Coin tools
Silver coin years: is my coin silver?
Choose the coin and type its date. The tool says whether that date was struck in silver, how much pure silver it holds and what that is worth today.
Is my coin silver?
Quarter dated 1965
no silver
| Metal | Copper-nickel clad quarter |
| Pure silver | none |
| Metal value | 8.3¢ |
Only the collector value of a scarce date or variety can lift it above face value.
The rule for US circulating coins is short. Dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier are 90% silver and 10% copper, and so are the Morgan and Peace silver dollars. Half dollars dated 1965 to 1970 are 40% silver overall. Nickels struck from October 1, 1942 to the end of 1945 hold 35% silver and carry a large mint mark above Monticello. Every other circulating coin, including every dime and quarter dated 1965 or later, contains no silver, apart from special collector issues. The weights and alloys come from the Bureau of the Mint’s 1981 tables. At $53.94 an ounce, the price read on October 27, 2026, a 90% silver quarter holds metal worth about $9.76, a 40% half about $8.08 and a wartime nickel about $3.08. The tool above answers for any coin and date, and the edge of the coin confirms it in a second.
How much are my silver quarters worth?
Melt value of 4 coins
$39.06
| One coin | $9.76 |
| Face value | $1 |
| Pure silver | 0.723 troy oz |
At silver $53.94 per troy oz (last price read).
Mintages, metals and prices read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The silver years, coin by coin
| Coin | Silver years | Silver share | Pure silver per coin | Metal value today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dime | 1964 and earlier | 90% | 0.0723 oz | $3.91 |
| Quarter | 1964 and earlier | 90% | 0.1808 oz | $9.76 |
| Half dollar | 1964 and earlier | 90% | 0.3617 oz | $19.53 |
| Half dollar | 1965 to 1970 | 40% | 0.1479 oz | $8.08 |
| Silver dollar | Morgan and Peace, to 1935 | 90% | 0.7735 oz | $41.76 |
| Nickel | October 1942 to 1945 | 35% | 0.0563 oz | $3.08 |
Two details catch people out. First, coins dated 1964 kept being struck in 1965 and early 1966, so the date, not the year of striking, is what matters. Second, the Eisenhower dollars struck at San Francisco for collectors from 1971 were 40% silver, while those made for circulation were copper-nickel. The tool above offers both metals where the date allows both.
Why the silver disappeared
The Coinage Act of 1965 replaced silver in the dime and quarter with a sandwich of copper-nickel outer layers bonded to a pure copper core, and cut the half dollar to 40% silver; the specifications still in force are set out in 31 U.S.C. 5112. The half lost its silver from 1971. Today a clad quarter weighs 5.67 grams and contains about 8.3¢ of copper and nickel.
The last silver coins were the most numerous
Coins dated 1964 are the easiest silver to find, because the Mint struck them in enormous numbers and kept the date on the dies into 1966. The Bureau of the Mint tables count 544,470,762 quarters dated 1964 from Philadelphia and 704,135,528 from Denver, and 277,254,766 and 156,205,446 half dollars from the same two mints. A 1964 coin is therefore silver but almost never scarce: its value is its metal unless it is in exceptional condition. Older silver coins were struck in far smaller numbers, and among them the dates worth more than their silver are found.
How to tell silver from clad in hand
- Read the date. It settles almost every case.
- Look at the edge. A copper stripe means clad. A uniform gray edge means silver, or a 40% half whose stripe is only faintly visible.
- Weigh it. A 90% quarter weighs 6.25 grams against 5.67 for a clad one; a 90% dime 2.50 grams against 2.27.
The small tool below counts the silver in any number of 90% quarters, the most common silver coin found in old jars and drawers.
How much are my silver quarters worth?
Melt value of 4 coins
$39.06
| One coin | $9.76 |
| Face value | $1 |
| Pure silver | 0.723 troy oz |
At silver $53.94 per troy oz (last price read).
What silver content means for value
Silver sets a floor. A 90% coin is worth at least its metal, and common dates in worn condition trade close to that value; the junk silver page explains how they are counted by face value. A scarce date, or a coin that never circulated, can be worth much more, so read the mint mark and date in the coin value checker before selling anything by weight.
Silver coins are not covered by the melting and export ban of 31 CFR Part 82, which concerns only pennies and nickels and itself exempts the wartime silver nickels.