Junk Silver Calculator: How to Value Coins, Dimes, and 800 Silver (2026)

Calculate worn 90% US dimes, quarters, and halves with the 0.715 shortcut. Separate silver dollars and 40% halves; value 800 silver by verified weight.

Junk silver describes circulated silver coins traded mainly for their metal content. Identify denomination and date before calculating: pre-1965 US dimes, quarters, and half dollars are 90% silver, but not every old US coin contains silver.

The Silver Calculator uses a price you enter manually in USD per troy ounce. Its default is a labeled example. All $32 prices in this guide are hypothetical, not a statement of today's market.

The 0.715 Face-Value Shortcut#

For ordinary worn 90% US dimes, quarters, and half dollars:

Estimated fine silver (troy oz) = Face value in dollars × 0.715
Estimated melt value = Estimated fine silver × Entered price

The 0.715 factor already represents fine silver, so do not multiply by 0.90 again. It is a trading estimate that allows for circulation wear, not a guaranteed assay of a particular bag. APMEX uses this convention for its average-circulated 90% coin lots.

At the hypothetical $32 price, $50 face contains an estimated 35.75 fine troy ounces and has a melt estimate of $1,144.00.

Original mint weights imply about 0.7234 fine troy ounces per dollar face for these denominations. Heavily worn coins may contain less than the 0.715 estimate. For a weight-based calculation, use actual alloy grams × 0.90 ÷ 31.1034768.

Exclude Morgan and Peace dollars, 40% Kennedy halves, war nickels, bullion, and foreign coins from this shortcut. Their silver content per face dollar differs.

Separate Coin Types Before Valuing a Lot#

The US Mint's 1965 release documents the 40% half dollar and removal of silver from circulating dimes and quarters. Its 1971 release explains the later change to copper-nickel halves; 1970 silver halves were issued in collector sets.

Later collector issues need separate identification. Some later silver coins are proof and some are uncirculated; a mint mark or a date alone does not prove composition.

Silver Dime Values by Count#

A silver dime's original 2.50-gram alloy weight contains 2.25 grams of fine silver. This is approximately 0.07234 fine troy ounces. At the hypothetical $32 price, one has about $2.31 in metal.

For worn bags, 50 qualifying dimes have $5 face value, giving a 0.715-based estimate of 3.575 fine troy ounces or $114.40 at $32. Do not mix a worn-bag estimate with unworn per-coin weights without labeling the difference.

The US coin melt guide covers coin weights and the dollar exception.

Calculate 800 Silver by Alloy Weight#

800 fineness means 80% silver. Do not assign that purity from a country name, age, or appearance. Read and verify the actual mark or assay.

Melt value = Alloy grams × 0.800 ÷ 31.1034768 × Price

For an illustrative 42-gram 800-silver spoon at $32, the calculation gives $34.57. The same alloy weight at 925 purity gives $39.97. These are metal-content estimates before fees.

The FTC guide explains sterling markings. For other grades, see the silver price per gram guide.

Compare Offers, Premiums, and Collector Value#

Melt value is neither a guaranteed floor nor a maximum sale price. Coins can have premiums for collectible or bullion demand; a scrap offer may be below melt after buyer costs. There is no universal dealer payout percentage.

Record each buyer's net offer after fees and divide by the same melt estimate. Check dates, mint marks, condition, and comparable completed sales before agreeing to treat a coin as scrap.