Quick answer
Bullion coins and bars go to coin or gold dealers for quotes near melt. Junk silver (pre-1965 US dimes, quarters, and half dollars) sells by weight to any dealer who handles silver bags. Sterling flatware requires a refiner-connected buyer, not a standard coin shop. Pawn shops are the last resort or a price floor only. Before accepting any offer, calculate your melt floor using today’s spot price and your silver’s actual purity.
Selling silver is not like selling gold. Silver’s lower value per ounce means that shipping and assay fees eat a noticeably larger share of proceeds on small shipments. A 10 oz lot of silver worth roughly $340 at a $34 spot price can lose $20 or more in insured shipping plus processing before you see payment if you ship it to a remote processor. Local dealers cut that friction entirely for lots of any reasonable size.
The type of silver also changes who to call. A tube of American Silver Eagles trades close to spot anywhere in the country. Grandma’s sterling flatware needs a different buyer entirely. This guide breaks down each category and matches it to the right channel, so you walk in with realistic expectations and leave with the best number available.
Calculate Your Melt Floor Before Any Sale
Every silver buyer offers a percentage of the melt value of what you are selling. Before accepting any quote, you need to know that floor. The calculation: current spot price per troy ounce multiplied by the actual silver content in troy ounces of your lot.
Spot price is set by COMEX (the CME Group commodity exchange) and updated throughout every market day. You can compute melt value by type and weight with the Goldiew silver value calculator, which handles all five silver purities shown below without manual math.
| Silver type | Purity | Fine oz per $1 face (junk only) | Standard market use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fine silver bullion coins and bars | .999 (99.9%) | N/A | Priced per troy oz; sold by bullion and coin dealers |
| Sterling silver (.925) | .925 (92.5%) | N/A | Weighed and priced by refined silver content; needs refiner-connected buyer |
| Pre-1965 US dimes, quarters, halves (90%) | .900 (90%) | 0.715 troy oz per $1 face | Sold in bags by face value or by weight to coin dealers |
| Kennedy half-dollars, 1965-1970 (40%) | .400 (40%) | 0.295 troy oz per $1 face | Usually kept separate from 90% bags; lower calculation |
| War nickels, 1942-1945 (35%) | .350 (35%) | 1.125 troy oz per $1 face | Sold by roll or weight; not mixed with 90% material |
To weigh your silver: a kitchen scale set to grams is accurate enough. Divide grams by 31.1 to convert to troy ounces (the unit all precious metals buyers use). Multiply by the purity fraction and the spot price to get your floor. Any offer below 85% of that number warrants a second quote from a different buyer.
Selling Silver Bullion Coins and Rounds
Fine silver bullion (.999) is the easiest silver to sell. American Silver Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, Austrian Philharmonics, and 1 oz rounds from recognized private mints like Sunshine Mint are liquid products that dealers can verify, price, and resell quickly. That handling efficiency is why bullion produces the closest payouts to spot of any silver category.
Where to sell bullion coins and rounds:
- Local coin dealers are the right first stop. Most buy recognized bullion daily and quote against live spot. The Goldiew coin dealer directory lists dealers by location. Call ahead to confirm the shop is buying silver on that particular day; some shops buy selectively based on current inventory levels.
- Precious metals and gold dealers overlap heavily with coin dealers on bullion product. The Goldiew gold dealer directory includes many shops that buy silver alongside gold and platinum.
- Specialist refiners can become competitive when your lot exceeds roughly 50 oz or when no local dealer is within a reasonable drive. Shipping costs matter less as a percentage on larger quantities, but you still lose the ability to inspect the offer in person.
Numismatic silver coins, those valued partly for rarity or grade rather than metal content alone, require a dealer with numismatic expertise. A 1921 Peace Dollar in high grade or a proof American Silver Eagle in its original presentation case may command a premium above melt that a standard bullion buyer would not recognize. The guide to selling bullion walks through the channel comparison in detail for anyone unfamiliar with the process.
Selling Silver Bars
Standard .999 silver bars from recognized refiners such as PAMP Suisse, Sunshine Mint, Valcambi, and Asahi trade near spot with local dealers. The same coin and precious metals dealers who buy coins also buy bars.
Bar size affects channel selection. Bars of 1 oz to 10 oz move readily with local dealers who can verify and resell them directly. Bars of 100 oz and above may route to a dealer with wholesale channels or directly to a refiner, because the retail market for 100 oz silver bars is thinner at the local level. If you hold a 100 oz bar, contact two or three dealers before committing: many will match or beat mail-in buyers even on large format product.
Generic bars without a recognized refiner’s stamp face more scrutiny and a slightly wider discount. A dealer who cannot verify the bar’s origin with confidence carries more risk, so the offer reflects that. Still start with local dealers: many will buy unbranded product at spot minus a testing premium rather than decline the lot outright.
Selling Junk Silver (Pre-1965 US Coins)
Pre-1965 US dimes, quarters, and half dollars contain 90% silver. The standard market convention is 0.715 troy oz of fine silver per dollar of face value for a circulated 90% coin lot, derived from US Mint specifications for the weight and purity of each denomination. Kennedy half dollars from 1965 through 1970 are 40% silver and calculate at 0.295 troy oz per dollar of face value.
