I have a small amount of old silver coins that I “inherited” from my mom. About a dozen silver dollars dating from the 1870s to the 1920s; then some half dollars and quarters dating from the early to mid 1900s. Also a handful of dimes from around the 1940s. Is there any point in keeping these? From my little bit of online research, none seem to be rare; all are circulated. Do I just keep them? Will they ever increase in value? And if I want to sell them, how would I go about doing that? Any advice would be appreciated.
Look on E-bay. They have value, but probably not enough to let you retire in the lap of luxury.
The moderators don’t like links to other forums, but try looking at a link that looks a lot like “coin community dotcom”
You’ll confirm what you expect, that circulated coins are worth more than face value but less than a nice dinner out. A local coin shop will probably buy them from you, and try to resell them at a higher price. Unless you want to invest the time and energy to become as expert at valuations and sales as the coin dealer, that’s probably the best you can expect. Sort of like selling off the inherited Stickley furniture for pennies on the dollar.
http://www.pcgs.com/prices/ might help you with valuation approximations. http://www.pcgs.com/whatiscoingrading describes the basics of coin grading (i.e. how worn the coin is), which matters in valuation. http://www.pcgs.com/News/Investigating-The-Origin-Of-Mint-Marks describes mint marks (e.g. the D for Denver when something like 1968-D is listed).
Been a while since I collected coins, but here is what I remember. Those coins are mostly silver, so at the very least they are worth the silver content in them. The value of coins in general depends on their history, with rarity being a big part of it. Something struck in the New Orleans mint, for example, will generally be worth more than something done in Philadelphia, because the New Orleans mint lasted a relatively short period of time and produced relatively few coins (that is relative, not saying they will be worth a fortune). These days it is easy to look up online, and if user guides show they aren’t particularly sought after, then if you don’t otherwise want to keep them probably the easiest thing would be to sell them to a coin dealer,trying to sell them yourself is going to be a hassle more than likely, and since we aren’t talking gonna get rich, that would be the easiest path.
Take them to a reputable coin dealer. I took in a few silver quarters and a Ben Franklin half dollar and got $38. for them.
I thought my Carson City silver dollar uncirculated in its case would be worth a lot and the coin dealer showed me piles of those he had sitting in his shop. Not worth selling.
I also thought a cool looking Indian head penny from 1903 would be worth a lot. No. So I kept it just because I liked it.
If the coins are silver, you should get the silver spot price at the very worst.
Much more likely, a little bit of research about the year/mintmarks and condition grade of each coin along with shopping around to different reputable coin dealers will net you far more than the silver spot price.
Back in the '80’s while working as a cashier clerk at a stationary store as a 6th grader, someone came in and paid for a packet of cigarettes using 2 morgan dollars from the 1880’s. Owner gave the coins to me in exchange for face value. Condition of both coins were in the Very-fine to Extra-Fine category with blueish-red toning on one and golden toning* on the other which enhances value. A coin dealer I befriended during HS checked them and they were valued at ~$35-40 each in the early '90s. Still have them safely preserved in a chemically inert plastic container**.
US coins from dimes to half dollars were 90% silver up until 1964. After that date, half-dollars were 80% silver-clad over a 20% silver/80% copper core from 1965-69, dimes and quarters were copper-nickle clad over copper core as it is now, and half-dollars became the same copper-nickle clad over copper core after 1969 like it is currently.
Interesting side tip, Eisenhower “silver dollars” from 1971-78 were issued in 80% silver-clad over a 20% silver/80% copper core in Proof/Special Collector sets unlike the much more commonplace ones for circulation which were copper-nickle clad over copper core.
Also, in the early-mid 19th century, the US also had silver 3 cent and 5 cent pieces…but they have not been in circulation since the 1860’s-1870’s.
- As opposed to tarnish.
PSA: Don’t polish or otherwise rub your coins as doing so will effectively subject them to more “circulation” and thus, sharply reduce their value as collectable coins. If the coins have toning with positive aesthetics like the 2 Morgan dollars I was given as a kid for face value, polishing/rubbing it off will sharply reduce the collectable value of those coins.
** If you get plastic coin holders, make sure they do not contain PVC(Polyvinylchoride) as in certain temperature conditions over time, PVC can leak chemicals which could seriously damage the coin’s surface area and thus, sharply reduce its collectable value.
I keep those coins, as well as my $2.00 bills just so I can hand them to a child someday in the future as a marvel of passing time. Just as I was thrilled to see Indian head pennies years ago.
Thanks, all. @cobrat - you know a lot about this! 
I may split the difference and keep a few for the kids as an interesting bit of history and then sell off the rest. As several of you said, they are mostly silver, so at the very least, they are worth more than their face value. A quick review didn’t show any unique mint markings, but I’ll check closely before proceeding. Thanks again!
I sold my few silver content quarters since they can easily be confused for ‘regular’ quarters and spent as 25 cents. (If my kids found them after my death, for example).
The Indian head penny and the proof sets won’t have that problem.
I don’t know anything about coin collecting but I do know that the things that most affect value are things that are very difficult for an untrained eye to differentiate. I disagree with those who say you can figure out the value yourself from online resources.
When my father-in-law died, we found a small coin collection among his things (19th century coins). It was a set of coins that looked identical to our eyes and even after Googling and looking at the specific markings we got ranges for individual coins from $35 to over $1000. We couldn’t distinguish the condition factors that would determine where in the range the value would fall. It turned out most were closer to the $25-30 range but a couple were worth 10x that. Also (obviously), the price that a dealer will offer is going to be much less than full retail.