Author Archives: Mike Hilliard

Short answer: Buffalo nickels, struck from 1913 to 1938, are copper-nickel and contain no silver, so their value comes from collectors. Jefferson “war nickels” dated 1942 to 1945 with a large mint mark above Monticello are 35 percent silver, with about 0.05626 troy ounces each. A few Buffalo dates and errors, such as the 1937-D […]

Short answer: A mint mark is the small letter that shows where a coin was struck: P for Philadelphia, D for Denver, S for San Francisco, W for West Point, and on older coins O for New Orleans, CC for Carson City and C for Charlotte. It usually sits near the date or on the […]

Short answer: Lincoln wheat pennies were made from 1909 through 1958. Most were made from a copper-based alloy, but ordinary 1943 pennies were zinc-coated steel because copper was needed for World War II. Most common wheat pennies have modest collector value, while certain dates, mint marks and rare errors can be worth considerably more. What […]

Short answer: 1964 Kennedy half dollars are 90 percent silver, with 0.3617 troy ounces of silver each. Halves dated 1965 through 1970 are 40 percent silver, with about 0.1479 troy ounces. Kennedy halves struck for circulation from 1971 on contain no silver, although the Mint has made special silver versions for collectors. Why 1964 is […]

Short answer: US dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 and earlier are 90 percent silver, and so are silver dollars dated 1935 and earlier. Every dollar of face value in these dimes, quarters and halves held about 0.7234 troy ounces of silver when new, so most of them are worth about their melt value. […]

Wondering why a gold buyer in Greenville pays less than spot? We break down exactly how spot price works and what you’ll actually get.