90% "Junk" Silver ($1 face) Price — Digest Your Finances

Pre-1965 US dimes, quarters and half-dollars are 90% silver. A full $1 of face value contains about 0.715 troy ounces of silver — that's what its melt value is based on.

Counting silver by face value

Junk silver is priced in multiples of face value: $1 face ≈ 0.715 oz, so $10 face ≈ 7.15 oz. There is no numismatic premium — these are circulated coins valued purely for metal.

Frequently asked questions

How much silver is in $1 of face value?

Roughly 0.715 troy ounces for worn 90% coins — the standard figure dealers use for melt.

What premium does a 90% "Junk" Silver ($1 face) usually carry?

Historically a 90% "Junk" Silver ($1 face) tends to trade about 5–20% over its melt value at retail, though premiums spike when demand is high and compress when it's quiet. Treat the range here as a guide, not a quote.

Is the melt value what I'll pay or get for a 90% "Junk" Silver ($1 face)?

No. Melt value is the intrinsic worth of the metal — live spot price times the coin's pure content. A dealer sells above melt (their premium) and buys slightly below it (their spread). The melt figure here is the honest baseline; actual retail and buy-back prices move with demand.

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Counting silver by face value

Frequently asked questions