Pre-1965 coins containing ninety percent silver are known to the investment world as “junk silver coins.” Junk silver has no collectible value, but these circulated coins are still a popular physical silver investment. Technically, junk silver is not bullion, but is sold at similar premiums.
Typically sold in bags, a $1,000 face-value bag of junk silver, if refined, would yield between 715 and 720 ounces of pure silver. When the coins were originally produced, the same bag would have yielded a stable 723 ounces of precious metal. Why the difference?
The answer lies in the fact that the dimes, quarters and half-dollars contained in these bags have decreased in weight, due to the wear produced by their circulation as legal tender. Half-dollars tend to yield closer to 720 ounces than dimes and quarters, because they endured less circulation. Premiums for half-dollars will run slightly more than dimes or quarters, because fewer of them were minted, and they are more popular with buyers. Junk silver half-dollars include the Ben Franklin, 1964 Kennedy and Walking Liberty designs. Walking Liberties usually fetch the highest premiums.
