Silver coins, coin melt calculators, silver coin prices, silver spots.
The table of US Silver coin values are for circulating coins that contain 90% silver coins. The prices listed represent the value of silver within the coin, or their melt values. (Use the US Silver Coin Calculator to interactively calculate how much your old silver coins are worth.)
The silver coin values are based on the silver price of $27.37 on 5/16/2012 9:00:02 PM EST.
The figures above represent the silver melt values of each type of coin. A coin's real value is what someone is willing to pay for it, and can depend on many factors such as its rarity and condition.
For those coins that do not have relative value to collectors or rare coin investors -- often referred to as "junk silver coins," they are often purchased or sold in bags and rolls for their silver content alone. A few of those can be seen in the eBay auction listings above.
The value of such silver coins in relation to their face values can be significant, and will change daily based on silver prices. For example, a silver Washington quarter that circulated in every day change between 1932-1964 had a melt value of $3.07 when silver prices hovered around $17 an ounce on December 31, 2009. Flash ahead to October 8, 2010, when silver settled to $23.20 an ounce, and the 25 cent piece jumped in melt value to $4.20. Not bad for a coin that has a face value of 25c.
The term "melt value" and "intrinsic value" or often interchanged.