Is Junk Silver Really Junk???

The more time I spend in the @steemsilvergold community, the more I realize that many of my new stacking friends are not in the U.S. So when I and others discuss “Junk” silver, I need to remember that not everyone might know what we’re talking about. Here is the skinny on “Junk Silver”

Real Money
There was a time when U.S. coinage actually contained silver. Prior to 1965, all dimes, quarters and half dollars were comprised of 90% silver and 10% copper. The Coinage Act of 1965 (Wikipedia) eliminated almost all silver from U.S. coinage (half dollars contained 40% silver until 1969). U.S. Silver Dollars also contained silver, but the minting of silver dollars ended in 1935.

Here are the measurements of silver per coin:

Dollar:...........................................0.77344 oz.
Half Dollar (’64 and before):...........0.36169 oz.
Half Dollar (’65 thru ‘69):................0.14792 oz.
Quarter (’64 and before):................0.18084 oz.
Dime (’64 and before):....................0.07234 oz.

*One thing to note, these are the official weights of the coins at the time of minting, and does not account for wear and tear of the coin due to circulation. Older coins tend to weigh less due to significant wear.

So Why Call It Junk
The term “junk” has nothing to do with the value of the silver in the coin. The term was actually coined (no pun intended) by numismatic collectors to denote that the coin has no value as a collectable. They could have just as easily called them “common” or “ordinary” coins, but I guess there’s a little bit of smug superiority labeling these beautiful coins “junk”.

I’m Melting
Since these coins are not collectable, their value is derived by the “melt value”. The term "melt value" does not imply the melting of the coin, it's a definition of the coins intrinsic value or worth.

Gimme a Bag
When purchasing junk silver, you can purchase loose coins (usually some odd number), purchase by the roll (50 dimes per roll - $5 face value, 40 quarters per roll - $10 face value, or 20 halves per roll – face value $10 face value), or purchase by the “bag”. A “bag” of junk silver is $1,000 face value (that equals 10,000 dimes, 4,000 quarters, or 2,000 halves). A standard “bag” of coins should weigh about 755 ounces and contain 715 ounces of silver. That number is rounded down from the 721 ounces to account for at least some wear.

Buyer Beware
Some unscrupulous coin dealers will sell a “bag” of heavily worn coins. Although their face value is equal to $1,000, the coins are so worn that the actual weight of the bag is far less than 755 oz. That’s like opening a bag of potato chips to find out the bag is mostly full of air!

I hope this was helpful.