Why are coins in this country no longer made in silver?
In the 1960's, the US stopped making silver coins because of the
value of the metal. For example, a silver dime's silver value is
worth $2 and a silver quarter is $6. Silver dollars are worth $30.
The U.S. was wasting a lot of money in silver coins and the silver
value was rapidly increasing, so they had to stop. Another reason
would be that people took the coins, melted it and sold it to a
cash-for-gold type company. Also, they would ship or smuggle them
to foreign countries which is illegal.