How to Sell Junk Silver in Dallas
Junk silver is circulated U.S. coinage bought for its silver: dimes, quarters and halves dated 1964 or earlier (90% silver), 1965 to 1970 Kennedy halves (40%) and 1942 to 1945 war nickels (35%). Each $1 face of 90% coins holds about 0.715 troy ounces of silver. In Dallas, sell to a buyer who counts and weighs it in front of you and prices from today's spot.
What junk silver means
'Junk' is dealer slang, not an insult. It means common, circulated silver coins that trade for their metal rather than as collector pieces. Until 1965, U.S. dimes, quarters and half dollars were struck in 90% silver and 10% copper. Silver prices rose, the Mint switched to copper-nickel clad coins, and people began pulling the old silver out of circulation. Decades later those coins still sit in jars, bank bags and coin rolls across Dallas.
Because the coins are a known size and purity, they work like small, trusted silver bullion. Buyers do not need to test or assay them. They count the face value, confirm the dates, and price the lot from the day's silver market.
Silver content by coin and year
The table shows the coins that count as junk silver and the silver in one coin when it was new. Worn coins weigh slightly less, which is why the trade uses a rounded figure for a full dollar of face.
| Coin | Years | Silver | Troy oz of silver in one new coin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barber, Mercury and Roosevelt dimes | 1892 to 1964 | 90% | 0.0723 |
| Barber, Standing Liberty and Washington quarters | 1892 to 1964 | 90% | 0.1808 |
| Barber, Walking Liberty, Franklin and Kennedy halves | 1892 to 1964 | 90% | 0.3617 |
| Kennedy half dollar | 1965 to 1970 | 40% | 0.1479 |
| Jefferson war nickel (large mint mark over Monticello) | 1942 to 1945 | 35% | 0.0563 |
| Morgan and Peace dollars | 1878 to 1935 | 90% | 0.7734 |
The 0.715 rule and how to count face value
New 90% coins hold about 0.7234 troy ounces of silver per $1 of face. After years in pockets and cash registers, the coins lose a little metal, so dealers use 0.715 troy ounces per $1 of face as the standard for circulated junk silver. A dollar in face is a dollar in face: 10 dimes, 4 quarters or 2 halves and about 0.715 ounces of silver.
Counting is easy. Sort the coins by denomination, then count each pile: dimes times 10 cents, quarters times 25 cents, halves times 50 cents. Add the piles together for total face value. A standard bank roll makes it faster: a roll of 50 dimes is $5 face, a roll of 40 quarters is $10 face, and a roll of 20 halves is $10 face.
Keep 40% halves and war nickels in separate piles. They hold less silver per dollar of face and are priced on their own figures. Silver dollars are priced by the coin, not by face, because nearly all of them carry some collector premium.
| Face value of 90% coins | Approximate silver (troy oz) |
|---|---|
| $1 | 0.715 |
| $5 (one roll of dimes) | 3.58 |
| $10 (one roll of quarters or halves) | 7.15 |
| $100 | 71.5 |
| $1,000 (a classic bag) | 715 |
How buyers price junk silver from spot
Every honest offer on junk silver starts with the same math: face value, times 0.715, times today's silver spot price. That figure is the melt value. The buyer then offers a share of melt, or in strong markets sometimes a bit over it, based on demand for junk silver that week and the cost of reselling it.
Buyers quote this in different ways, which confuses sellers. Some quote a multiple of face value, such as a set number of dollars for each $1 face. Some quote a percentage of spot. Some quote per ounce of silver content. All three can describe the same deal. Ask the buyer to show the math in one format so you can compare apples to apples.
Because silver moves every trading day, an offer is tied to the price at the moment it is written. A quote you got last week does not hold today, up or down.
- Face value times 0.715 equals troy ounces of silver.
- Ounces times spot equals melt value.
- The offer is melt adjusted for current demand and resale cost.
- Ask to see the math written out before you agree.
Why some 'junk' coins are worth more than melt
A bag of junk silver can hide coins that collectors want. Before any lot is priced by face, each coin should be checked for date, mint mark and condition. The ones that commonly turn up with a premium include:
- Scarce dates such as the 1916-D Mercury dime and the 1932-D and 1932-S Washington quarters.
- Barber dimes, quarters and halves (1892 to 1916) in better than worn condition.
- Standing Liberty quarters with a full, readable date.
- Early Walking Liberty halves from 1916 to 1921 and better-date Mercury dimes.
- Any coin with little or no wear, such as original bank rolls of uncirculated coins.
- Proof coins from 1950 to 1964 and complete silver proof sets in their original packaging.
- Errors such as off-center strikes or doubled dates.
Where to sell junk silver in Dallas
You have the usual options: a local coin buyer, a pawn shop, a jewelry store, a mail-in buyer, an online marketplace or a hotel buying event. The pick that works best for most people is a local coin buyer who sorts and counts in front of you and puts the offer in writing. You see every step, nothing ships across the country, and better dates get pulled out instead of lumped in with melt.
Pawn shops and jewelry stores sometimes price silver coins by weight like scrap, which can miss the collector coins entirely. Online sales mean shipping, fees and the risk of a buyer dispute. Hotel buying events come and go in a few days and leave you no one to call if something feels wrong later.
Want a real number?
See how we handle selling coins in Dallas, or call (469) 754-8608 for a free appraisal.
Selling junk silver in Dallas
Junk silver is one of the most common things Dallas sellers bring us, and the stories behind it are often the same. Someone's parent ran a business, worked a register or drove a delivery route in the 1960s and set aside every silver coin that came through. Those coins went into coffee cans, cigar boxes or canvas bank bags and stayed in a hall closet in Lakewood or a bedroom dresser in Kessler Park for fifty years. Other lots come from people who bought bags of silver in the 1980s or after 2008 as savings and now want to cash out.
Here is how a sale works with us. We count the face value with you, sort the 90% coins from the 40% halves and war nickels, and look through for better dates before anything is priced as melt. Our scale, inspected by the Texas Department of Agriculture, weighs the silver, and our XRF reader can confirm metal content on screen if any coin looks off. The offer is tied to the live spot price at that moment, written out so you can see face value, ounces and price.
Texas law requires us to record a photo ID, so bring a driver's license or state ID. Say yes and you are paid before you leave, by cash or check, or by wire when the sale is large. If you decide to wait for a better silver price, you take all of it home along with our written count, so you can track the value yourself.
Do not bother rolling or cleaning the coins first. Loose, dirty or mixed is fine, and so are bank bags with a teller's old paper wrappers still inside. If you have several thousand dollars in face value, call ahead so we can set aside enough time to count it properly, or ask about a home appointment for a large estate. Call (469) 754-8608 to book a free appraisal and get a written offer on your junk silver, with no obligation to sell.