International Bullion Services is proud to offer one of the most convenient and versatile ways to own silver: $1,000 face value bags of pre-1965 circulated United States minted coins (dimes, quarters and half-dollars) with 90 percent silver content.
Sometimes referred to as "junk silver bags", these items are priced by face value, rather than by the ounce. For example, a one dollar face value (ten dimes, four quarters or two half-dollars) contains 0.715 of an ounce of silver. Therefore, a bag ($1,000 face value) of 90% silver coins contains 715 troy ounces of pure silver and weighs 791 troy ounces (about 50 pounds).
Today, you rarely see these pre-1965 U.S. minted 90% silver content coins in circulation. Why? Because although these coins are U.S. legal tender and can still be used to purchase goods and services, their actual and true value is based on the amount of pure silver they contain, and that value today is higher than the coins' face value.
In the 1960's, when Public Law 88-36 was passed, silver was eliminated as the underlying exchange for one and two dollar bills. In 1965, the U.S. Mint discontinued minting dimes, quarters and half dollars with a 90% silver content and switched instead to cheaper cupro-nickel coins with less intrinsic value.