Your bag of 90% silver coins is worth at least $3500, James. Do NOT take these to the bank and change them for currency. A Coin dealer who specializes in bullion will always buy your coins at a little below the value of the silver contained. Check the www if there are no such dealers in your area.

It would be worth getting a Red Book from a coin store and checking dates and mint-marks to see if you have some more valuable coins. You could get $10-20 or more if you get lucky on a few of the individual coins.

If you can find a friendly coin collector in your area to assist you, you'll do better than just taking them into a coin dealer an asking him what he will offer. A collector will know where mint marks are found on the coins and if there are any unusually scarce varieties to look for.

My personal recommendation is that even if there are no scarce dates in your hoard, you hang on to the silver for a while. With the impending war in Iraq and uncertainty in Korea, precious metals are starting to wake from a long sleep. Your bullion will likely be worth more in 6 mo to a year that it is today. Gold for instance hit five year highs last week.