If you're referring to U.S. coins please post a more specific question noting which of the 170 years of coinage, 8 mints, and over a dozen denominations you're interested in.
7-17-11>>> It depends on who you sell it to. Check around, bulk junk silver is about 18 X's face value.
A pound of silver coins is about $500.00
August 24, 2009 1400 grams of silver coins are worth $571.60.
It is pre 1964 with a serial # of 496507
Pre-1964 US dimes, quarters, and half-dollars contain 90% silver by weight. A dime is approximately 2.5 grams of silver, a quarter is 6.25 grams, and a half-dollar is 12.5 grams, making it easy to calculate the silver content based on the face value of the coins. For example, a $1 face value in pre-1964 coins would contain approximately 0.715 ounces (20.17 grams) of silver.
The U.S. A. was not producing coins in 1770.
The coins have an Actual Silver Weight (ASW) of .36169oz of pure silver.
Mercury dimes were made from 1916 to 1945 so ALL of them are pre-1964. You can find values at many sites, such as the one linked below.
Pre-1965 silver coins are worth more for the silver than face value.
About $83,764...
$800-$900 retail for excellent POST 1964. PRE 1964 is $200 more.
The last year before 1964 that silver dollars were minted was 1935, and they were 90% silver. The melt value at present is about $24.