Are Canadian silver coins worth anything? My friend, that's like asking if a moose is large. Yes, emphatically yes! That old change rattling around in your grandparents' cookie jar might be worth a whole lot more than the number stamped on it.
The primary value of these coins comes from their silver content, which makes them worth at least their "melt value." For a long and glorious period, Canadian currency was packed with the good stuff. Dimes, quarters, half dollars, and dollars minted from 1920 all the way to 1966 are a respectable 80% silver. If you happen to find coins from before 1920, you've hit the fancy stuff, as those were made of 92.5% sterling silver.
Things got a little weird in 1967, which you could call the year of Canada's great coin identity crisis. Coins from that year could be either 80% or 50% silver, so it's a bit of a toss-up. By 1968, the government settled on 50% silver before phasing it out completely. Because of this intrinsic metallic worth, these coins are often traded as "junk silver," which is a terribly unflattering name for money that's worth more than its face value.
So, before you use that dusty 1964 quarter to buy a gumball, remember that its silver content alone makes it worth several dollars. And that's just the starting point. If a coin is particularly rare or in pristine condition, it could also have numismatic value to a collector, pushing its price well beyond what the silver is worth. It's truly the silver lining of checking your old pocket change.
