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What inflation does to the coins in your pocket
Inflation means each dollar buys less. Face-value coins stay at face value. Silver and gold coins do not. That is why 1964 dimes are not spent.
Inflation means a dollar buys less than it used to.
A loaf of bread costs more dollars. A 2026 quarter is still 25 cents of spending money. It just buys less bread.
Why old silver left circulation
Before 1965, US dimes and quarters were 90% silver. When the silver in a dime became worth more than ten cents, people stopped spending the dimes. They spent the new clad coins instead. Why 1965 changed pocket change. 90% silver.
The face value did not change. The metal value did. Face value. What money is. Seigniorage.
What this means at a shop
Clad change is face value. 90% silver is metal value, counted by face as a shortcut. Gold coins are metal value, almost never face value. A shop does not “cause” inflation when they pay you more dollars for an ounce than they did ten years ago. The ounce is the same. The dollar moved.
More on the coin and money library.
Extra pad history for inflation and pocket change
Inflation means a dollar buys less than it used to. A 2026 quarter is still 25 cents of spending money. It just buys less bread. That is why old silver left circulation. Before 1965, US dimes and quarters were 90% silver. When the silver in a dime became worth more than ten cents, people stopped spending the dimes. They spent the new clad coins instead. Why 1965 changed pocket change.
The face value did not change. The metal value did. Kennedy halves 1965–70 kept 40% silver for a while. War nickels 1942–45 were 35% silver for a war reason, then went back to nickel. Canadian circulating silver 1920–66 is 80%, then it left circulation too. Same human habit, different mint.
What this means at a shop
Clad change is face value. 90% silver is metal value, counted by face as a shortcut. Gold coins are metal value, almost never face value. A shop does not “cause” inflation when they pay you more dollars for an ounce than they did ten years ago. The ounce is the same. The dollar moved. What money is. Seigniorage. The Fed.
A jar of pennies is a jar of face plus time. Do not spend 1964 dimes as dimes. Do not clean the ones you pulled. Don’t clean. Constitutional silver speeches do not change the bid.
People also ask
Why did people hoard 1964 coins? The metal passed the face.
Are 1965 quarters silver? No. Clad. Kennedys 1965–70 halves are the 40% leftover.
Does inflation make my Gold Eagle “worth more”? More dollars. Same ounce.
Should I spend silver certificates for silver? They spend as a dollar. The silver window closed.