Almost every jar of old coins is mostly worth what it says on the front. The value hides in two places: coins made of silver back when circulating money was silver, and a short list of dates that were barely minted or struck wrong. Both can be found by eye, standing at a table, without a loupe.
Three checks that take five seconds
Do these before you look at a single date. They will sort a pile faster than anything else.
- Look at the edge, not the face. A silver dime, quarter or half has a solid silvery-white edge all the way round. Anything made after 1964 is a sandwich, and you will see a copper stripe running through it. This one check does most of the work.
- Listen to the pile. Tip the coins onto a hard surface. Silver rings; clad clunks. You will hear the difference the first time.
- Use a magnet on the pennies. A 1943 cent should be steel and jump to the magnet. If a 1943 cent does not stick, stop and have it looked at — a genuine copper one is one of the most valuable mistakes the Mint ever made.
What is actually silver
The United States took silver out of circulating coins in 1965. The cut-off is sharp and easy to remember: dated 1964 or earlier means 90% silver for dimes, quarters and halves. Two exceptions are worth knowing because people miss them constantly.
| Coin | Years | Silver |
|---|---|---|
| Dime | 1964 and earlier | 90% |
| Quarter | 1964 and earlier | 90% |
| Half dollar | 1964 and earlier | 90% |
| Half dollar | 1965–1970 | 40% — the exception most people miss |
| Nickel | 1942–1945 "war nickels" | 35% — large mint mark over Monticello |
| Morgan dollar | 1878–1904, 1921 | 90% |
| Peace dollar | 1921–1935 | 90% |
| Cent | Never | But pre-1982 cents are 95% copper |
Silver moves every day, so there is no point printing a number here. Put the count of dimes, quarters and halves into the metals calculator and it prices them against the current spot.
Work out what the silver is worthThe dates worth knowing by heart
You do not need to memorise a catalogue. A handful of coins account for most of the surprises, and each has a detail you can check on the spot.
| Coin | What to look for |
|---|---|
| 1909-S VDB Lincoln cent | The initials VDB at the bottom of the reverse, with an S mint mark. Under half a million made before the initials were pulled. |
| 1914-D and 1931-S Lincoln cents | Mint mark under the date. Both scarce in any condition. |
| 1955 doubled die Lincoln cent | The date and the lettering look genuinely doubled — visible without magnification. If you need a loupe to see it, it is not this coin. |
| 1916-D Mercury dime | A D on the reverse, near the bottom. Only 264,000 struck; scarce in every grade. |
| 1921 Mercury dimes (D and S) | Post-war mintages collapsed. Worth checking any 1921 dime. |
| 1932-D and 1932-S Washington quarters | Mint mark below the wreath on the reverse. Roughly 400,000 each. |
| 1937-D three-legged buffalo nickel | The bison's front leg is missing — a polishing error, and unmistakable once seen. |
| 1893-S and 1889-CC Morgan dollars | Mint mark under the eagle. The two most famous Morgans. |
| 1921 Peace dollar | First year, short run, high relief. Distinct from the far commoner later dates. |
| 1970-D Kennedy half | Never released into circulation — it only came in mint sets, so one in a jar is a story in itself. |
The one thing that destroys value
Handle coins by the edge, keep them out of PVC flips and loose in a jar where they can rub, and if something looks important, put it in a paper envelope and leave it alone until someone qualified sees it.
When it is worth having graded
Grading means sending a coin to a service like PCGS or NGC, who authenticate it, assign a grade and seal it in a holder. It is what turns "probably genuine" into something a buyer will pay full price for sight-unseen. It also costs money — NGC's standard tier runs about $45 a coin as of 2026, before shipping and insurance both ways.
The arithmetic follows from that. Grading a coin worth $30 is setting money on fire. It starts to make sense when a coin is plausibly worth a few hundred, when authenticity is genuinely in question, or when the difference between two adjacent grades is worth more than the fee. For everything else, sell it raw.
Working out what something is worth
Two numbers matter and they are not the same. Melt value is what the metal is worth, and it sets the floor for any common silver coin. Collector value is what someone will pay for that date in that condition, and for key dates it is far above melt. Common silver sells near melt; scarce dates do not.
Live spot prices for silver and gold, with the standard coin weights already built in.
Melt value calculatorFor collector value, the honest answer is what similar coins have actually sold for — not what sellers are asking. eBay will show you this if you search the coin and then filter to sold and completed listings. Asking prices tell you what people hope for; sold prices tell you what the coin is worth.
Where to take them
A local coin shop or a dealer at an antique mall will look at a jar for free and make an offer on the spot, which is worth doing even if you do not sell — you learn what you have. Take the same coins to two dealers before selling anything you think is scarce. For a genuinely rare coin, an auction house will usually beat a counter offer, because they are selling to collectors rather than buying to resell.
Antique malls and shops in the directory, many with coin and jewelry dealers on site.
Find dealers near youThis is a starting point, not an appraisal. Anything you think is genuinely scarce is worth showing to a dealer or an auction house before you sell it.
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