People walk in with a coffee can of dimes and quarters and want a straight answer. Here is how we look at pre-1964 US silver at Apex Gold Silver Coin, 605 Walnut St SW in Winston-Salem.
What “junk silver” actually means
US dimes, quarters, and half dollars dated 1964 and earlier are 90 percent silver. That is melt value, not a knock on the coins. Nickels are a different story (wartime 1942–1945 silver nickels only). 1965 and later clad coins are not silver.
If you have a mix, we will separate silver from clad in front of you. You do not have to sort it first, but it goes faster if you do.
Melt vs collectible
Most circulated pre-1964 coins are bought as silver. A worn 1964 quarter is melt. A sharp key date, a better mint mark, or an old dollar can be worth more than melt, and we will say so. Jeff and Tania would rather point that out than buy a collector coin as scrap.
Silver dollars (Morgan, Peace, and the old trade dollars) are not priced like junk halves. Bring them anyway. We buy both.
How we pay
We pay a fair market rate on junk 90 percent silver. Gold scrap is about 75 percent of what the refinery pays us. That 75 percent is gold only, not watches and not a blanket number for coins.
You get cash. No appointment. Walk in, we weigh or count, we explain the number, you decide.
What to bring
- The coins (jars, albums, rolls, loose is all fine)
- A photo ID
- Anything you already know is a dollar or a key date, in a separate pile if you want
We are licensed and bonded. Estates and inherited jars are normal here. No pressure to sell.
Hours and how to find us
Monday–Friday 10am–4pm, Saturday 12–3pm, closed Sunday. Apex Gold Silver Coin, 605 Walnut St SW, Winston-Salem, NC 27101. Phone (336) 505-9503.
We see people from Greensboro, Lexington, Mount Airy, and Reidsville. That is the service area. The shop is the one on Walnut Street.
If you are selling a watch, that is the shop next door at 607 Walnut (Apex Gold Silver Watches). Coins, gold, and silver come here to 605.