US circulating silver coin values have risen sharply in 2009, paralleling the enormous 63 percent jump in silver prices for the year.
On Thursday, Oct. 8, those prices hit an all-time high in '09 with London silver fixed at $17.80 an ounce and New York silver futures for December delivery surging to $17.82 an ounce.
Those prices did decline somewhat on Friday, Oct. 9, with London silver at $17.63 an ounce. Yet, at that price and as compared to the December Dec. 31, 2008, price of $10.79 an ounce, the metal is still up an amazing 63.4 percent on the year.
With that, it's only natural to pull out one's silver bars, rounds and old 90 percent silver coins to calculate how much they have increased in value. Fortunately, there are several tools out there to easily do all the work for you. Two of them reside on Coin Collecting News partner sites at:
- US Silver Coin Melt Calculator - SilverCoinsToday.com
- US Silver Coin Calculator - CoinNews.net
These calculators take the daily silver spot price, ask you for the quantity of coins by type and then automatically calculate the intrinsic silver or melt value totals. They also provide a variable bid/ask price spread since a consumer buying from a dealer will pay slightly more than spot price for silver coins while a dealer will pay slightly less to acquire them.
As a quick reference and to show how prices have increased in 2009 alone, here is a sampling of the information that can be obtained via the calculators using Friday's $17.63 silver price in London.
US Silver Coin Melt Values
| Silver Coin Types | Year of Issue |
Coin Face Values |
Coin Melt Values |
2009 Increase |
| Jefferson War Nickel |
1942-1945
|
$0.05
|
$0.99
|
$0.38
|
| Mercury Dime |
1916-1945
|
$0.10
|
$1.28
|
$0.50
|
| Roosevelt Dime |
1946-1964
|
$0.10
|
$1.28
|
$0.50
|
| Washington Quarter |
1932-1964
|
$0.25
|
$3.19
|
$1.24
|
| Walking Liberty Half Dollar |
1916-1947
|
$0.50
|
$6.38
|
$2.48
|
| Franklin Half Dollar |
1948-1963
|
$0.50
|
$6.38
|
$2.48
|
| Kennedy Half Dollar |
1964
|
$0.50
|
$6.38
|
$2.48
|
| Kennedy Half Dollar |
1965-1970
|
$0.50
|
$2.61
|
$1.01
|
| Morgan Dollar |
1878-1921
|
$1.00
|
$13.64
|
$5.29
|
| Peace Dollar |
1921-1935
|
$1.00
|
$13.64
|
$5.29
|
| Eisenhower Dollar (40%) |
1971-1976
|
$1.00
|
$5.57
|
$2.16
|
| Silver Eagle (1 oz) |
1986-2009
|
$1.00
|
$17.63
|
$6.84
|
It's rather impressive to realize that a 1964 Roosevelt dime is worth $1.28 in silver alone. Perhaps more surprising is that its melt value rose by 50 cents in 2009. Naturally, we're talking about "junk silver coins" here, where the value of silver is worth more than the coin's numismatic value. But that's some pretty impressive "junk." Of course, what goes up can come down...
As one would expect, the buying and selling activity for silver coins on the secondary market has increased of late. As an example, a search on eBay with the keywords "90% Silver Coins" currently shows more than 730 active listings. (See eBay auctions for 90% silver coins.)
In a similar article three weeks back when silver spiked to $17.11 an ounce, active listings were in the 580 range. eBay is now showing nearly 1,600 completed auctions for "90% silver coins" in the last two weeks. Clearly, there is substantial silver coin action occuring in today's market.
For other country calculators, check out Australian Silver Coins Melt Calculator, Canadian Silver Coins Melt Calculator, and the New Zealand Silver Coins Melt Calculator.
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