I spent the weekend at my mother-in-law’s, and discovered her sister—aunt by marriage?—has been holding onto a stash of silver dimes at the bank for decades. I offered to evaluate them for her, and she was excited. So was I!

Here’s the backstory: In the early ’60s, her father lent her some money for something, and when she tried to repay him—in dimes, no less—he told her to keep the change. And she did, for years and years!

All those dimes turned out to be pre-1965, which means they were pure silver—talk about hitting the jackpot! I was thrilled to go through them.

She had organized them by year and even tossed in an extra envelope filled with other old coins. My kind of treasure hunt!

After spending two hours sorting through more than 460 dimes, we found that the silver values (as of June 5th, when it was $16.11 per ounce) made them worth over $550! The total coin value was roughly double that according to the Red Book, though realistically, you might get somewhere in between, leaning more towards the silver value if you plan to sell. Offloading that many dimes to collectors instead of bullion hunters would be quite the task.

Still, quite the leap from their original $40 value—13.7 times better, in fact!

We also uncovered one Morgan Dollar (1891), a Barber Quarter, a Buffalo Nickel, and two V-Nickels (1909 and 1911). They weren’t in pristine condition, but finding them was a treat.

This little adventure gave me a great idea of just how many coins she had! I even got creative with the photos, using a magnifying glass for close-ups. Who knew it pairs well with cameras?

I like to store coins in empty jars—they’re perfect for my collections (whether silver or less valuable). Throwing away old envelopes and boxes feels liberating, and jars are easier to store and carry. Plus, paper can damage coins over time.

I have a stash of empty baby food jars and pasta or jelly jars for occasions like this. They fit nicely into old beer boxes! (Just don’t keep coins in beer bottles.)

That was my unexpected coin adventure this weekend.

You never know what you’ll find as a collector! It’s another reason to let friends and family know you’re the coin expert. Amazing things just turn up when people realize you’re the go-to person for coins!