, most often 90% silver dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 and earlier. It is also called constitutional silver. A $1,000 face value bag of 90% silver coins holds roughly 715 troy ounces of silver.

Spot price is the current market price for one troy ounce of raw metal. Melt value is what the actual metal in a specific coin is worth at that spot price, which is its precious-metal weight times spot. A premium is the amount above melt that a coin sells for, reflecting minting and distribution costs, dealer margin and collector demand.

A troy ounce is the unit used to price precious metals. It equals 31.1035 grams, about 10% heavier than the regular (avoirdupois) ounce of 28.35 grams used for groceries and shipping. Gold, silver, platinum and palladium spot prices are all quoted per troy ounce.

The bid is the price at which the market is willing to buy a metal, and the ask is the price at which it is offered for sale, so the ask is always slightly higher. The spot figures on this page are the midpoint between the bid and ask from a live market feed and can trail the market by a few minutes.

No. Melt value is a reference figure for the metal a coin contains, not a guaranteed purchase price. What a dealer actually offers depends on refining costs, current demand, the quantity involved, the coin's condition, and whether it has collectible value above its metal content.

Usually a little less. A dealer has to cover costs and market risk between buying and reselling, so offers for common bullion-type silver and gold are generally at or slightly below spot, with the gap depending on the item, the quantity and market conditions. Collectible coins can be bought above melt. The best way to judge any offer is to ask how it was worked out.

Check the date, mint mark and condition. Key dates and low-mintage issues, such as the 1916-D Mercury dime, the 1932-D and 1932-S Washington quarters or the 1893-S Morgan dollar, are worth far more than melt, as are coins in high grades or with mint errors. Common dates in worn condition are usually worth close to melt. If you are unsure, have them looked at before you sell them by weight.

No. Cleaning, polishing or dipping a coin can reduce or destroy its numismatic value, sometimes permanently. Bring coins in exactly as you have them, tarnish and all, and we will evaluate both their metal content and any collectible value as they are.

A U.S. $20 Liberty Head or Saint-Gaudens double eagle is 90% gold and contains about 0.9675 troy ounce of pure gold. The smaller pre-1933 denominations contain proportionally less: about 0.48375 ounce in a $10, 0.24187 ounce in a $5 and 0.12094 ounce in a $2.50. Many carry a collector premium above their melt value.

An American Gold Eagle is 22 karat gold (91.67% gold, with 3% silver and 5.33% copper) and is sized by its gold content: the $50 coin holds one troy ounce of gold, the $25 coin one-half ounce, the $10 coin one-quarter ounce and the $5 coin one-tenth ounce. The alloy makes each coin slightly heavier than its gold content, so a one-ounce Gold Eagle weighs about 33.93 grams.

Both hold one troy ounce of gold, but the Gold Eagle is 22 karat (91.67% gold) while the $50 one-ounce Gold Buffalo is 24 karat (99.99% pure). The Eagle is alloyed with silver and copper to make it harder wearing, and the Buffalo is essentially pure gold, so the two have the same melt value.

Pure gold is very soft and scratches and wears easily. Adding copper and sometimes silver makes 22 karat coins such as the Gold Eagle and Krugerrand far more durable. The coins are sized so that each still contains exactly the stated amount of gold, so the alloy does not change the melt value.

A one-ounce Krugerrand holds one troy ounce of gold in a 22 karat (91.67%) coin weighing about 33.93 grams. The one-ounce Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, Austrian Gold Philharmonic and British Gold Britannia (2013 onward) are 99.99% pure and also hold one troy ounce. The Chinese Gold Panda has been sold in a 30 gram size since 2016, which contains about 0.9645 troy ounce, slightly less than an ounce. Fractional sizes hold their stated fraction of an ounce.

A British gold sovereign contains about 0.2354 troy ounce of gold and a half sovereign about 0.1177 ounce. A French or Swiss 20 franc gold coin contains about 0.1867 ounce. A Mexican 50 peso Centenario contains about 1.2057 ounces. Austrian 100 corona restrikes contain about 0.9802 ounce and 20 corona restrikes about 0.1960 ounce.

Often, yes. Modern bullion coins such as Gold Eagles, Maple Leafs and Krugerrands usually sell at spot plus a modest premium. Older gold coins, especially pre-1933 U.S. gold with scarce dates, mint marks or high grades, can be worth well above their gold content as collectibles. Damaged, cleaned or holed gold coins usually trade closer to melt.

