Junk silver is the informal term for older US coins with no collector premium, valued purely for their silver content. Dimes, quarters, and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier are 90% silver. Half dollars dated 1965 through 1970 are 40% silver. Nickels and cents from the same period are not silver, aside from 1942 to 1945 wartime nickels, which are about 35% silver and identifiable by a large mint mark above Monticello's dome.

How is sterling silver flatware valued?

Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver, marked .925 or "sterling" on most American and European pieces. A buyer weighs a set on a scale, applies the .925 purity fraction, and prices the resulting pure silver weight against the current spot price, minus a margin. Hollow handles filled with cement or resin, common in some flatware knives, weigh less silver than they appear to and are typically discounted or excluded from the weighed total.

Is silver bullion worth more than junk silver coins?

Per ounce of actual silver content, bullion bars and rounds (typically .999 fine) and 90% junk silver coins trade very close to each other, since both are priced mainly off melt value. Junk silver coins sometimes carry a small edge because their date and mint marks are verifiable at a glance, while unbranded bullion sometimes requires more scrutiny to confirm purity.

Can an old silver coin be worth more than its melt value?

Yes. Key dates within a series, coins in exceptional uncirculated condition, and original proof or mint sets can be worth well beyond their silver content to a collector. Before selling a mixed lot of old silver coins as junk silver, it is worth a quick check against a price guide for any dates that stand out, since those are best sold individually rather than melted in with the rest.

Selling Silver in Arlington, Texas

Selling Silver in Arlington, Texas usually involves one of three categories: junk silver coins, sterling silver flatware or holloware, or investment bullion. Each is weighed and priced a little differently, and knowing which category your silver falls into is the fastest way to understand what a fair offer should look like.

Junk Silver: Old US Coins Valued for Their Silver

"Junk silver" is not a description of quality, it simply means older US coins that are valued for their silver content rather than as collectibles. The rule most Arlington sellers need is straightforward:

Dimes, quarters, and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier are 90% silver.
Half dollars dated 1965 through 1970 are 40% silver (the Kennedy half dollar's silver content was reduced that year and phased out entirely after).
Nickels and cents from this era are not silver, with the single exception of 1942 to 1945 wartime nickels, which are roughly 35% silver and marked with a large mint mark above Monticello on the reverse.

Sorting circulated change and inherited jars by date is the single fastest way to find silver hiding in plain sight, since anything dated 1964 or earlier in those denominations carries real silver value well above face.

Sterling Flatware and Holloware

Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver alloyed with other metals for strength, and it is typically marked ".925" or "sterling" somewhere on the piece. When selling a set, a buyer weighs the pieces on a scale and applies that 92.5% purity fraction to find the actual silver weight, then prices it against spot. One wrinkle worth knowing: many flatware knives, and some other hollow-handled pieces, are weighted with cement or another filler inside the handle to add heft and balance. That filler is not silver and is typically subtracted or excluded from the weighed total, so a full flatware set with several knives often weighs less pure silver than its total weight on a kitchen scale would suggest.

Bullion Bars and Rounds

Bullion bars and rounds from recognized mints or refiners are almost always .999 fine silver, meaning 99.9% pure. These trade closest to the raw spot price of any silver category, generally with a smaller premium than junk silver or flatware, since purity is standardized and does not need to be assessed piece by piece.

How Melt Value Is Actually Computed

The same three-step math applies across all three categories: weight, purity, and the current spot price.

Weigh the item in grams or troy ounces (a troy ounce equals about 31.1 grams).
Multiply by the purity fraction (0.90 for pre-1965 coins, 0.40 for 1965 to 1970 halves, 0.925 for sterling, roughly 0.999 for bullion) to find actual silver content.
Multiply that silver weight by the current spot price, then subtract the buyer's margin to arrive at an offer.

Silver spot prices move throughout each trading day. A neutral reference such as Kitco publishes live spot prices, which is a useful check right before selling.

When a Coin Is Worth More Than Melt

Junk silver pricing assumes a coin has no collector premium, which is true for the vast majority of worn, common-date circulated silver. It is not true for every coin. Key dates within a series, coins that have survived in exceptional uncirculated condition, and original proof or mint sets can be worth substantially more to a collector than their silver content alone. Before selling a large batch of old silver coins purely by weight, it is worth a quick scan for anything that looks unusually well preserved or matches a known key date. Our key date coins guide and the PCGS Price Guide are both good places to check before you sell.

For the broader picture on how any coin's value is determined, see our coin values guide, and for how the sale itself typically works, our guide to selling coins in Arlington covers local options, offers, and questions worth asking a buyer.