What is Junk Silver & Why Buy It?

Then, there is “Junk” silver.  “Junk” silver is any U.S. dime, quarter or half-dollar minted on or before 1964.   1964 and earlier  dimes, quarters and half-dollars had 90% silver content.  “Junk” is sold by face value of the coin.

The most popular way to buy “Junk” silver is a 55 pound bag.  A 55 pound bag is $1,000 in face value of the coins, but that also equals 715 ounces of silver.  So, for example, a bag of dimes may have a face value of $1,000, but you pay the same as you would if you paid for 715 ounces of silver.  You always pay the spot price of silver plus a premium.  The advantage of buying “Junk” silver is you pay less premium per ounce than a 1 ounce silver coin, but you still have coins.

It is the cheapest way to buy quality silver coins officially minted by the government.

You can also buy “Junk” silver in much smaller increments.  Just remember that $1.50 in change equals about an ounce.  So, 15 dimes of “Junk” silver is an ounce and so on.  This way, you can always figure out how much you are paying per ounce when you buy “Junk” silver.  The most desirable “Junk” from best to least are half-dollars, quarters and dimes.  There are a few later years of coins after 1964 (mostly Kennedy half-dollars)  that had 40% silver, but those are extremely bulky and are the least desirable “Junk” silver coins.