What is junk silver? Why old coins are still attracting investors

If you’ve inherited a jar of old coins or found pre-1965 quarters tucked away, you may already own silver without realizing it. These coins — often called “junk silver” — can hold real value tied to today’s silver prices.

Despite the name, junk silver isn’t worthless. The term refers to older circulating coins that contain silver but aren’t considered rare or collectible. Before the mid-1960s, the United States Mint used silver in everyday coinage. Today, these coins are valued primarily for their metal content rather than their rarity.

Here's how to identify junk silver, what it's worth and whether it deserves a place in your portfolio.

Junk silver is the industry term for silver coins that have no numismatic value, meaning they aren’t of interest to rare coin collectors. With a few exceptions, the U.S. Mint stopped using silver in circulating coins after the Coinage Act of 1965, but that’s recent enough that many of these coins are still available through dealers and collectors today.

They’re often worn from years of circulation or were minted in such high quantities that they aren’t considered rare. Instead, their value is tied directly to the amount of silver they contain.

The word “junk,”…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/money/