Silver Coin Values Shocking As Silver Prices Hit Highs

Coin News ^ | 04/21/2011 | Mike Unser

[SeekAndFind]

As silver prices continue to push for new 31-year highs and strive for an all-time record, silver coin values have blasted off for common coins once worth just 5, 10, 25 or 50 cents.

It is difficult to imagine that a 50-cent piece with mintages in the tens of millions is worth nearly $17, or that a worn out nickel is valued at more than $2.50. But they are, thanks to silver prices that have jumped 172 percent since the end of 2009.

Coins with 90 percent silver include dimes, quarters and half dollars that were minted before 1965. These are now worth an amazing amount of money today. For example, a Kennedy half dollar was exchanged at face value in 1964. Its melt value now is $16.73, based on the London fix price of silver Thursday at $46.26 an ounce.

Prizes are available even for collectors who bought the numismatic versions of the Eisenhower dollar which were minted in 40 percent silver between 1971 and 1976. Their values as a collector piece did not pan out for most as general interest in the coins waned, but today they are worth $14.62, far more than what the United States Mint charged its customers at the time.

The following table provides coin melt values for several coins based on the silver price of $46.26 an ounce. To learn more about each coin, click on the provided links.

Melt Values of Older Silver Coins

Silver Coin Type	Year of Issue	Face Values	Silver Coin Values
Jefferson Nickel	1942-1945	$0.05	$2.60
Mercury Dime	1916-1945	$0.10	$3.35
Roosevelt Dime	1946-1964	$0.10	$3.35
Washington Quarter	1932-1964	$0.25	$8.37
Walking Liberty 50c	1916-1947	$0.50	$16.73
Franklin Half Dollar	1948-1963	$0.50	$16.73
Kennedy Half Dollar	1964	$0.50	$16.73
Kennedy Half Dollar	1965-1970	$0.50	$6.84
Morgan Dollar	1878-1921	$1.00	$35.78
Peace Dollar	1921-1935	$1.00	$35.78
Eisenhower Dollar	1971-1976	$1.00	$14.62

 

There are a few important things to keep in mind when looking at coin melt values. First of all, the values are purely melt based. Older coins that have special interest to coin collectors can easily command exceptional high prices. Coins that do not — the vast majority of those from the dates above — are often referred to as "junk silver coins." Also, the above figures are based on the amount of silver in the coin when it was originally struck by the United States Mint. It does not take into account any wear and tear that a coin may have received during its life, which could result in a slightly lower silver content.

Modern Silver Coin Values

While few coin collectors would consider melting modern numismatic issues like commemorative coins, their melt values have soared as well. So much so that the United States Mint currently has its only four silver sets suspended, awaiting price adjustments to better match the new level of silver prices.

The best example of rising coin values is the 2010-dated America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set. The United States Mint issued the set on May 27 for a price of $32.95. Each of the five quarters are composed of 90 percent silver, giving them a total silver weight of 0.904 ounces. Its melt value on release day was $16.70. The set today has a melt value of $41.83. That is $8.88 more than the Mint’s initial price.

The following table shows how modern coin melt values have changed for United States Mint silver coins and sets between their issue date and Thursday.

Melt Values for Modern Silver Coins

Silver Coins or Set	Issue Date	Release Prices	Melt Values (Issue Date)	Melt Values (April 21)
2011 Medal of Honor Uncirculated	Feb. 25, 2011	$49.95	$25.45	$35.78
2011 Medal of Honor Proof	Feb. 25, 2011	$54.95
2011 U.S. Army Uncirculated	Jan. 31, 2011	$49.95	$21.79
2011 U.S. Army Proof	Jan. 31, 2011	$54.95
2011 Silver Proof Set	Jan. 25, 2011	$67.95	$35.88	$61.91
2011 American Silver Eagle	Jan. 3, 2011	n/a	$31.13	$46.26
2011 ATB Silver Quarters	April 1, 2011	$41.95	$34.03	$41.83
2010 ATB Silver Quarters	May 27, 2010	$32.95	$16.70	$41.83
2010 Silver Proof Set	Aug. 26, 2010	$56.95	$25.40	$61.91
(1) 2010 ATB Silver Bullion Coin	Dec. 10, 2010	n/a	$143.95	$231.30
2010 Boy Scouts Uncirculated	Mar. 23, 2010	$35.95	$12.95	$35.78
2010 Boy Scouts Proof	Mar. 23, 2010	$43.95
2010 DAV Uncirculated	Feb. 25, 2010	$35.95	$12.48
2010 DAV Proof	Feb. 25, 2010	$43.95

 

These coins and sets are obviously not purchased to melt down. Their true values are mostly dictated by their numismatic worth. However, secondary market prices for them fluctuate when there are large precious metal price swings.