Junk silver changes hands in standard increments: $1 face for small individual lots, $25 face for a standard roll, and $100 to $1,000 face for bags. Coin dealers price junk by face value or by weight, both tracing back to the same melt calculation. The major advantage of junk silver is its liquidity: coin dealers and precious metals dealers accept it without hesitation.
Silver content per coin from US Mint specifications:
| Coin | Silver content (troy oz) | Purity |
|---|---|---|
| Dime (pre-1965) | 0.0715 | 90% |
| Quarter (pre-1965) | 0.1788 | 90% |
| Half dollar (pre-1965) | 0.3575 | 90% |
| Kennedy half (1965-1970) | 0.1479 | 40% |
| War nickel (1942-1945) | 0.0563 | 35% |
Keep coin types separated before you walk in. A dealer pricing a mixed bag of 90% and 40% coins together defaults to the lower calculation to stay profitable, and that costs you on the 90% material. Sort by type, price each category separately, and then decide whether to combine for convenience once you have honest per-category quotes.
Check for rare dates before selling any coin as junk. A key-date coin carries numismatic value far above its silver content. When you inherit a collection, a 15-minute review by a coin dealer before any sale is worthwhile. Key dates surface occasionally in estate lots and collections that have not been searched in decades.
Selling Sterling Silver Flatware and Jewelry
Sterling silver is .925 fine, meaning 92.5% silver. Hallmarks to confirm: .925, “Sterling,” or “STER” stamped directly into the piece. German silver, nickel silver, and silver-plated items contain no recoverable silver. Their marks read “EPNS” (electroplated nickel silver), “silver plate,” “A1,” or show no silver content stamp at all. Weigh only confirmed sterling pieces.
Sterling is where channel choice matters most. Many coin dealers decline flatware because their business is coins and bars, not melting silverware. The buyers who pay fairly for sterling are dealers connected to a silver refiner: they receive a refiner price, subtract their margin, and pass the balance to you. Ask any coin dealer “do you buy sterling?” and follow the referral from there. Some coin shops do buy it; many redirect you to a specialist.
Practical steps for a sterling sale:
- Weigh all confirmed sterling pieces in grams. Divide by 31.1 to get troy ounces. Multiply by 0.925 to get fine silver content. Multiply by spot price. That is your melt floor.
- Expect an offer 15-25% below melt to cover refining, assay, and the buyer’s margin. This discount is standard for scrap silver, not a lowball specific to your lot.
- Remove non-silver components before weighing: hollow handles filled with resin on flatware, stones set in jewelry, and composite bases on decorative silverware. Buyers deduct for non-silver fill or price the entire lot at a lower rate to cover uncertainty.
- Do not confuse weighted sterling with standard sterling. Items marked “Sterling Weighted” or “WS” contain plaster or concrete fill inside handles and bases. The silver content per unit of total weight is far lower than standard .925 material.
Sterling vs. silver plate: Look for a “1847 Rogers Bros” or similar maker mark combined with “A1” or “EPNS.” These indicate silver-plated base metal with no net silver content. The .925 or “Sterling” stamp is the only reliable indicator of actual sterling.
Comparing Your Options
The right buyer depends on silver type, lot size, and payment timeline. The five main channels each serve a different profile.
| Buyer | Best for | Payment speed | Offer vs melt | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local coin dealer | Bullion coins, junk silver bags, small bars | Same day | Closest to melt for recognized products | Best starting point; call ahead to confirm buying hours |
| Precious metals dealer | Bullion coins and bars | Same day | Close to melt for recognized product | Many overlap with coin dealers; compare both |
| Pawn shop | Any silver, fastest cash, no questions | Same day | Well below melt on most silver types | Use as a price floor or absolute last resort; rarely the best return |
| Specialist refiner (for larger lots) | Larger lots (50+ oz), no nearby dealer | 5-10 days | Competitive on large lots; shipping costs bite on small ones | Ship insured; lock in a quote before sending anything |
| Refiner or scrap buyer | Sterling flatware, large mixed scrap lots | 2-7 days | Near melt minus refining fee, which varies by lot size | Required for sterling and non-standard items; minimum lot sizes often apply |
If you want competing offers from multiple verified buyers at once, the Goldiew seller request form lets you describe your silver lot once and receive sealed offers from up to 15 verified buyers. The form handles silver, junk coins, sterling, and mixed lots, not just gold.
Small Lots and the Shipping Math
The case for a local dealer strengthens considerably as lot size decreases. A practical example at $34 spot:
- 10 oz of silver: approximately $340 melt value
- Insured USPS shipping at declared value: roughly $18-22
- Processing or assay fee at a specialist refiner: roughly $10-15
- Combined overhead: approximately $28-37, or 8-11% of melt value before any buyer spread
A local coin dealer paying 92% of melt with zero shipping beats a remote processor offering 95% of melt when the latter adds 9% in overhead. For small lots, local wins on net payout.
