Hal A. writes: I read that if silver is $20/oz , 90% silver are worth about 15x’s their face value. My question is when silver goes to $25/oz (or whatever amount), how do I calculate (do the math) to see how much my coins are worth. I hope you can answer this. It is important to me. Thank You Very Much
Pre-1965 90% silver coins are traded in “bag” quantities of $1000 face value. The prices of these units have a bid/ask wholesale price just like any other bullion item. The buy or sell prices are usually a small percentage above or below these prices depending on whether you are buying or selling. Though the bag price is related to the spot silver price, the premium varies with market demand as well as the price of silver futures (one of the sources of the quoted price of silver you hear on the radio).
What does the spot price represent? The quoted silver price is a survey of what 1000 troy oz. Comex deliverable silver bars are trading for in the market – not the price of worn silver dimes or quarters. Interestingly enough, while the coins usually bring a higher price than their silver content, more recently, as silver’s price has fluctuated wildly, the market price for 90% coins has often been at a discount to silver’s spot price
Below is a listing of the silver content of U. S. silver coins that are sold in bag quantities. Multiply the decimal number against the price of silver to get the value of the metal content.
- War Nickels (large mint mark above Monticello 1942-45) – .05626
- Dimes (pre 1965)Â – .07234
- Quarters (pre 1965)Â – .18084
- Half Dollars (pre 1965)Â – .36169
- Half Dollars (1965-70)Â – .14792
- Silver Dollars (1878-1935)Â – .77344
See: U.S. Silver Coins: When they ended and what they’re worth.
