What is the value of a silver us half dollar?

Answer 1

You meed to provide much more information. Silver half dollars were made for almost two centuries at about a half-dozen mints so at a bare minimum you need to identify its date, condition, and mint mark.

If it's dated 1965 to 1969 it's made of 40% silver and is worth about $2.75 to $3.00 as of 02/2010.

If it's older than that it's made of 90% silver and its value is very dependent on its date and mint mark. If your coin is dated 1964 or earlier please post a new and more specific question. This is especially important for the Ben Franklin coins 1948-1963 and the earlier Liberty Walking halves.

Answer 2

Silver half dollars were made for about 170 years at a half-dozen mints so that's an extremely broad question. Please post a new question with the coin's date and mint mark.

MoreThe silver market has been extremely volatile, so any absolute price posted here would be out of date almost immediately. 90% silver halves (1964 and earlier) contain about 11.25 gm of pure silver, or 0.36 troy oz. so check a newspaper or financial website for the current price of silver and multiply by 0.36 for a rough melt value.

Halves dated 1965-1970 are 40% silver and contain about 0.17 oz of pure metal. All circulating halves made since 1971 are made of copper-nickel, not silver.

Of course a metal dealer will pay wholesale, which is only about 2/3 of retail. Also, some older halves can be worth considerably more as collectibles so before selling them as scrap you should check their numismatic value as well.