A one-ounce gold bullion coin's melt value is the current gold spot price shown at the top of this page. What it sells for depends on the coin and its premium. What a dealer will pay for a common bullion coin is generally at or a little under spot, while coins in original packaging or with collector demand may bring more.

Yes. Americans can legally buy, own and sell gold coins, including pre-1933 U.S. gold coins. The 1933 gold recall ordered most gold turned in but exempted coins of special value to collectors, and private ownership of gold bullion and coins has been legal since 1974.

A bullion coin is bought mainly for its precious-metal content and is priced close to spot, such as the American Silver Eagle or the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf. A numismatic coin is priced by collectors on rarity, date, mint mark, condition and demand, and its value can be many times its metal content. Some coins, like an early Morgan dollar, are both.

Canadian dimes, quarters, half dollars and silver dollars dated 1920 through 1967 (dollars 1967 and earlier) are 80% silver and contain about 0.06, 0.15, 0.30 and 0.60 troy ounce of silver respectively. Some 1967 and 1968 dimes and quarters were struck in 50% silver, containing about 0.037 and 0.094 ounce. Canadian coins dated before 1920 are 92.5% silver, and those dated 1969 and later contain no silver.

British silver coins dated before 1920 are sterling (92.5% silver): a crown contains about 0.841 troy ounce of silver, a half crown about 0.420, a florin about 0.336 and a shilling about 0.168. Coins dated 1920 to 1946 are 50% silver, and British coins dated 1947 and later are copper-nickel with no silver.

Some are. Mexican 1 peso coins dated 1920 to 1945 are 72% silver and contain about 0.386 troy ounce. The modern Silver Libertad is a one-ounce, 99.9% silver bullion coin. On the gold side, the Gold Libertad is 99.9% pure and the 50 peso Centenario is .900 fine and contains about 1.2057 troy ounces of gold.

The most common foreign gold bullion coins are the South African Krugerrand, Canadian Maple Leaf, Austrian Philharmonic, British Britannia, Australian Kangaroo, Mexican Libertad and Chinese Panda. Common foreign silver bullion coins include the Canadian Maple Leaf, British Britannia, Austrian Philharmonic, Mexican Libertad and the silver Krugerrand introduced in 2017. Most hold exactly one troy ounce of metal, with the 30 gram Chinese Panda a notable exception.

Karat expresses gold purity out of 24 parts. 10K is 41.67% gold, 14K is 58.33%, 18K is 75%, 22K is 91.67% and 24K is pure gold at 99.9% or better. Many jewelry stamps use the decimal equivalent instead: 417, 585, 750 and 916, with 999 for fine gold.

Fineness is the purity of a metal in parts per thousand. .999 fine silver is 99.9% silver, .9999 fine gold is 99.99% gold, and .900 means 90% precious metal with the balance usually copper. A higher number means more of the coin is actual precious metal.

Sterling silver is 92.5% silver, usually alloyed with copper, and is stamped 925 or sterling. Coin silver is 90% silver and fine silver is 99.9% or better. Sterling flatware, jewelry and serving pieces are valued by their silver weight, so it helps to know which stamp yours carries.

Gold plated items have a microscopically thin layer of gold over a base metal and have almost no gold value. Gold filled pieces have a thicker layer of gold mechanically bonded to a base metal, so they wear better and contain some gold, but far less than solid gold. Solid gold is karat gold all the way through and is valued by weight and purity.

Gold does not tarnish or rust. Silver does tarnish, turning gray or black as it reacts with sulfur in the air, and a tarnished silver coin is still silver. Tarnish is not a sign of a fake, and collector coins should not be polished to remove it.

Start with the date and type: U.S. dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier are 90% silver, and 1965 to 1970 Kennedy half dollars are 40% silver. Next, look at the edge, which is solid silver-white on a 90% silver coin and shows a copper-colored stripe on a clad coin. Then weigh the coin on a gram scale: a silver quarter is 6.25 grams and a clad quarter 5.67 grams, and a silver dime is 2.5 grams and a clad dime 2.268 grams. The ice, ping and magnet slide tests below make useful supporting checks, but no single home test proves a coin is genuine.

