Silver coins are cheapest to buy from a large online bullion dealer and easiest to inspect at a local coin shop, and the right choice depends on which of three very different products you want: modern silver bullion, pre-1965 circulated US coinage, or graded collector pieces. Each prices on its own logic. Know what you are buying, how much silver content is inside, what the dealer pays to buy it back, and whether your state taxes it.
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Bullion, Junk Silver, or Collector Coins: Decide First
A silver coin is a government-issued piece struck from precious metal, carrying a legal-tender face value and a stated fineness. That separates it from silver rounds, which a private mint strikes with no face value. A sovereign mint stands behind the weight and purity, which is why its coins resell almost anywhere.
Stackers want ounces at the smallest markup and barely care about design. Collectors chase dates, mint marks, and grades, and pay many times melt value for the right example. Preparedness buyers want small denominations they could trade, which is why a bag of pre-1965 dimes beats one large round. The best dealer for a stacker is rarely the best dealer for a collector.
| Format | Premium over spot | Resale | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generic rounds | Lowest | Easy at dealers | Accumulating ounces |
| Junk silver (pre-1965 US) | Low | By face-value bag | Small denominations |
| Sovereign bullion | Moderate | Strongest worldwide | Long-term holding |
| Proof and graded | Highest | Grade dependent | Collectors |
Size changes the math too. A 1 oz silver coin is the liquid default, 2 oz silver and 5 oz silver pieces sit in between, a silver bar gets cheapest per ounce above 10 ounces, and fractional pieces cost the most per ounce. Spot is the live wholesale quote for one troy ounce; every physical piece sells for spot plus a premium covering minting, distribution, insurance, and dealer margin. Compare dealers on that premium, not the headline price.
How Much Silver Is in Old Silver Coins? Melt Value Math
Melt value is the troy ounces of pure metal in a coin multiplied by the spot price of silver. US dimes, quarters, and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier are 90 percent fine, which is why dealers call them junk silver and quote them by face value. A worn 1943 quarter holds almost exactly what a sharp one does.
The formula: gross weight in grams, times fineness, divided by 31.1035 grams per troy ounce. A pre-1965 Washington quarter weighs 6.25 grams; times 0.900 is 5.625 grams of pure silver, or about 0.1808 troy ounces. Multiply that by the live quote and you have its melt value.
| Coin | Fineness | Pure silver (troy oz) |
|---|---|---|
| Dime, 1964 and earlier | 90% | 0.0723 |
| Quarter, 1964 and earlier | 90% | 0.1808 |
| Half dollar, 1964 and earlier | 90% | 0.3617 |
| Kennedy half, 1965 to 1970 | 40% | 0.1479 |
| War nickel, 1942 to 1945 | 35% | 0.0563 |
| Morgan or Peace silver dollar | 90% | 0.7734 |
One dollar of face value in 90 percent coinage holds about 0.723 troy ounces when new. Dealers usually figure 0.715 to allow for wear, so a 1,000-dollar face bag is treated as roughly 715 ounces. Morgan and Peace dollars rarely trade at melt; even common dates carry a collector premium.
The American Silver Eagle and Other Sovereign Bullion Coins
The American Silver Eagle debuted in 1986 and is the official silver bullion coin of the United States: one troy ounce of .999 fine silver with a one-dollar face value, struck by the US Mint. In mid-2021 the Mint replaced the heraldic eagle reverse with a design showing an eagle landing with an oak branch, so dealers list Type 1 (1986 to 2021) and Type 2 (2021 onward) separately. Both hold the same metal; the type matters to collectors, not to melt value.
The other widely traded bullion coin programs come from four mints. The Royal Canadian Mint strikes the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf in .9999 fine metal. The Royal Mint issues the Silver Britannia, the Perth Mint the Australian Silver Kangaroo, and Austria’s mint the Austrian Silver Philharmonic, while the Chinese Silver Panda changes design every year. Golden State Mint and Scottsdale Mint strike rounds instead: no face value, thinner markup.
An American Silver Eagle usually costs more than a Maple Leaf or one of the Silver Britannias of the same weight, because US demand concentrates on it. For ounces alone, a foreign sovereign coin or a 1 oz silver round often delivers more metal per dollar; for the most recognizable piece at a US counter, the Eagle wins.
Where to Buy Silver Coins Online
Three large US dealers cover most of what a buyer needs, with a second tier for niches. Online pricing usually beats a local counter, traded against shipping time and transit risk.
