JarSort · Inherited coin values

Inherited coins: what to do first

You just inherited a jar, a box, or a drawer of old coins. The two mistakes that cost families the most money are selling everything to the first dealer who makes an offer, and cleaning the coins first. Do neither. The steps below take an afternoon, cost nothing, and are the difference between a fair price and a lowball.

The three numbers that matter

Prices as of Oct 24, 2026 · Silver spot $53.80/ozt (Kitco) · Circulated, common date, problem-free, raw (uncertified) unless stated

Melt floor, US 90% silver

$38.47 / $1 face

Per $1 of face value in pre-1965 US silver (0.715 ozt × $53.80/ozt spot). Your floor before any dealer talks.

Example: Morgan dollar melt

$41.61

0.7734 ozt silver × $53.80/ozt. Common circulated Morgans sell for $42–$68.

Dealer might pay

75–90% of melt

Typical inferred range for common silver — an estimate — not a firm bid. Get two offers.

Silver spot $53.80/ozt (Kitco), Oct 24, 2026. Junk-silver melt per $1 face uses the trade's wear-adjusted 0.715 oz figure. All figures Oct 24, 2026.

Step 1: Do not clean anything

Cleaning is the single fastest way to destroy collector value — a polished coin can lose half its worth instantly, and no cleaning can be undone. Handle coins by the edges, keep them dry, and leave toning and dullness exactly as they are. Dealers expect old silver to look old.

Step 2: Sort the silver from the clad

US dimes, quarters, and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier are 90% silver; dollars dated 1935 or earlier are too. From 1965, dimes and quarters are clad and worth face value (half dollars 1965–1970 are 40% silver). The edge test settles it in a second: a solid silvery edge means silver, a copper stripe means clad. War nickels (1942–1945, big mint mark above Monticello) are 35% silver, worth $3.03 in melt.

Step 3: Check the key dates before you sell anything as common

A handful of dates are worth hundreds or thousands while their neighbours are worth melt: the 1916-D Mercury dime ($1,000+), the 1909-S VDB cent ($700–$1,500), the 1937-D three-legged Buffalo nickel ($475–$800 certified), and the 1955 doubled-die cent ($1,400–$3,800 certified). Check every coin’s date and mint mark against a catalogue before you accept a bulk price — one missed key date can be worth more than the whole jar.

Step 4: Know your floor, then get two offers

Work out the melt floor of the jar first — that is the number no honest dealer can go far below for silver coins. Then take the dealer sheet to two dealers and compare their offers against the dealer-likely range. Never accept the first number, and never sell a coin you have not identified: “not in the catalogue” does not mean “not valuable.”

Step 5: Sort it with JarSort

JarSort walks you through the same steps coin by coin — guided identification, three sourced prices per coin (melt, recent sold range, dealer-likely pay), and a one-page dealer sheet for the whole jar. Your first 3 coins are free.

Do not clean your coins. Cleaning is the fastest way to destroy collector value — a polished coin can lose half its worth instantly, and no cleaning can be undone. Handle coins by the edges, keep them dry, and leave toning and dullness exactly as they are.

Sort your jar free — 3 free scansGuided identification, three sourced prices per coin, and a dealer sheet to take to two dealers.

No signup wall for your first coin. No AI photo recognition is claimed or used — you confirm year and mint mark yourself.