Guide · Selling
Selling gold and silver coins
How Canadian dealers price bullion coins versus collector coins, and how to get the best offer for each.
Last updated October 7, 2026
Coins fall into two groups, and dealers price them very differently.
Bullion coins: priced from the spot price
Modern bullion coins, like the Gold Maple Leaf, Silver Maple Leaf, American Eagle or Krugerrand, contain a fixed amount of metal. Dealers usually quote them as spot price plus or minus a set amount. Our coin and bar reference lists the exact metal content of each, with a live melt value in Canadian dollars.
- Expect an offer close to melt value for common bullion coins in good condition.
- Damaged or scratched coins may be offered less. Silver Maple Leafs often get white “milk spots”, which can lower an offer.
- Original mint tubes and boxes help a little. They matter less than they do for bars.
Collector coins: priced on rarity and condition
For older coins, the date and condition can be worth far more than the metal. Some Canadian dates are famous for it: a 1948 silver dollar or a 1921 half dollar is worth many times its silver.
- Never clean a coin. It is the most common way people destroy value.
- Handle coins by the edges.
- Get an opinion from a coin dealer before selling old coins for metal.
- Coins in sealed holders from a grading company have a grade and certificate number you can look up on that company’s website.
Canadian coins that contain silver
- Dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollars dated 1920 to 1967 are 80% silver.
- Coins dated 1919 and earlier are sterling: 92.5% silver.
- Some 1967 dimes and quarters, and the early 1968 ones, are 50% silver. Later 1968 coins are nickel. A magnet tells 1968 coins apart: nickel sticks, silver does not.
- Coins from 1969 on hold no silver, apart from special collector issues.
Dealers often price these coins by face value. $1 of face value in 80% coins, in any mix of dimes, quarters, halves or dollars, holds 0.60 troy ounces of silver when new. Dealers allow a little for wear.
Getting the best price
- Sort coins into bullion and possibly collectible.
- Check today’s live price and each coin’s melt value.
- Get two written quotes, at least one from a coin dealer.
- Compare offers as a percent of melt, using our calculator.