The crossover point shifts somewhere around 50-100 oz, where a refiner’s higher payout percentage on large lots can outweigh shipping costs as a fraction of total value. For large lots, get written quotes from two or three local dealers and one specialist refiner before shipping anything of significance.
Mixed lots benefit from consolidation. Selling 20 oz of bullion coins, $50 face of junk silver, and 12 oz of sterling to three separate buyers costs more in time and transaction overhead than finding one shop that buys all three categories and negotiating a combined quote.
Get Competing Offers on Your Silver Lot
The free Goldiew seller request form lets you describe your lot once and receive sealed competing offers from up to 15 verified buyers at no cost. The request flow handles silver in all forms: bullion coins, junk silver bags, sterling, and mixed lots, not just gold. Browse dealers already active in your area on the Goldiew marketplace to see who is currently buying.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I pay taxes when I sell silver?
The IRS classifies physical silver as a collectible. Gains from selling silver held more than one year are subject to a maximum capital gains rate of 28%, which is higher than the standard long-term rate applied to most stocks. Gains from silver held one year or less are taxed as ordinary income. Your taxable gain is the sale price minus your original cost basis (what you paid plus any acquisition costs). Consult your tax advisor for your specific situation and reporting obligations. Dealers handling certain transaction types may issue a 1099-B depending on the silver type and quantity involved.
What is the 0.715 figure for junk silver?
It is the standard market convention for the fine silver content in one dollar of face value of pre-1965 US 90% coins (dimes, quarters, and half dollars at their original circulated weights). The figure comes from US Mint specifications: a dime contains 0.0715 oz, a quarter 0.1788 oz, and a half dollar 0.3575 oz. Expected wear on circulated coins brings the practical industry figure to approximately 0.715 oz per dollar of face. Dealers and silver calculators use this number universally when pricing 90% bags and rolls.
Should I clean my silver coins before selling?
No. Cleaning silver reduces their value to numismatically interested buyers and does nothing to improve a payout from a dealer pricing by weight. Cleaned coins show obvious evidence of handling that collectors treat as damage, permanently lowering grade. If your coins have any numismatic value (pre-1921 dates, key dates, proof strikes, uncirculated examples), cleaning destroys that premium irreversibly. If your coins are purely junk silver by weight, cleaning is irrelevant. Leave them as found.
How do I confirm an item is sterling rather than silver-plated?
Sterling silver is always marked .925 or “Sterling” stamped directly into the piece. Silver-plated items carry marks such as “EPNS” (electroplated nickel silver), “E.P.,” “A1,” or a maker’s name without any silver content stamp. Items marked “German silver” or “nickel silver” contain no silver at all despite the name. Use a loupe or strong magnifier to find small stamps. If no .925 or Sterling mark is present, the item is not sterling and should be weighed separately or identified by a dealer before inclusion in any silver lot.
Do dealers require ID when I sell silver?
Many states require precious metals dealers to collect government-issued photo ID for silver purchases above a threshold dollar amount, as part of state-regulated secondhand dealer and anti-theft laws. Specific thresholds and record-keeping requirements vary by state. Most dealers retain a copy of the transaction record. Bring valid photo ID to any in-person silver sale to avoid delays. Online and mail-in buyers also require identity verification before releasing payment.
What silver will most coin dealers decline?
Items that most standard coin dealers pass on include: heavily corroded silver with uncertain purity, silver-plated items with no recoverable silver content, weighted sterling with non-silver fill requiring separation, and very large wholesale lots requiring refinery logistics. Ornate hollow-construction silverware such as candelabras or tea services also tends to route to a refiner rather than a retail coin shop. In these cases the dealer is not being difficult; the items require different handling than coins and standard bars.
Is it worth selling just a few junk silver coins?
At current prices, a single pre-1965 quarter contains about 0.18 troy oz of silver, worth roughly $6 at a $34 spot price. If you are already visiting a dealer with a larger lot, adding a handful of coins makes sense. If you have only two or three junk silver coins, the overhead of a trip rarely pays. Accumulate until you have at least $25-50 in face value (a roll of quarters or a mix of dimes and quarters) before making a dedicated sale trip. Individual coins with potential numismatic value are always worth a quick dealer look regardless of weight.
What is the difference between troy ounces and standard ounces?
A troy ounce equals 31.1 grams. A standard avoirdupois ounce equals 28.35 grams. All precious metals globally are quoted and sold in troy ounces. If you weigh silver on a kitchen scale in standard ounces, multiply by 0.911 to convert to troy ounces, or use a scale with a troy ounce mode. A dealer quoting $34 per troy ounce is not offering $34 per standard ounce; the difference is about 9% and matters on any lot of meaningful size.
Sources
- US Mint, Coin Specifications (alloy compositions, weights, and dimensions for all denominations cited in this guide)
- US Mint, History of US Coinage (silver alloy transition dates by denomination and legislation)
- CME Group (COMEX), Silver Futures (spot and futures price reference; updates on each market day)
- IRS Topic No. 409, Capital Gains and Losses (collectibles tax rate, holding period rules, and cost basis guidance)
- FINRA Investor Alert: Precious Metals Fraud (red flags for scams in precious metals transactions)