Common American Junk Silver Coins

The USA, by far, seems to have the most 'Junk Silver Around'. Here are some popular coins to look out for and their silver content:

• 1942-45 'War Nickel' - These are some of the best values you can pick up for 'Junk Silver' They contain 35% silver, so the content is lower than any other American junk silver coin, however you can buy rolls of this quite cheaply, below the melt value. I like this coin because its the cheapest entry into Junk Silver for New Zealand. Buy in Bulk!
• 1964-1970 - Kennedy Half Dollar. These are 40% silver - but because of their larger size, they contain more silver and more expensive than above war nickels. Hard to buy in bulk, and shipping charges to New Zealand are often the price of the coins themselves.
• 1971 - 1976 Eisenhower Dollar - San Francisco mint. The San Francisco mint produced 40% silver 1 dollar coins. Make sure the coin is stamped 'S' as other mints in the US produced the same coin during these years without silver content. These are Big Ol' American Sized coin, bulky and can be expensive to ship.
• 1916-1964 Dimes - These dimes (from 1916 - 1945 they are known as Barber dimes, 1946-64 they are Roosevelt dimes) have 90% silver. They are small coins, like above, buy in bulk!
• 1932-64 - Washington Quarters. We are getting into the mid-range junk. These coins are also 90% Silver. Rolls can be a bit pricy, but their still good deals to be had on the internet.
• 1916 - 1964 Half Dollars. During this time span their where 3 different designs (Standing Liberty: 1916-47, Franklin:1948-63, and Kennedy:1964) . Expensive to buy in rolls, however you can often find sets of 3 to 5 coins that are more within range.
• 1871 - 1935 Morgan Dollars and Peace Dollars. These are one of my favourite coins. Beware, there are alot of copies of this one around (I'll provide sites later so you can help identify 'fakes'. 90% silver. These are often sold by themself, lots are available. Often you can find good deals on these - sometimes below the silver content value. Morgans where produced 1878 - 1921; Peace Dollars (my favourite) where produced from 1922 - 1935.

This is not an exhaustive list of American Junk Silver but these are coins that are found commonly in the market place and are easily recognised.

A special note, if you are travelling to the USA - check your pocket change. Silver quarters, dimes and War nickels look identical to current currency. I've found several dimes, a few nickels and the odd silver quarter in my change.