If you collected silver coins when you were a kid, you might be surprised at how valuable they are now. Depending on the types of coins you have, you could have a small fortune sitting in your cheap coin portfolio or coin jar. Finding the value of silver coins depends on a few things, so we’ll review different ways to find out just how much your silver coins are worth.
If you have common silver coins that have a high percentage of silver in them, their value will be determined by the value of silver. This is because the value of these coins comes from their meltdown value and not from the fact that they are rare or interesting coins. U.S. silver coins that were minted before 1965 are about 90% silver, so a pile of these coins can be quite valuable.
Even more valuable, though, are silver coins that are valuable not only because of the silver they contain but also because of their rarity and historical value. No matter what the price of silver does, these coins will hold a certain high value as collectible items. They can be a great way to invest in your future and to save little, interesting bits of history at the same time. The value of these silver coins is determined by two things: rarity and grade.
The rarity of a coin depends on how many were made and how many are left. Some coins that were once fairly common are now rarities because they are so old or because so many of them were melted down for one reason or another. Some coins are simply rare because not many of them were created in the first place, as is the case with coins that have odd mint-made mistakes on them. Some of these accidental coins are actually worth thousands of dollars because they are so rare.
The grade of a coin is what kind of shape it’s in. Coins that have more wear and tear are worth less, though some very old coins of a lower grade can still be worth thousands. Coins with less wear and tear, fewer scratches, more detail left, shinier surfaces, and such are worth more. To get your rare silver coins graded and priced, you’ll probably want to see a professional coin dealer, who will specialize in figuring out fair prices for rare silver coins and other coins.