How to Melt Silver Coins

Silver was a popular metal for American coinage until 1965, when its price reached the point that the metal in the coins exceeded the face value of the dimes, quarters, and half dollars that used it. While its price is significantly less per ounce than that of gold, some choose to melt old silver coins that are too damaged to have collector value to recover the silver in them. The following steps tell how to do so.

1. Place the coin on a surface that won't melt or burn. A crucible of fire clay is best, but you can also place the coin on a flat stone or brick.
   • Using a crucible allows you to place the coin on one side of the crucible halfway down so that as the metals in the silver alloy melt, you can more easily separate the silver from the other metals.
2. Heat the coin until the metal starts to bubble. At this point, the coin is beginning to melt. (Coin silver melts at a temperature of 1,615 degrees F, or 879 degrees C.) Continue applying heat until the metal begins to run.
   • You may notice a change in the color of your torch flame. This is caused by the copper in the silver alloy.
3. Separate the silver from the alloy metals. The simplest way to do this is to take advantage of the different melting points of the metals in the coin. Pure silver melts at a temperature of 1,761 degrees F (961 degrees C), while copper melts at a temperature of 1,983 degrees F (1,084 degrees C). If you're heating the coin in a crucible, tip the crucible so that the molten silver will run down to the bottom of the crucible, leaving copper slag where you had placed the coin.

• Work in a well-ventilated area to avoid being overcome by the heat or by any trace gases liberated during the melting process. Be sure to protect your hands and eyes from the heat.
• If you have more than one silver coin to melt, you can place a second coin on top of the first while it is melting.
• Despite rumors to the contrary, it is not illegal to melt U.S. silver coinage for its metal value. It was illegal from 1967 to 1969 to do so, during which time the government recalled as much silver coinage from circulation as it could. Since then, it is legal to melt silver coinage, as there is little, if any, in circulation. Check with the regulations for other countries regarding salvaging silver from their coinage.

• Do not use the above steps to melt U.S. pennies or nickels to recover the copper and nickel in them, as it has been illegal since December 2006 to do so. As with the 1967 law barring melting silver coinage, the reason it is illegal is to prevent profiteering from the fact that the base metal value of the copper and nickel used in these coins exceeds their face value.

• Torch
• Fire clay crucible or stone
• Silver coin(s)
• Heat-resistant gloves
• Safety goggles