6 Free Ways to Get Junk Silver

Free Ways to get Junk Silver

Did you know there are several free ways to get junk silver? The topic of Junk Silver is becoming a popular topic among Preppers. Junk Silver is a term coin collectors use when referring to ordinary US coins that contain silver. How can you tell if a coin is made of silver? The easiest answer is: ‘silver’ dollars, half-dollars, quarters, and dimes that have been minted before 1965 are 90% silver. Another silver coin is the 3 cent piece shown in the picture below. The American Silver Eagle coin, shown in the top left of the picture below, is one troy ounce of 99.9% pure silver (regardless of year).

To equal 1 ounce of silver, it would take either:

14 dimes 

or 5.75 quarters

or 2.9 half dollars

or 1.33 smaller silver dollars (other than the American Silver Eagle).

6 Free Ways to get Junk Silver

I started collecting American Silver Eagles around 2003. The first coin I bought cost $7 and now the cost is around $23 (2014) so it’s been a fairly good investment. Since then I have added a variety of junk silver. Some people believe that if the US dollar tanks then Americans will go back to the ‘gold standard’ so they stock up on silver coins that differ in weight (silver ounces), making it easier to trade silver for goods and services.


6 Free Ways to get Junk Silver

1. Raid Your Piggy Bank – If you are one of those people who has a large stash of coins, you have a good chance of finding some silver.

Junk Silver Piggy Bank

2. Look In The Dryer – My dad and sister owned an appliance shop.  When I would visit their shop they would show me the treasures that they found (mostly coins) after taking dryers apart.  I asked my sister what part of the dryer collected loose coins and how easy it is to access.  Her answer, “The coins usually fall under the drum.  Depending on what brand the dryer is determined how easy it is to get inside of it”.  You might wait until you replace an old dryer for a new dryer before trying this.

3. Use Cash – When you pay with cash, you receive change in return.  Each cash transaction provides the potential for receiving a silver coin.




4. Get Familiar With The Sound A Silver Coin Makes – My brother-in-law worked as a cashier when he was younger.  He developed an ear for hearing when silver coins dropped into the cash register tray.  When it happened, he would swap-out change he carried with him for the silver coin.
5. Go To The Bank – Get $200 worth of rolled dimes; look through them for coins minted prior to 1965; if you find one replace it with a regular coin so the roll stays intact; return the dimes back to the bank and repeat or cash out.

Junk Silver 1964



6. In Your Computer – There are several precious metals like gold, silver, copper found in your keyboard, monitor, and computer tower.  Older models are more heavily plated but are harder to find. Search for latest videos online to find out how to remove those precious metals.

This YouTube video was made by Moose Scrapper. Check out some of their other informative videos and don’t forget to subscribe!

If you don’t mind spending money, purchase a metal detector.  Metal detectors are great for searching backyards, beaches, parks, etc. for all kinds of valuable metal including silver.


Related Article: 5 Essentials for an Emergency Financial Plan

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Free Ways to get Junk Silver

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Welcome to my site! My name is Nettie and I started this blog to provide simple tools to help Preppers.  I am a Girl Scout Prepper. “Be prepared! A Girl Scout is ready to help out wherever she is needed. Willingness to serve is not enough; you must know how to do the job well, even in an emergency" (the motto, in the 1947 Girl Scout Handbook). Being a Prepper has been a blessing to me, my family, and friends on more then one occasion. You'll find these stories throughout this blog.  You will also find prepper supplies checklists, prepper events, cheap food storage ideas, emergency heat sources, survival books recommendations, reviews on power outage lights, printable prepper pdfs, and articles on emergency disaster preparedness.  

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