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Silver Coin Melt Value Calculator
Enter how many silver coins you have, or the face value of your junk silver, to see what the metal is worth at today's silver price. No signup.
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Melt value
$0.00
0 troy oz of pure silver
Metal value only, before any dealer spread. Scarce dates and high grades can be worth much more.
How the calculator works
The melt value of a silver coin is its pure silver content times the silver spot price. The calculator loads today's price, adds up the silver in every row you fill in, from a single Mercury dime to a bag of junk silver, and shows the total as you type. You can type over the spot price with your own figure.
The junk silver row works from face value. Worn 90% coins have lost a little metal, so the trade uses about 0.715 troy ounces per $1 of face instead of the 0.7234 a brand-new set of coins would hold. For larger lots, the junk silver calculator handles 90%, 40% and war-nickel face value separately.
Silver content of common U.S. coins
| Coin | Which coins | Silver (troy oz) |
|---|---|---|
| 90% "junk" silver | Worn dimes, quarters and halves, 1964 and earlier | 0.7150 per $1 |
| Silver dime | Mercury or Roosevelt · 1964 and earlier (90%) | 0.0723 |
| Silver quarter | Washington · 1932–1964 (90%) | 0.1808 |
| Silver half dollar | Walking Liberty, Franklin, 1964 Kennedy (90%) | 0.3617 |
| 40% Kennedy half | 1965–1970 (40%) | 0.1479 |
| Morgan or Peace dollar | 1878–1935 (90%) | 0.7734 |
| War nickel | 1942–1945, large mint mark (35%) | 0.0563 |
| 40% Eisenhower dollar | S-mint collector coins (40%) | 0.3163 |
| American Silver Eagle | 1 oz .999 fine bullion | 1.0000 |
The cutoff is 1964. The Coinage Act of 1965 took silver out of circulating dimes and quarters and cut the half dollar to 40% silver through 1970. Not sure about a coin? The Is My Coin Silver? checker works by denomination and year.
Value and melt by coin
Each page below covers one coin: its silver content, key dates worth more than melt, and live melt value.
- Morgan Dollar Value
- Peace Silver Dollar Value
- Silver Dollar Value
- Silver Quarter Value
- Silver Dime Value
- Mercury Dime Value
- Silver Half Dollar Value
- Kennedy Half Dollar Value
- Franklin Half Dollar Value
- Walking Liberty Half Dollar Value
- War Nickel Value
- Eisenhower Silver Dollar Value
Before you sell
Melt value is the number a dealer's offer starts from. Put any offer into the Coin Offer Checker to see where it sits against the metal value. If you have key dates, proofs or graded coins, melt understates them: compare coin dealers near you who buy collections, and read how to sell a coin collection before you go.
Questions
How do you calculate the melt value of a silver coin?
Multiply the coin's pure silver content in troy ounces by the silver spot price. A 90% silver quarter holds 0.1808 troy oz, so at $60 silver its melt value is $10.85.
What is junk silver and how much silver is in it?
Junk silver is common-date, circulated U.S. dimes, quarters and halves from 1964 and earlier that carry no collector premium. The usual rule of thumb is about 0.715 troy ounces of silver per $1 of face value, allowing for wear.
How much is a 90% silver quarter or dime worth in melt value?
A silver quarter holds 0.1808 troy oz and a silver dime 0.0723 troy oz. At $60 silver that is $10.85 and $4.34; enter your counts above for today's price.
Should I sell my coins for melt value?
Melt value is the floor, the worth of the metal alone. Key dates, rare mint marks, errors and high-grade coins can be worth far more, so have anything unusual checked before you sell it as silver.
Sources: CoinWeek, silver content of U.S. coins · MetalCharts junk silver guide (0.715 oz per $1 face) · American Silver Eagle (Wikipedia) · Coinage Act of 1965. Updated 2026-10-09.