[Raven6]

The next "good" metal in which to invest? Well, I buy .22 ammo in 550 round boxes every time I get a chance... Besides its usefulness on small game it carries good barter value and is a small enough "denomination" that you do not have to give more value than you should for a required item. When they see me at the ammo counter at Wally World, they know that I want at least 4 of the 550 round boxes. They are then brought home, vacuum sealed, and stored away for future trade/use.

Regards,
Raven6

[cherry]

I picked up 6 Morgan dollars...1890ish...for $18 several weeks ago...I think I’ll sell them tomorrow....will make a little on them....

[cherry]

$18 a piece that is....

what do people think about saving coins for collectors?.....if everyone and their brother are selling gold and silver for their bullion value, then the remaining coins might just skyrocket in price because there are so few left...

[OB1kNOb]

You’re welcome. I’d hang on to it for now. It’s liable to be worth a good bit more in the not to distant future.

[RobRoy]

I like to use this illustration with people: I have a stack of 10 Morgan silver dollars. I let people hold them in their hands and tell them that this is what, when I was in high school (I graduated in 1972) people put into vegas slot machines. They were worth a dollar and they were everywhere. The stack they hold in their hand was worth ten dollars.

Then I tell them that the stack has the same value now as it did then. It will make just as many rolls of film. Just as many electrical connectors, etc. However, people think it is worth more because they compare it to something that has been collapsing in value since 1972: US dollars.

That same stack of silver coins that I could get at the bank in 1972 for 10 dollars will now fetch $415. Think of that. A currency that has collapsed from $10 for the coins to $415 for the coins in less than 40 years. And to make matters worse, most of that collapse has been in the last couple of years. That is called exponential collapse.

And you think the last couple of years were bad? See what the future brings. The fundamentals are all there.

Side note: Compare the profits made by two men, one who bought $10,000 of gold in october of 2008 and the other who bought $10 of junk silver in 2008. The latter has seen his investment increase in value four fold while the former only saw a twofold increase.

And I still think silver is an absolute steal!

[RobRoy]

I’ve bought several proof sets at antique stores for melt value (at the time). I considered the penny and nickel as a free bonus. Oh, and melt value was between $22 and $26 when I bought them all.

I cleaned out the “junk” at an antique mall in Kentucky because he was still valuing it at about $26 melt value while the current price was in the mid-$30 range. I wish I had cleaned it all out. It was only about $450 worth that I actually got, and another $300 or so left, but still...

[RobRoy]

>Hey Grandma, thanks for saving those.<<

My dad quit smoking in 1965. Every time he “would have” bought a pack of smokes he put a half dollar in a jar. I remember him taking out a big wad of them, putting them in a bag, and asking me to put my hand out and see how long I could hold them. It was disgustingly heavy and I couldn’t do it.

My dad and I were discussing silver a few months ago, for obvious reasons, and I found out he STILL has all the silver he bought for those two years after he stopped smoking! But he has been buying junk silver for years now, usually in $1000 face value lots, and always local.

Here’s the funny thing. He was just an electrician for boeing until he retired about fifteen years ago. This silver thing happening right now is pretty cool to him, and he is not even a little surprized. :)

[loboinok]

That’s what I’m thinking.

It’s almost identical to the one you posted BUT... it doesn’t have a date stamped on the shoulder as the others do.

In place of the date, “one TROY ounce” is stamped on the shoulder.

I checked your link as well as 5 or 6 other sites and haven’t been able to find it.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Silver is a very nice way to store wealth but takes up a lot of room.

---

$50,000 in maybe two ammo cans? That’s pretty compact. (But heavy).

[Atlas Sneezed]

At what prices did you sell?

[Atlas Sneezed]

Hint, what do you think the next precious metal to attract attention will be?

---

Platinum. It’s a laggard these days. But not to buy right now.

Looking at the ratio charts, and listening to the conventional wisdom, when gold equals platinum, trade your gold from platinum, because platinum always pulls away from gold soon after parity. A good way to double your holdings in a few years.

[Atlas Sneezed]

My brags are getting 1/2 ton of lead (mostly precast as bullets, with the ideal alloy) for 1/4 of the lead spot price, two years ago. And getting hundreds of pounds of copper, ad once fired cartridge casings in popular calibers, for about 20% of melt value, and out a year ago, at a garage sale).