Pre-1965 silver coins: what they are worth
US dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier are 90% silver, so even worn ones are worth their silver content, which is many times face value. Value = silver weight × today's silver price, plus a premium for scarce dates or high grades.
Reviewed October 15, 2026
Key facts
| Dime (1964 and earlier) | 90% silver, 2.5 g, 0.0723 troy oz silver |
|---|---|
| Quarter (1964 and earlier) | 90% silver, 6.25 g, 0.1808 troy oz silver |
| Half dollar (1964 and earlier) | 90% silver, 12.5 g, 0.3617 troy oz silver |
| Kennedy half 1965–1970 | 40% silver, 11.5 g, 0.1479 troy oz silver |
| War nickel 1942–1945 | 35% silver, 5 g, 0.0563 troy oz silver |
How to identify yours
- Check the date. Dimes, quarters and halves dated 1964 or earlier are 90% silver.
- Look at the edge. Silver coins show a solid silver edge; later clad coins show a copper stripe.
- For nickels dated 1942 to 1945, look for a large mint mark above Monticello on the back. That marks a silver war nickel.
- Multiply the coin's silver weight by today's silver spot price to get its melt value.
Which ones are worth more
- Key dates
- Scarce dates such as some early Mercury dimes and Walking Liberty halves sell well above melt.
- Uncirculated coins
- Coins with full original luster and no wear can carry a large premium over silver value.
- Errors and varieties
- Doubled dies and other mint errors interest collectors, but need close inspection.
What most are worth
Most circulated pre-1965 silver coins trade close to their melt value. Dealers often call them junk silver and buy them by face value, at a multiple that follows the silver price.
Tips before you sell
- Check today's silver price before you sell.
- Look through dates before selling a lot as junk silver, so key dates are not sold at melt.
- Compare offers from two or three coin dealers.
- Never clean the coins. Cleaning removes collector value.
Why so many of these exist
The United States removed silver from its circulating dimes and quarters after 1964 because the metal in the coins had become worth more than the coins themselves. Rising silver prices meant that every dime in circulation contained silver that the market valued above ten cents, and the predictable consequence followed: people pulled them out of circulation and held them. The Coinage Act of 1965 replaced the silver with a copper-nickel sandwich, and the half dollar was reduced to forty per cent silver before losing it entirely a few years later.
That single change is why this question comes up so often. An enormous quantity of silver coinage was struck before the cut-off and a great deal of it was saved in jars, bags and coffee tins by people who understood exactly what was happening. Those hoards are now being inherited, and the person inheriting them generally has no idea whether they are looking at pocket change or at metal.
The answer is almost always metal. The silver in these coins gives them a floor that moves with the market every day, and for circulated examples of common dates that floor is also the ceiling. Dealers buy them in bulk by face value at a multiple that tracks the silver price, which is where the trade term junk silver comes from — junk meaning only that the coins have no collector premium, not that they are worthless.
What condition means here
- Heavily circulated
- Dates readable, design worn smooth in the centres. These sell at melt, full stop. There is no condition premium to chase and no point having them graded.
- Moderately circulated
- Major design elements clear, high points worn. Still melt for common dates, but this is the condition in which a key date starts to be worth noticeably more than its silver.
- Lightly circulated
- Most detail present with wear only on the highest points. Common dates still track silver; scarcer dates begin to attract collector interest and a real premium.
- Uncirculated
- No wear at all, with original mint lustre intact. Here the collector market takes over from the metal market entirely and the price can be many multiples of melt, which is why these are worth separating before any bulk sale.
Traps specific to this one
Every well-known collectable attracts its own fakes and its own misunderstandings. These are the ones that come up again and again with this item.
- Selling the whole jar at melt
- Bulk buyers weigh rather than sort. A key date or an uncirculated coin sold by the pound is the most common loss in this category.
- Confusing 40% halves with 90%
- Kennedy halves from 1965 to 1970 are forty per cent silver and contain well under half the silver of a 1964 half. They look identical at a glance and are routinely priced wrongly.
- Missing the war nickels
- Nickels from 1942 to 1945 with a large mint mark above Monticello contain thirty-five per cent silver. Ordinary nickels contain none, and the two sit together in every jar.
- Cleaning before selling
- A cleaned silver coin still sells at melt, so nothing is gained, and if it happened to be a key date the cleaning has just destroyed the premium.
How to read the sold listings
When you look at live sold listings for junk silver, compare like with like by face value rather than by the number of coins, since a bag of dimes and a bag of halves with the same face value contain the same silver. Check the date each lot sold, because the silver price moves and a sale from three months ago reflects a different market. Ignore listings that bundle in collectable dates, and watch for lots that quietly include forty per cent halves, which drag the average silver content down.
Estimate yours from a photo
Upload your own coin for an estimate based on what the photos show.
Example estimate
Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera
$190
Usually sells for $120 – $320
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Common questions
Are 1965 quarters silver?
No. Dimes and quarters from 1965 onward are copper-nickel clad. Only the Kennedy half dollar kept some silver (40%) from 1965 to 1970.
What is junk silver?
Circulated 90% silver coins with no collector premium. They are traded for their silver content.
How do I calculate melt value?
Multiply the troy ounces of silver in the coin by the current silver price. A 1964 quarter holds about 0.1808 troy oz.