APMEX, JM Bullion, and SD Bullion
APMEX carries the deepest catalog and publishes a live buyback price, so you see the spread before ordering. JM Bullion, based in Dallas, prices tightly on sealed tubes and the 500-coin silver Eagle monster box and stocks proofs and slabs. SD Bullion aims at low-premium stacking and discounts payment by check or wire rather than card.
The United States Mint
Buy direct for current-year proof silver and uncirculated releases in original packaging. The US Mint silver catalog skips plain bullion Eagles, though; those move through authorized purchasers who resell to the dealers above. Release dates and household order limits change yearly, so check the schedule rather than assuming last year’s pattern holds.
Specialty dealers and auctions
Money Metals Exchange and Provident Metals lean toward low-premium 1 oz silver coins and custom rounds. Texas Precious Metals ships from one facility in Shiner, Texas, and GovMint and Littleton Coin Company carry deep commemorative back-catalogs. Key-date Peace silver dollars and Morgan rarities trade at Heritage Auctions and Stack’s Bowers, where a buyer’s premium lands on the hammer price.
In Person: Coin Shops, Costco, and Pawn Shops
Buying locally gets you the metal the same day, with no shipping window and no signature-required delivery. You inspect before you pay, which is worth a wider spread to many buyers.
Independent coin shops
A good local shop stocks common sovereign bullion, junk bags by face value, gold coins, and whatever walked in that week. Start with the Professional Numismatists Guild directory; PNG members sign an ethics code and submit to binding arbitration. The American Numismatic Association keeps a comparable list. Call ahead, ask what they charge over spot on Eagles and junk bags, and compare against the online dealers above.
Buying silver coins at Costco
Costco sells sealed tubes of 1 oz American Silver Eagles and Canadian Maple Leafs to members, mostly through Costco.com, with a cap on units per membership. Kitco reported in 2024 that some warehouses also stocked Maple Leaf tubes, limited to five at a time and non-refundable. Stock sells out and returns on no fixed schedule, so compare the per-coin cost against a dealer’s tube price; our guide to what is worth buying at Costco covers how the membership fee changes that math.
Pawn shops
Pawn shops sometimes price under a coin shop, but only visit one with real testing gear. No conductivity verifier and no specific-gravity scale means walk out. Bring a loupe and a pocket scale; a shop that will not let you weigh a piece has answered your question.
Testing for Fakes: Magnet, Ping, and Specific Gravity
Counterfeits are the biggest risk outside a reputable dealer, and visual inspection will not catch a plated copy. Each check below rules out a different kind of fake, and two or three agreeing results beat any single test.
- Weigh the piece on a 0.01-gram scale and compare against the mint’s published specification.
- Measure diameter and thickness with a digital caliper. Counterfeiters who match the weight with a denser core usually miss on thickness.
- Slide a rare-earth magnet down an inclined piece. Silver is diamagnetic, so it should slow visibly, not stick or drop free. A coin that grabs the magnet has steel or nickel inside.
- Do the ping test: balance the coin on a fingertip and tap it with another coin. Genuine fine silver gives a long, high-pitched ring; most base-metal fakes give a short, dull clunk.
- Check specific gravity: weight in air divided by (weight in air minus weight suspended in water). Pure silver reads close to 10.49 and 90 percent coin silver around 10.3, while copper and brass fakes land near 8.9 and 8.5.
- Buying at volume? A Sigma Metalytics conductivity check reads through the surface without damage.
Sales Tax, Buyback Spreads, and Other Hidden Costs
Sales tax. Most states exempt investment bullion, but the rules differ more than buyers expect. Some exempt only orders above a threshold per invoice (New York’s bullion regulation, 20 NYCRR 528.29, is written around invoices over 1,000 dollars), some exempt bullion but tax collectible coins, and a handful tax all of it. Several states changed their rules in 2025 and 2026, so check your state revenue department before a large order. Online dealers collect based on the shipping address.
Buyback spread. Ask what the dealer pays to buy the same item back today. That gap between ask and bid is your real cost of ownership, and it is usually wider on proofs and fractional pieces than on 1 oz silver bullion.
Anything priced below spot. No legitimate seller loses money on every unit. A below-spot listing is a fake, a bait-and-switch, or a lead-generation gimmick.
