Melt Value vs Collector Value

The short answer. A coin can be worth two different amounts. Melt value is the metal inside it. Collector value is what a collector will pay for the coin itself. The price you can get is usually the higher of the two, less a dealer's margin.

Melt value: the metal

Melt value = weight in grams × purity ÷ 31.1035 × spot price per troy ounce. For a 90% silver Morgan dollar: 26.73 g × 0.9 ÷ 31.1035 = 0.7734 troy ounces of silver. The spot price changes all day, so melt value does too. See it live on the melt calculator.

Collector value: the coin

Collector value depends on three things:

• Date and mint mark. Low-mintage dates are scarcer. Your date and mint mark decide which price line applies.
• Condition (grade). A worn coin and an uncirculated coin of the same date can differ by a factor of ten or more.
• Demand. Popular series sell faster and at better prices.

Two Morgan dollars, same silver, very different values

Every Morgan dollar holds the same silver, currently worth $41.77.

• The 1881-S is a common date. Our estimate for a circulated one is $50⁠–⁠$60: close to its metal value.
• The 1893-S is the key date of the series, with only 100,000 struck. Our estimate for a circulated one is $2,850⁠–⁠$17,000. The silver is a tiny part of that.

These are Lustre editorial estimates, not market data.

Which one applies to my coin?

1. Find the date and mint mark. Use the catalogue.
2. Read the answer line. If a worn coin is estimated at about its melt value, the metal is what you are selling. If the estimate is far above melt, the date matters, and condition matters a lot.
3. Do not clean the coin. Cleaning lowers collector value and does nothing for melt value.

If you are selling

Dealers pay a share of melt for coins sold by weight, and grade-based prices for collector coins. If the coin might be a key date, get two offers and consider a grading service for anything that looks valuable. Track what you own in My Stack: it shows both numbers for each coin.