Collecting Silver Coins - A Guide For Cashiers At Work

Being a cashier may not be your dream job when you're 16 and still in high school or working your way through college, but its a great opportunity to search change for older silver coins. As time goes on, silver will increase in value, making silver coins very valuable in comparison to their face value. Most coin and hobby shops will purchase silver coins from collectors near the market price for the silver content in them. However, silver can be a great and easy investment vehicle for younger individuals since at most stores, you can exchange your own pocket-change for silver coins from your register.

Silver coins are relatively rare to find in circulation. In 1964, the U.S. government ended the minting of most coins with silver as their composition, opting for nickel, zinc and copper mixes. However, it is not impossible to find them in the loose change in your register.

Tips for finding silver coins at work and what to do:

• Most coins made in 1964 and before will contain some amount of silver (except pennies and most nickels)
• Quarters and dimes can be found occasionally, but quarters are less likely because they are larger and thus have more silver content in them and are probably already in the hands of another collector
• One way to quickly check if you might have a silver dime in your till is to line them all up as if they were packaged in a roll and look at the edges (coins produced after 1964 contain copper and the edges of the coins are both brown and silver from the copper and nickel, silver coin edges are only silver)
• Occasionally, some customers may pay for their purchases with half-dollars, either in loose coins or in wrapped rolls
• Half-dollars made before 1964 will also be composed of silver and can sometimes be worth more than the silver content in them due to their rarity
• Although most coins produced after 1964 contain no silver, the Kennedy half-dollars from 1965 through 1970 contained 40% silver, still making them worth more than their face value
• When you find a silver coin and wish to swap or "purchase" it from your till, always have a second person present to witness the exchange and to protect yourself from accusations of theft
• Get to know the person or persons responsible for making your store's bank deposits. The majority of stores deposit half-dollars to the bank rather than keeping them on hand. If any coins come along when you aren't working, they could let alert you and let you "purchase" them out with other cash. In a situation like this, its good to have the Manager On Duty present to witness the exchange to protect both yourself and the person preparing the bank deposit from accusations of theft

This isn't an expensive hobby by any means, but is an interesting way to pass some of the time at work. You may be surprised at what you may find in your or someone else's till...happy hunting!