The quickest way to tell if a coin is silver is to look at the edge. A US dime, quarter or half dollar dated 1964 or earlier is 90 percent silver and its edge is solid silver-white all the way around. A coin dated 1965 or later is copper-nickel clad, and the edge shows a copper-colored stripe sandwiched between two thin gray layers. After the edge, the date, the sound and the weight confirm it: silver coins ring with a long, high, bell-like note when balanced on a fingertip and tapped, clad coins give a short dull click, and a silver quarter weighs 6.25 grams against 5.67 grams for a clad one. Half dollars from 1965 to 1970 are a special case at 40 percent silver, and nickels from late 1942 to 1945 with a large mint mark above Monticello are 35 percent silver.
As of late 2026, with silver at about $40 per troy ounce, a 90 percent silver quarter holds about $7 of metal, a dime about $2.90, a half dollar about $14.50 and a silver dollar about $31. Most silver coins found in jars and drawers sell for close to those melt figures, which is still a meaningful multiple of face value.
Quick answer
- US dimes, quarters and halves dated 1964 and earlier: 90 percent silver. Solid white edge, no copper stripe.
- Half dollars 1965 to 1970: 40 percent silver. Nickels 1942 to 1945 with a large mint mark over the dome: 35 percent silver.
- Silver rings high and long when tapped, is never magnetic, and weighs more than the clad version of the same coin.
How to check yours, step by step
- Read the date first. For US coins the rule is simple: dimes, quarters and half dollars through 1964 are 90 percent silver, Kennedy half dollars from 1965 through 1970 are 40 percent silver, and everything from 1971 onward in circulation is clad with no silver at all. Dollar coins dated 1935 and earlier (Morgan and Peace dollars) are 90 percent silver. The silver quarters guide and the dimes guide list the dates in detail.
- Look at the edge under good light. Hold the coin on its edge and tilt it. Silver shows one even gray-white band. Clad shows a distinct brown or orange stripe in the middle, visible on every clad coin no matter how worn. This single check settles most coins, and it is the one to do on anything with an unreadable date.
- Do the ring test. Balance the coin on the tip of your index finger and tap the edge with another coin, or drop it from a few inches onto a hard wood surface. Silver produces a clear, high, sustained ring that lasts a second or more. Clad and base metal coins produce a short, flat click.
- Try a magnet. Silver is not magnetic. If a strong magnet grabs the coin, it is not silver. If the magnet does nothing, you have ruled out steel and some fakes, but not copper-nickel, so this is an exclusion test only.
- Weigh it on a scale that reads to 0.01 gram. Silver coins are denser than clad coins of the same size, so the weights differ by about 10 percent. A silver dime weighs 2.50 grams, clad 2.27. A silver quarter 6.25 grams, clad 5.67. A silver half dollar 12.50 grams, a 40 percent half 11.50, a clad half 11.34. A Morgan or Peace dollar weighs 26.73 grams. Worn coins lose a little, usually under 0.2 grams for a quarter.
- Check the color and the wear. Silver wears to a soft, slightly warm gray and often tones gold, blue or brown. Clad wears to a brighter, harder-looking gray with a faint yellow cast.
- For foreign coins, find the fineness or the date rule. Many world coins state silver content on the coin itself, such as .900, .800 or .500, or in the legend. Where they do not, date cutoffs apply by country, covered in the table below.
US coins: dates, silver content and melt value
Melt values below use silver at about $40 per troy ounce as of late 2026. The silver market moves, so treat the figures as a floor to update, not a fixed price.
| Coin | Silver dates | Fineness | Silver weight | Melt value, about |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dime (Barber, Mercury, Roosevelt) | 1964 and earlier | 90% | 0.0723 oz | $2.90 |
| Quarter (Barber, Standing Liberty, Washington) | 1964 and earlier | 90% | 0.1808 oz | $7.20 |
| Half dollar (Barber, Walking Liberty, Franklin, Kennedy) | 1964 and earlier | 90% | 0.3617 oz | $14.50 |
| Kennedy half dollar | 1965 to 1970 | 40% | 0.1479 oz | $5.90 |
| Morgan and Peace dollar | 1878 to 1935 | 90% | 0.7734 oz | $31 |
| Eisenhower dollar, S mint in blue or brown packaging | 1971 to 1976 | 40% | 0.3161 oz | $12.60 |
| Jefferson "war" nickel, large mint mark over Monticello | late 1942 to 1945 | 35% | 0.0563 oz | $2.25 |
| American Silver Eagle | 1986 to date | 99.9% | 1.0 oz | $40 plus a premium |
Three traps on this table. Eisenhower dollars from circulation, including the Bicentennial ones, are clad and contain no silver; only the collector versions sold by the Mint in packaging are 40 percent. The war nickel is identified by the large P, D or S above the dome on the back, and a 1942 nickel without that mark is ordinary copper-nickel. And modern silver proof sets and silver Eagles exist for every year after 1964, so a shiny 1999 quarter with a silver edge is not a mistake; it came out of a silver proof set, as covered in the proof sets guide.