Hold the coin so you can see its rim. A 90% silver coin has a solid silver-white edge from face to face. Clad dimes, quarters and half dollars are a sandwich of copper-nickel over a copper core, so the edge shows a distinct copper-colored stripe. The 1965 to 1970 Kennedy half dollars, which are 40% silver, are also bonded layers and may show a fainter brownish line, so check the date as well. The edge is one of the quickest and most reliable checks for U.S. coins.

Only partly. Gold and silver are not magnetic, so a coin that sticks to a magnet is not gold or silver. But copper, brass, zinc, tungsten and many fakes are not magnetic either, so a coin that does not stick has passed only the first and easiest check.

Set a coin on a slight incline and slide a strong neodymium magnet down it. Conductive, non-magnetic metals such as silver, gold and copper create small eddy currents that slow the magnet noticeably, while a non-conductive or lower-conductivity fake lets it slide freely and steel makes it stick. Copper also slows the magnet, so the slide test screens out many fakes but does not prove a coin is silver.

Balance the coin on a fingertip and tap it with another coin. Genuine silver rings with a clear, high, long-lasting tone, while clad and base-metal coins give a short, dull thud. Sound is affected by wear, damage and thickness, and it works better on coins than on bars, so use the ping test as a supporting check and compare against a coin you know is real.

Place an ice cube on the coin at room temperature and compare it with a coin you know is silver. Silver conducts heat better than any other metal, so ice melts noticeably faster on it. Copper and aluminum also conduct heat well, so a fast melt does not prove a coin is silver, but a slow melt is a good sign it is not.

Common home checks are reading the hallmark or stamp, a magnet test (gold is not magnetic), weighing and measuring the piece against official specifications, a water-displacement density test (gold is about 19.3 g/cm3), a ceramic scratch test that leaves a gold-colored streak, and, for scrap jewelry only, acid test kits. Each has limits and none is conclusive alone, so have anything valuable tested in person.

Weigh the item in grams in air, then weigh it again while it hangs on a thread fully submerged in water without touching the sides or bottom. Density equals the weight in air divided by the difference between the two weights. Pure gold is about 19.3 g/cm3, pure silver about 10.5, 90% silver about 10.3 and copper about 9.0. You need a scale accurate to 0.01 gram, and because tungsten is almost as dense as gold (19.25), a home density test cannot fully rule out a tungsten-filled fake.

Acid tests are meant for scrap jewelry, not coins. The test scratches the piece and applies nitric acid, which permanently marks the item and is corrosive and dangerous without gloves, eye protection and ventilation. Never scratch or acid-test a coin that could have collector value, because even a small mark can destroy much of its value. Have coins evaluated by weighing, measuring and inspection instead.

Yes. Fakes can be non-magnetic base metals, plated coins or tungsten-filled pieces that match gold almost exactly in density. Layer several checks: the hallmark or date, exact weight, diameter and thickness compared with the mint specification, edge and detail quality, the ping and magnet slide tests, and density. Buy from reputable dealers and have anything valuable tested in person.

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers read the metals in an item without damaging it and are widely used by dealers and refiners. They analyze the surface layer, so thick plating can mislead them, which is why professionals combine XRF with weighing and measuring.

No. Gold is soft and can show a bite mark, but so do lead and other soft metals, and biting a coin can chip your teeth and damage the coin. Skip it and use weight, density, magnet and professional testing instead.

Do not assume it is fake or worthless. Damage, wear, plating, unusual alloys and simple test error can all produce odd results. Bring it in and we will look at it in person and tell you plainly what it is.

JP Ford Coin and Currency in Longs, South Carolina, buys gold and silver coins, bullion, jewelry and sterling for customers throughout the Myrtle Beach area. You can walk in, book an appraisal at the shop or ask us to come to you, and we explain how we arrived at our number. See how we buy gold and silver, or our silver buying page.

Start with the melt value: multiply the coin's precious-metal weight from the tables on this page by the current spot price. Then check whether the date, mint mark or condition make it a collectible worth more than melt. If you would rather have it done for you, bring the coins in and we will go through them with you at no charge and with no obligation to sell.

No. Banks and coin-counting machines pay face value, so a silver quarter is worth 25 cents to them, and once it goes through the machine it is gone. A coin dealer values the metal and any collector value, so take old coins to a dealer before spending or depositing them.

Keep them dry and cool in inert, PVC-free holders, flips, capsules or tubes, handle them by the edges, and never clean them. Keep silver away from sulfur sources such as rubber bands and some papers, which speed tarnish, and keep the original packaging and paperwork with bullion coins.