Silver Coins Vary in Value

If you want to sell silver and have a quantity of silver coins, you may be surprised to find that the do not all bring in the same amount of cash for silver when you take them to a silver buyer.

All silver coins are not created equal. There are some silver coins that contain a lot more silver than others--at times almost 50% more. One website that covers silver coins stated that the American Silver Eagle coin is 99.9% silver. In contrast, being made up of 40% silver, the Washington Quarter is still a silver coin, but it certainly does not contain the percentage of silver that other coins have.

Why is this exactly? There are a number of factors that come into play when it comes to silver coin production. For example, in 1965, the copper-nickel clad series of Washington Quarters came onto the scene the economy was a big consideration. At this time the federal government was losing money on silver coins, so they started to make some with less silver. When coins are made to be passed around as currency, the government has to think about efficiency and the value of metals at the time. The government does not want to put large amounts of silver into coins that will become worn down.

The American Silver Eagle was produced at three different mints and its content it certified by the United State Mint. The American Silver Eagle is the country's official silver bullion coin and was first released in 1986. This coin was released to be a collector's item and not to be circulated. For that reason, it contains a lot more silver than a coin that is intended for circulation. The inventory of the 2006 Silver Eagle 20th Anniversary boxed set quickly sold out when it showed up in the U.S. Mint catalog and the prices for the different editions of the coin have steadily climbed.