Silver Melt Value Calculator
See how much silver is in your 90% coins, war nickels, Kennedy halves, bars and rounds. Weigh them or count them, add today's spot price, and your estimate appears just below.
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, by appointment
Live spot prices
- Gold Loading
- Silver Loading
- Platinum Loading
- Palladium Loading
Spot is what one troy ounce of pure metal trades for on the market. It is a reference point, not our offer.
Work out the silver you hold
Type in a weight, or use the optional helper to count coins. Then pick the silver purity and enter a current spot price.
The spot price changes throughout the trading day. Please enter the figure currently quoted for silver.
Estimated melt value
Enter a weight and a spot price, then press Calculate.
This is an estimate of metal content, not an offer. A purchase offer depends on testing, confirmed purity and weight, market conditions, the buyer's margin, and any collector value.
How the silver math works
Weight, then silver fraction, then spot price. That is all the calculator does.
-
Weigh the silver or count the coins
Type a weight in grams or troy ounces, or let the coin helper convert a count of dimes, quarters, halves or dollars into grams for you.
-
Remove everything but silver
Multiply by the silver fraction: 0.90 for coins dated 1964 or earlier, 0.40 for 1965 to 1970 Kennedy halves, 0.35 for war nickels and 0.999 for bullion.
-
Apply the spot price
Pure troy ounces of silver multiplied by the spot price per troy ounce gives melt value, before any refining or dealer costs.
Try it by hand
Take ten dimes from 1964 or earlier. Together they weigh 25 grams, and 90% of that, 22.5 grams, is silver. That works out to 0.7234 troy ounce.
If silver were thirty dollars an ounce, the silver in those ten dimes would be worth roughly twenty-one dollars and seventy cents.
Silver by the coin and by face value
The coin helper runs on these figures. The right column lets you work out a roll or a jar of coins from its face value rather than counting each piece.
| Coin | Weight | Silver share | Per coin | Per dollar of face |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dime, 1964 or earlier | 2.50 g | 90% | 0.0723 | 0.7234 |
| Quarter, 1964 or earlier | 6.25 g | 90% | 0.1808 | 0.7234 |
| Half dollar, 1964 or earlier | 12.50 g | 90% | 0.3617 | 0.7234 |
| Kennedy half, 1965 to 1970 | 11.50 g | 40% | 0.1479 | 0.2958 |
| War nickel, 1942 to 1945 | 5.00 g | 35% | 0.0563 | 1.1253 |
| Morgan or Peace dollar, original series | 26.73 g | 90% | 0.7734 | 0.7734 |
Circulated coins have lost a little metal
Years of handling wear silver away. For worn 90% coins, much of the trade figures about 0.715 troy ounce per dollar of face value instead of the 0.7234 a new coin holds.
Working from face value
Fifty dimes dated 1964 or earlier make five dollars face, which is about 3.6 troy ounces of silver in new condition. Twenty war nickels add up to one dollar face.
Bars, rounds and Silver Eagles
Bullion is the simplest case. The stamp states the fine silver weight, so pick .999 fine bullion and enter the stamped amount.
- One-ounce pieces. For an American Silver Eagle or a one-ounce round, enter 1 troy ounce.
- Bigger bars. Enter a ten-ounce bar as 10 troy ounces and a hundred-ounce bar as 100.
- Bars marked in grams. Switch to grams and type in the number on the bar.
- New Morgan and Peace dollars. Pieces dated 2021 and later are .999 fine. Enter 26.73 grams on the .999 bullion setting rather than the 90% coin setting.
Mints, assay cards and bar sizes are covered on our bullion page.
Where melt value falls short
The calculator treats silver as raw metal only. Here is where that view misses something.
Mostly bought for the metal
- Worn dimes, quarters and halves from common years
- Circulated Kennedy halves dated 1965 to 1970
- Generic bars and rounds without collector appeal
Metal may be just the floor
- Morgan and Peace dollars with crisp detail or scarce mint marks
- Key dates, such as scarce Mercury dimes or early Standing Liberty quarters
- Proof sets and uncirculated rolls still in original packaging
Our silver coins page explains which coins merit a closer look. For full albums and larger holdings, read selling a coin collection. Everything else is on the page about selling silver.
Want a real offer on your silver?
Call or send a request to book a weekday appointment in Denton. A rough count of rolls, dollars and bars helps us plan the time.
Silver calculator questions
How can I spot a silver war nickel?
Look at the back. Wartime silver nickels have an oversized P, D or S mint mark sitting above the dome of Monticello. If that large letter is missing, the nickel contains no silver.
Do my dimes and quarters from 1965 on have silver in them?
Not the ones from circulation. From 1965 on, pocket-change dimes and quarters are a copper and nickel sandwich with no silver to count. Half dollars held on longer: Kennedy halves dated 1965 through 1970 still contain 40% silver. Two special groups also break the rule. Silver proof sets carry 90% silver dimes, quarters and halves, switching to .999 fine in 2019, and the 1976-S bicentennial silver issues are 40% silver. Leave those in the Mint packaging and keep them apart from ordinary change.
Grams or troy ounces: which should I use?
Use whichever your scale or the stamp shows. Bars and rounds are usually marked in troy ounces, while most digital scales display grams. Match the unit in the calculator and it handles the conversion.
Does anything I type here reach you?
No. The calculator works inside your browser and none of your numbers come to us. If you want us to see the silver itself, the evaluation request is near the bottom of the page.
Book a time with us
- Based in
- Denton, TX, serving Denton County
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, by appointment
- Where we meet
- At our private Denton office, your home or a secure location such as your bank
- Bring
- A photo ID and the items you want us to look at
For privacy and security, we share our office address by phone once your appointment is set.
Our purchase evaluation is an offer to buy. It is not a formal written appraisal for insurance, probate or tax use.
Get a quote
Three quick questions. We call you back on a weekday. Or call now: (940) 209-8220.