"Detecting in the U.S.A. Does Have Advantages!"

i wouldn't say it's common to get a silver coin in change from the store in the states. happens to me maybe once every 1 to 3 years.

I think because the clad dimes and quarters are still the same design as the silver ones, a few silvers can still be found in circulation. But not very common. I have found two silver quarters in change in the last ten years or so. I don't search coin rolls though. Most younger people probably don't know that coins used to be silver.

Now that many more people realize the value of silver, those coins in circulation are quickly snapped up.

Battlecry4 said:

In the U.K. our coinage is now decimalised and has been since 1968. Pre-decimal coins are no longer in circulation and most were handed in via banks. So all our 100% silver coins up to 1910 and 50% silver coins from 1910-1947 which were handed in have probably been melted down? I have noticed that in the U.S.A. silver coins according to many forum posts are still being circulated. Hence silver coin finds whether it be through detecting or commercial exchange are common. Although in the U.K. we have much older finds, we don't have modern silver. I must admit I like the appearance of many American silver coins!!

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Ahhh, the grass is always greener on the other side!! We stopped making silver coins in 1964, and most were taken out of circulation at that time. There were some later Kennedy half dollars that were silver, but there aren't really many around. Yes, you read about people finding an occasional silver coin in change or in coin rolls from a bank, but they are really few and far between. I think most of the silver coins found in change are coins that some ignorant person found in their grandmother's drawer and they spent it without knowing the difference. Ask any coin roll hunter what the ratio of silver to clad he's found is and you'll see the silver isn't much. I think many of us on this side would give up finding silver in change for the chance to find all the ancient coins and artifacts in the ground England or Europe has to offer. By the way, I was over in England to buy a brand new Norton motorcycle in 1970. Bought my first detector a couple of months after I returned.

gunsil, Norton produced some great motorcycles! I bet yours was a "dominator?" Thanks for the information on silver coinage! Just out of interest were you a member of the U.S.A.F.? If so, where were you stationed?