How do you tell if a coin is silver?

[melmcbee]

Hello. I know this is a very simplistic question so I will apologize for wasting your time. I see where some collectors say they buy rolls of dollars, half dollars etc. from the bank and they will get a few silver ones out of it. How do you tell the silver coins from the non silver? Is that term called clad? (non silver) Even my father will say he found a silver coin in change. Do you tell from the year of the coin? Thanks in advance for any info you can give me. I am always enthralled when I hear the stories told of the great finds in change or coins bought from a bank. I want to search too but I don't exactly know what are keepers and what I should just spend. I basically keep every dollar and half dollar that I get because I just don't know.

[Hoot]

Hi Melanie - You really need to get a copy of the Red Book.

 

Anyhow, all dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollars (except for the obvious gold pieces) that date 1964 and before are silver.

 

Half dollars from 1965-70 are 40% silver.

 

40% silver Ikes and other post-1970 pieces that are of some silver content are special issues. These should be readily apparent.

 

Most people hunting silver in rolls look for half dollars, but you can find quarters and dimes as well, if they are not fresh rolls. You will have to introduce yourself to your friendly vault teller to make your inquiries about obtaining rolls and returning the ones you don't want.

 

Hoot

 

Hoot

[michael]

hoot hit the nail on the head with his answer mel

 

and remember mel ask as many questions you want on here ANY at all you are not wasteing anyones time

 

and if you are too shy at times just private message and most anything you ask me i will give you a detailed answer

 

 

michael

[XpipedreamR]

Just toss the coin on the table and listen for the "sound o' silver."

 

 

 

[spy88]

The quickest and easiest way to find a silver dime, quarter or half in a roll is to simply look at the rims of the coins. If there is no clad showing, it is pre-65. This method works very efficiently for the 90% and/or higher silver content coins. It will still work for the semi-silvers (dates by Hoot ) but then you have to look at the date to verify.

[melmcbee]

Thanks to everyone for the answers. Hoot the most embarassing thing I can say is I do own a 2004 Redbook, 18th edition Photograde, and my favorite, Coin Collecting for Dummies. I promise I will try to read more. I seem to be obsessed with reading the forums because I love ya'll so much. Oh by the way Hoot, My father loved his Christmas present. He especially loved the war ration stamps.

[Hoot]

[James_OldeTowne]

A silver wartime nickel, minted between 1942 and 1945, will have a large mintmark (even a "P" for Philadelphia) on the reverse above the dome of Monticello. You can basically go by the date for these, except for 1942, when silver and non-silver coins were minted. The non-silver coins do not have the large reverse mintmark.

 

On reeded-edge coins (dime, quarters, halves and dollars), the edge is the giveaway. Clad coins have a telltale "stripe" of copper (brown if the coin is older) visible between the outer cupro-nickel (silvery) clad layers.

 

Good luck, and keep asking questions!

 

James

[cpm9ball]

I've been ordering $500 boxes from the Federal Reserve through my bank. I'll go through them and return the rest to the bank....no problem! Once you get used to it, it's easy to identify the silver coins just by looking at all of the rims, collectively. The clad coins have that distinctive "sandwich" appearance. In my most recent order of 2 boxes of halves (2000 coins) I found 1 - 62D Franklin, 1 - 63D Franklin with Full Bell Lines, 1 - 64 90% silver, 46 - 40% silver (1965-1970), 1 - 83S Proof, 1 - 85S Proof and 1 - 87S Proof. Even though the 87S Proof is a clad coin, it stood out like a sore thumb when looking at the rims. I then took the remainder back to my bank and redeposited it. Make it a point to get to know one of the managers or head tellers at your bank, and ask them if they will order them for you from the FRB. It's best to take the time to roll them for the bank. You do have the option of dumping the loose change in one of those tamper-evident plastic bags and the FRB will count it, but it could take a couple weeks for the credit to reach your account. I advise against this because the FRB has a tendency to miscount someone's money (other than their own) and it may take even longer to correct the discrepancy. Happy hunting!

[melmcbee]

Thanks for the great advice Cpm. I will see if I can get to know some of the tellers.