US coin melt value chart: what the metal in your change is worth

Melt value of every US coin

Silver $54.05 and gold $3,996.90 (Oct 24, 2026) · copper $6.57/lb (September 2026 average) · nickel $7.40/lb and zinc $1.82/lb (September 2026 average).

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Mint weights. Silver and gold coins count only their silver or gold, as dealers do; the copper alloyed in adds less than a cent. Worn 90% coins are traded at 0.715 troy ounces of silver per dollar of face, about 1% below these figures. Sources: US Mint coin specifications; metal prices from gold-api.com (silver, gold and copper) and the World Bank Pink Sheet (nickel and zinc).

Is it illegal to melt pennies and nickels?

Yes. Since December 14, 2006, US Mint rules (31 CFR part 82) have banned melting or treating pennies and nickels, and exporting more than a small amount of them, with a penalty of up to $10,000 and five years in prison. The rule came in because the metal in both coins had climbed past their face value, and the Mint did not want to keep making coins only to watch them go into a furnace. The law makes one exception almost everyone has used: the penny-squashing machine at the zoo, since flattening a coin into a souvenir is not a way to profit from its metal.

Silver and gold coins are a different matter. There is no ban on melting a silver dime or a gold eagle, though few people do, because a refiner usually pays less than a coin dealer. The guide to melting coins covers the rules in full, including Britain, Canada and Australia.

Which pennies are copper?

Pennies dated 1982 and earlier are 95% copper and weigh 3.11 grams, except the 1943 penny, which is steel and sticks to a magnet. In 1982 the Mint switched partway through the year to a zinc coin with a thin copper coat, weighing 2.50 grams, so 1982 pennies come in both kinds. Every penny from 1983 on is zinc. The look is the same, so the only home test is a scale that reads to a tenth of a gram: 3.1 grams is copper, 2.5 is zinc. The guide to copper pennies has every year, how to sort a jar, and the rare 1943 copper one.

The Mint struck its last circulating penny on November 12, 2025, after more than 230 years. Pennies are still legal tender; there just will not be any new ones. For silver coins, the Is My Coin Silver? checker tells you from the date and the denomination.

Why a nickel costs more to make than it is worth

In fiscal 2025 the Mint spent 13.31 cents to make and ship each 5-cent nickel, and 3.02 cents on each 1-cent penny, according to its 2025 annual report. It was the twentieth year in a row that both coins cost more than their face value. The metal is only part of it; the rest is fabricating the strip, striking, and shipping to the Federal Reserve. Dimes and quarters still cost the Mint less than they are worth, because their face value is so much higher: a dime holds less metal than a nickel and is worth twice as much.

Melt value is not what a dealer pays

For silver and gold coins, melt value is close to a ceiling. A dealer buying common-date 90% silver usually pays a little under it, and worn coins are traded by weight at 0.715 ounces of silver per dollar of face rather than the 0.7234 a new coin holds. The junk silver calculator handles a whole jar by count or face value, and the guide to where to sell gold and silver explains the spread.

For copper pennies and nickels, melt value is a number with nowhere to go: no legitimate buyer can melt them, so nobody pays it. And a melt chart is the wrong tool for a rare coin. A 1916-D dime or a 1909-S VDB penny is worth far more to a collector than its metal, so check the date before anything goes in a bag.

Outside the US

This chart is US coins only, but it shows values in your own currency; change it in the box under the calculator. Most countries took silver out of their coins in the 1960s and 1970s, and the junk silver calculator covers the silver coins of Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and others. The guide to when coins stopped being silver has the year for each country.

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