Expert: Bruce Goldstein - 5/18/2008

Question
My brother gave me a bag of old dines. While going thru the bag we pulled out a few really old ones and was wondering what the worth might be. One is 1911 with a D,
one is 1905 with something on the back but I can't make it out. The whole bag weighs 8 lbs.    Thank you, Judy

Answer
That sounds like a lot of silver (dimes)!  You might want to separate the dimes into types.  The dimes dated prior to 1917 are called Barber dimes, prior to 1892 they are Seated dimes, between 1916 and 1945 they are Mercury dimes, and after 1945 they are Roosevelt dimes.

Some of the dimes you have, depending on date and condition might have a decent premium.  You might want to get the latest (2009) copy of the Red Book (A Guidebook of United States Coins by Yeoman) and examine the coins you have.

Once you've had a chance to separate the coins and maybe take some pictures or scans, you might want to join one of the many online coin forums to discuss what you have.  The Coin Community forums are one such place that I recommend.

Typically, circulated Roosevelt times, and later date Mercury dimes, don't have a value above silver melt.  Right now silver melt is around 10-11 times face value.