Morgan dollars, junk silver bags, American Silver Eagles, and everything in between. Hicks Coins buys silver from DMV sellers with transparent, in-person evaluations.
Silver coin pricing comes down to two variables: silver content and numismatic premium. For most US silver coinage minted in 1964 or earlier (dimes, quarters, halves, dollars), the coin contains exactly 0.7234 troy ounces of pure silver per dollar of face value. That’s why dealers quote “face” as a unit, $100 face = $1,807 worth of silver at $25/oz spot.
On top of that base silver value, certain coins carry numismatic premiums. A common-date 1923 Peace dollar in circulated condition is worth a few dollars over melt. A 1928 Peace dollar in MS-64 might bring multiples of melt. A 1934-S Peace dollar in MS-64 is a key date worth hundreds. The dealer who can’t (or won’t) tell you which coins are which is leaving your money on the table.
The phrase “junk silver” misleads people. There’s nothing junky about it, it’s pre-1965 US dimes, quarters, and half dollars in well-circulated condition, traded as a commodity for the silver content. With silver near $25–$30/oz in 2026, a single 1964 Roosevelt dime contains close to $2 of silver. A common-date Walking Liberty half holds roughly $9. A bag of junk silver ($1,000 face) holds about $18,000 in silver content alone, before any numismatic premium on the better coins inside.
I buy junk silver by the coin, the roll, the half-bag ($500 face), or the bag ($1,000 face). Quotes are tied to the live silver spot price that day.
If it’s silver, send me a photo and I’ll send a buy quote.
1878–1921 by any date, including Carson City (CC) mint marks. Common dates by the roll, better dates individually.
1921–1935 all dates. Better dates like 1921, 1928, 1934-S carry strong premiums.
1916–1947. Beautiful design; better dates and higher grades trade well above melt.
1916–1945. The 1916-D, 1921, 1921-D, and 1942/41 overdates are major value drivers.
1932–1964. The 1932-D and 1932-S are scarce; everything else trades on silver content plus condition.
1948–1963. Full Bell Lines designations multiply value on the better dates.
1986–present. Bullion strikes, burnished, proof, reverse proof, and key dates like 1995-W and 1996.
$100, $250, $500, and $1,000 face bags of pre-1965 silver dimes, quarters, and halves.
Engelhard, Johnson Matthey, A-Mark, sovereign mint .999 rounds and bars from 1 oz to 100 oz.
A common scenario is a coffee can or shoebox of mixed silver, some of it is straight bullion (90% junk silver) and some of it is better-date material that carries a numismatic premium over melt. The two should be quoted separately. A 1916-D Mercury dime worth several hundred dollars shouldn’t be priced by weight just because it’s sitting next to a roll of common Roosevelts.
That kind of sorting takes time and series knowledge. It’s exactly the value-add a specialist brings to a silver evaluation, and it’s the reason any mixed lot is worth a careful look before it’s sold.
Also See: Bullion DealerGet a quote tied to today’s spot. No lowballing common-date silver, no missing key dates.