Unvetted marketplace sellers. eBay hosts real dealers alongside individual flippers, and buyer protection only helps after weeks of waiting. Amazon does not authenticate bullion, and commingled inventory means even a legitimate seller can ship a previous buyer’s return.
Unallocated storage with the seller. If a dealer offers to hold metal without allocating specific inventory to you, decline. In 2023 the Commodity Futures Trading Commission won judgments over 112 million dollars against precious-metals operator Robert Higgins and related firms after depositors’ vaults turned out short.
What Buyers Report About the Big Dealers
Trustpilot profiles in September 2026 showed JM Bullion around 4.5 across roughly 2,000 reviews, APMEX around 4.3 across roughly 10,000, and SD Bullion around 4.0 across roughly 3,000. Praise clusters on discreet packaging and orders locking at the quoted price. Complaints cluster on premiums, delays on check and wire orders that ship only after funds clear, and support: JM Bullion had replied to roughly 69 percent of its negative Trustpilot reviews, SD Bullion to none of its own. eBay feedback shows different problems: cancelled orders blamed on shipping or tariff costs, dead tracking, and valuable pieces shipped loose instead of in a capsule.
Top Picks
These five were picked on catalog depth, published buyback pricing, authentication guarantees, and how clearly each shows its markup over spot.
- Best overall: APMEX. Widest selection of sovereign issues, graded pieces, and fractional sizes, plus authenticity guarantees and a published buyback number. Browse their catalog.
- Best low premium: SD Bullion. Built around low-markup stacking, with a discount for check or wire. Plainest interface of the three, and the thinnest support record. See current stock.
- Best for collectors: JM Bullion. Tight spot-linked pricing plus a deep run of silver proof coins, first-strike releases, and PCGS or NGC slabs. Check their listings.
- Best local option: the PNG dealer locator. Finds a vetted shop where you inspect before paying and skip shipping risk. Find a member dealer.
- Best official source: the United States Mint. Current-year proof and uncirculated releases in original packaging, at a higher markup than the secondary market. View the Mint catalog.
Start by pulling the live spot quote. Price the same 1 oz item at two or three dealers, write down the premium each charges rather than the total, then add your state’s sales tax if it applies. Order from whoever is lowest that day, and ask for the buyback number before you pay. If you would rather see the metal first, run the PNG locator and call the nearest shop. Price silver coins off the spread, not the sticker.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are all coins before 1965 silver?
No. Dimes, quarters, and half dollars struck before 1965 are 90 percent, but pennies and nickels of that era contain none. Two exceptions run the other way: war nickels from 1942 to 1945 are 35 percent, and Kennedy half dollars from 1965 to 1970 are 40 percent.
What is a roll of pre-1965 quarters worth today?
Melt value equals weight times fineness times the live spot quote. A ten-dollar face-value roll of 90 percent quarters holds about 7.15 troy ounces after normal wear, and a single pre-1965 dime holds about 0.0723 troy ounces. Multiply the ounces by the current quote, then expect a dealer to bid slightly under and ask slightly over.
Should a beginner buy coins, rounds, or bars?
Rounds carry the lowest markup, sovereign issues resell most easily worldwide, and bars cost least per ounce above 10 ounces. A common split is rounds or circulated 90 percent coinage for the bulk of a stack, plus a tube of Eagles or Maple Leafs for liquidity.
Do bullion coins have anti-counterfeit features?
Several sovereign issues do. The Canadian Maple Leaf carries laser-micro-engraved radial lines and a micro-privy mark readable under magnification, and the Britannia uses a latent-image feature that shifts as you tilt it. Generic rounds have none, one reason they trade at a lower premium.
Can I hold bullion in a retirement account?
Yes, through a self-directed IRA, but the rules are strict. The metal must meet a minimum fineness of .999, the American Eagle is permitted by statute, and the holding must sit with a qualified trustee at an approved depository. Home storage of IRA metal does not qualify. Outside an IRA, the IRS capital gains guidance treats bullion as a collectible, which carries a higher maximum long-term rate than ordinary investments; confirm with a tax professional.
For related guides see our gold bullion buying guide, the collectible stamps guide, the chocolate coins roundup, and our money order retailer guide for safer ways to pay a dealer.
Reviewed by the wheretobuyguides.com editorial team. Dealer catalogs, retailer availability, and outbound links verified September 2026; sales tax and Costco details reviewed October 2026. Nothing here is investment or tax advice, and metal prices change daily, so confirm live pricing before ordering.