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What year of US coins are silver? Dates, silver content and value

Which US dimes, quarters, half dollars, dollars and nickels contain silver, how much, how to spot them, and what the silver in each is worth at today’s price.

LemonTrades·Guides
A row of coins, four silver and two copper-colored, split by a dashed line.

TL;DR

  • US dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier are 90% silver. Silver dollars through 1935 are 90% silver too.
  • Kennedy half dollars from 1965 to 1970 are 40% silver, and “war nickels” from 1942 to 1945 are 35% silver.
  • Pennies were never silver: a silver-colored 1943 penny is steel. Everyday coins from 1965 on (except those halves) have no silver.
  • LemonTrades follows the silver price for you, with alerts on sharp moves and the likely cause.

Before 1965, US coins were made of real silver. Then silver got too valuable, and the Coinage Act of 1965 switched dimes and quarters to copper-nickel. Here’s every silver coin, and what its silver is worth now.

Which US coins are silver

CoinSilver yearsSilverSilver contentMelt value now
DimeRoosevelt, Mercury, Barber1964 and earlier90%0.0723 oz$–
QuarterWashington, Standing Liberty, Barber1964 and earlier90%0.1808 oz$–
Half dollarKennedy 1964, Franklin, Walking Liberty1964 and earlier90%0.3617 oz$–
Kennedy half dollar1965 to 197040%0.1479 oz$–
Silver dollarMorgan, Peace1878 to 193590%0.7734 oz$–
Eisenhower dollarcollector coins, S mint mark1971 to 197640%0.3161 oz$–
Jefferson “war nickel”big mint mark above Monticellomid-1942 to 194535%0.0563 oz$–
American Silver Eaglebullion1986 to today99.9%1 oz$–

Melt value at the live silver price of $– an ounce, updated every minute. Rare dates and coins in top condition are worth more to collectors than their silver.

How to spot a silver coin

  • Check the date. For dimes, quarters and halves, 1964 or earlier means 90% silver.
  • Look at the edge. Silver coins have a solid silver edge. Coins from 1965 on show a copper stripe between two layers.
  • Listen. Dropped on a table, silver coins ring longer and higher than copper-nickel ones.
  • War nickels have a large P, D or S mint mark above Monticello on the back; 1942-P was the first year a P appeared on US coins.

Coins that aren’t silver

  • Pennies, never silver. The 1943 “silver” penny is zinc-coated steel, and it sticks to a magnet.
  • Dimes and quarters from 1965 on, copper-nickel over copper, except special proof sets.
  • Susan B. Anthony, Sacagawea and presidential dollars: no silver.
  • Bicentennial (1976) coins: only the collector versions with an S mint mark were 40% silver.

Silver proof sets are the exception: since 1992 the US Mint has sold sets with silver dimes, quarters and halves (90% silver through 2018 and 99.9% since 2019).

Selling silver coins

Common circulated silver coins are traded as “junk silver,” by face value and close to the silver price. Dealers usually pay a little under melt value; rare dates go to coin shops or auctions. Prices, bags and taxes are in junk silver. Not sure a piece is silver? See is silver magnetic?

Sources

Education, not financial advice. See our disclaimer.

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