US Silver Coin Melt Calculator

The U.S. spot silver price was last updated on 10/6/2017 5:59:25 PM EST.

An important fact to remember about the US Silver Coin Melt Calculator is it measures a coin or coins silver value content, not its numismatic value. Rare or better conditioned coins will always exceed their silver melt value.

Coins sold or purchased for their intrinsic or melt value alone are often referred to as "junk silver coins," and are typically composed of 90 percent silver. A few samplings of such coins are shown above in the block of eBay auctions.

As must be realized, the value of these coins -- since they have no real worth to collectors because they are not rare or have poor quality due to their wear, can change daily depending on the silver market.

For example, at the very end of 2009 the price of silver was often quoted at $17 an ounce. Using that price and the melt calculator above, a silver 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar had calculated melt value of $6.15. That is pretty impressive for a coin that could be found in every day change, and was only worth 50 cents back in 1964. However, silver prices topped $23 an ounce during the first week of October 2010. Placing $23 in the coin melt calculator shows that the Kennedy Half Dollar's intrinsic value then jumped to $8.32 -- more than $2 in 10 months.

Of course, junk silver coins are not only affected by the daily price of silver, but also by demand. Finding bags and rolls of US 90 percent silver coins can be difficult at times, especially when silver prices are moving higher. During those times, coin and precious metals dealers have to pay more to acquire them, and they will also charge more when selling them. Therefore, the bid/ask spread for such transactions can be fluid.