Foreign coins people find most often
| Country | Silver dates | Fineness | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada, 10 and 25 cents | 1967 and earlier | 80% (some 1967 and 1968 at 50%) | 1968 and later are nickel and stick to a magnet |
| Canada, 50 cents and dollars | 1967 and earlier | 80% | Dollars 1935 to 1967 hold about 0.60 oz, about $24 |
| United Kingdom | 1919 and earlier | 92.5% sterling | 1920 to 1946 are 50% silver, 1947 onward are copper-nickel |
| Mexico, pesos | 1967 and earlier, varies by type | 10% to 90% | Check the stated fineness such as "LEY 0.720" on the coin |
| Germany, 5 and 10 mark | 1951 to 1974 (5 DM), to 1997 (10 DM) | 62.5% to 92.5% | Commemoratives are common and sell near melt |
| France, 5 and 10 francs | 1960 to 1969 (5 F), 1965 to 1973 (10 F) | 83.5% to 90% | Later 5 francs are nickel |
| Australia | 1963 and earlier | 92.5% to 1945, then 50% | Decimal coins from 1966 are not silver except 50 cent 1966 at 80% |
Most foreign silver coins in American drawers sell for melt or a small premium, as the foreign coins guide explains. The ones that bring more are early dates, high grades and scarce types, not silver content alone.
Common mistakes
- Trusting shine. A bright coin is not a silver coin. Clad coins straight from a roll are brighter than most silver coins, and silver coins that have sat in a drawer are often dull gray or toned.
- Missing the edge stripe on a worn coin. Dirt can hide the copper stripe. Wipe the edge gently with a dry cloth, do not polish it, and look again under a lamp.
- Reading the wrong date rule. Kennedy halves from 1965 to 1970 trip people up in both directions, treated as clad when they are 40 percent silver, or treated as 90 percent when they hold less than half as much. The 1964 Kennedy is the only 90 percent one.
- Assuming any old nickel is silver. Only the war nickels with a large mint mark above Monticello contain silver. Buffalo nickels and all other Jefferson nickels do not, however old, as the nickels guide covers.
- Selling at melt without checking for key dates. A 1916-D Mercury dime, a 1932-D or 1932-S quarter, a 1921-D Walking Liberty half or an 1893-S Morgan is worth hundreds to thousands over melt. Always check the date and mint mark list for the type before selling a pile by weight.
- Cleaning the coins. Polished silver loses its original surface and most of its premium over melt. A collector will pay more for a dark, untouched coin than a shiny scrubbed one.
- Expecting silver in modern commemorative tokens. "Silver-plated" rounds, tribute coins and most "silver" tokens sold on television contain a few cents of silver plating over base metal.
Where silver stops and premiums start
A silver coin's melt value is its floor. Above that floor, three things add value: the date and mint mark, the condition, and the type. Common-date Washington quarters and Roosevelt dimes in circulated condition trade as "junk silver" at melt plus a small percentage. Walking Liberty and Franklin halves, Mercury dimes and Standing Liberty quarters carry small collector premiums even in low grades. Morgan and Peace dollars carry the largest premiums for the metal, typically $5 to $15 over melt for common dates in worn condition and far more in uncirculated grades, which the Morgan dollar guide and the Peace dollar guide cover date by date.
If you inherited a mixed bag, the practical sort is three piles: obviously clad (edge stripe), silver with common dates and wear (sell by weight), and silver with scarce dates or little wear (value individually). The inherited coins guide walks through that process.
What to photograph
- The edge, in focus, under a lamp. This is the photo that settles the clad-versus-silver question when the date is worn. Lay the coin on its side against a dark background or hold it between two fingers, and get the whole edge band sharp.
- The date and mint mark side, straight on. On most US silver coins the mint mark is on the reverse, near the bottom or beside the design. On a war nickel it is above the dome.
- Both faces, full frame, in even daylight. This shows wear, toning and any cleaning, which decides whether the coin is worth more than melt.
- The scale reading with the coin on the pan, if you have a scale that reads to 0.01 gram.
- For foreign coins, any fineness mark such as .900, .800 or LEY 0.720, which may be small and tucked into the legend.
How WorthPic reads a coin photo
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From a clear photo of each face and the edge, it reads the country, type, date and mint mark, notes the edge color, the wear and any cleaning or damage it can see, and places the coin in the right bucket: clad, 90 percent, 40 percent, war nickel or foreign silver. It then gives an honest value range built on the metal content at current prices plus any date or condition premium the photos support. When the detail that matters is not visible, such as a mint mark lost in a shadow or an edge that is out of focus, it says so plainly and tells you which photo would settle it, rather than guessing. WorthPic identifies and estimates. It does not grade, authenticate or guarantee anything, and for a coin worth real money, the step that settles it is a physical check, which for coins means PCGS or NGC.
When to get it looked at in person
Common-date silver coins with wear do not need a professional opinion; a coin shop or bullion dealer will buy them by weight after a glance at the edges and a pass with a scale. Take a coin in person when the date and mint mark put it on a key-date list, when it has little or no wear and could grade high, or when something about it does not add up, such as a correct date with the wrong weight or a silver-looking edge on a post-1965 date.
- A local coin shop can confirm silver in seconds with a magnet, a scale and a practiced eye, and will usually quote a buy price on the spot.
- PCGS and NGC grade and encapsulate coins, and their holders are what buyers trust for key dates and high grades. Fees start in the tens of dollars per coin plus membership and shipping, so use them when the likely premium over melt is at least a few hundred dollars.
- A bullion dealer is the simplest route for bulk common-date silver, paying a percentage of melt that is usually a few points under spot.