Coin Silver Melt Value Calculator and Chart
Type how many of each US silver coin you have and today's silver price. The chart shows the silver in one coin and its melt value, and the total updates as you type.
Dimes Quarters Halves Dollars War nickels and bullion Sources
Melt value
$
Enter a price and a quantity.
Sample price, not live.
- Silver content
- troy oz
Melt value = silver content (troy oz) × spot price. Rounded to the cent once, at the end.
Table values marked “each” use the price you enter above. Nothing on this page is a live price.
How the number is worked out
A coin’s melt value is the value of the silver in it, as if it were sold by weight. Each coin in the chart has a published figure for its actual silver weight (ASW), in troy ounces. Multiply by the number of coins, add up the rows, then multiply by the silver price.
melt value = Σ (coins × silver per coin in troy oz) × spot price per troy oz
For example, take 10 dimes. Each holds 0.0723 troy oz of silver, so 10 dimes hold 0.7230 oz. At a sample price of $50.00 per ounce (an example, not today’s price) that is $36.15. Add 4 quarters at 0.1808 oz each, which is 0.7232 oz. Together that is 1.4462 oz, or $36.15 plus $36.16 at the sample price; the calculator adds the ounces first and multiplies by the price once, so rounding errors do not pile up.
| Coin | Fineness | Gross weight (g) | Silver (troy oz) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dime | 90% | 2.50 | 0.0723 |
| Quarter | 90% | 6.25 | 0.1808 |
| Half dollar | 90% | 12.50 | 0.36169 |
| Kennedy half dollar | 40% | 11.50 | 0.1479 |
| Morgan or Peace dollar | 90% | 26.73 | 0.7734 |
| Eisenhower dollar | 40% | 24.59 | 0.3161 |
| War nickel | 35% | 5.00 | 0.0563 |
| American Silver Eagle | 99.9% | 31.101 | 1.000 |
| America the Beautiful 5 oz coin | 99.9% | 155.5 | 5.000 |
The silver figures are the published ones. They come from the gross weight multiplied by the fineness and divided by 31.1035 grams per troy ounce, so a figure can differ from a hand calculation in the last digit. Dollars use 26.73 g at 90%, which is why a Morgan or Peace dollar holds about 0.7734 oz and not the 0.7234 oz you get per $1 of dimes, quarters and halves.
Melt value is not what a dealer pays
Melt value is the value of the metal at the spot price. It is a reference point, not an offer. A dealer usually pays less than melt, because they have costs and need to resell, and some coins sell for more than melt because collectors want them. This site does not buy, sell or give advice on either.
If you have an offer in hand, the dealer offer check shows it as a percentage of melt. For a bag counted by face value, use the junk silver calculator.
Which coins are silver?
US dimes, quarters and half dollars minted through 1964 are 90% silver. Kennedy half dollars dated 1965 to 1970 are 40% silver, and war nickels dated 1942 to 1945 are 35% silver. Later dimes, quarters and nickels do not contain silver. Check the date on the coin and, if you have a scale, its weight; the guide to telling whether a coin is silver has the table.
You may also see the phrase “coin silver”. Besides meaning silver in coins, it can name the 90% alloy itself. Both senses are covered here.
The full list of melt values per coin, per roll and per $1 face is in the silver coin value chart. To see one denomination at a time, use the dime, quarter, half dollar, dollar or war nickel pages. Copper pennies have their own page: copper penny melt value. The method is written out in how to calculate silver melt value.
Sources
- NGC, Coin Melt Values: composition, weight and silver content per coin.
- MetalCharts, Silver Coin Melt Values: cross-check of weights and silver content.