The nation’s last-ever circulating coins minted in 90% silver were minted in 1964. Then, with silver rising beyond its traditional level of $1.29 per ounce, it was no longer feasible to mint coins in silver.

Ever since the beginning of U.S. coinage in 1792, silver coins such as the dime, quarter, half dollar and dollar were closely linked to the price of silver. In fact, a silver dollar always contained exactly one dollar’s worth of silver, based on the price of $1.29 per ounce.

This whole system started to unravel when the price of silver shot up wildly. After World War II, industries used a lot of silver and there was increasing pressure on the nation’s silver supply. As we all know, when the supply goes down, prices go up.

At the same time that silver was being eliminated from coins, the government decided that silver certificates had come to the end of their natural life. After all, if silver was no longer part of the nation’s coinage, it made sense to no longer make it part of the banknotes.

An act of Congress on June 4, 1963 made the end of the Silver Certificate

official, although they were still allowed to circulate. People could still cash them in for silver dollars until March 1964, after which they were only redeemed for $1 in silver. It took another act of Congress to halt the practice of redeeming Silver Certificates for silver.

The last date to turn them in for silver was June 24, 1968. Like all other United States federal banknotes, Silver Certificates are still legal tender. However, only a fool would spend them at face value, and the Treasury will redeem them for face value in current Federal Reserve Notes. Of course, they’re worth much more than face value as collectibles.

While the public was encouraged to redeem their Silver Certificates in the 1960s, banks were ordered to turn over all Silver Certificates to the Treasury. Although there are no precise figures available, the vast majority of Silver Certificates were either redeemed or otherwise returned to the government.

Now, the important question–whatever happened to all those millions of Silver Certificates? The simple answer is that they were destroyed. Pure and simple. The government didn’t want them back in circulation to compete with the Federal Reserve Notes that were replacing them, so there was no reason to keep them around.

Millions upon millions of perfectly good–and perfectly collectible– Silver Certificates were thus destroyed. Perhaps as many as 99% or more of all Silver Certificates were destroyed, leaving just a fraction for the world’s collectors. Most of today’s Silver Certificates come from small hoards that were stashed away decades ago. Some hoards were started as an investment when Federal Reserve Notes replaced all other paper money, while others were pure accidents.

The accidental hoards are often the most interesting. The “golden age” of the Silver Certificates was during the Great Depression, when money was scarce and hoarding was a way of preparing for the future. Banks were crashing all around the nation, President Roosevelt took the United States off the Gold Standard and unemployment was at treacherous levels. So some people lucky enough to get their hands on Silver Certificates stored them in the attic, under the bed, or in bank vaults. Many of these hoards were forgotten about when the owners died, and only in recent years have they come to light. Most of the people who were adults during the Great Depression have already died–and quite often their hoards are discovered by surviving family members. What this means is that there are fewer and fewer hoards waiting to be discovered.

In practical terms, nobody knows if any more hoards will EVER be found. The supply of Silver Certificates could literally dry up at any moment. And when that happens, today’s affordable prices will look like incredible bargains compared to the booming prices that are likely to take place. It wouldn’t surprise too many people to see prices increase by anywhere from 500-1,000% of today’s levels. Of course, there are no guarantees, but all you need to do is look at earlier issues.

In the banknote world, the older banknotes always seem to be worth more. Many of the large-size banknotes that preceded Silver Certificates and were issued up to 1928 are becoming so expensive that few people can afford them. These are the banknotes that only a few years ago were considered relatively common. Large-size $1 and $5 banknotes can now fetch hundreds of dollars each–prices that were beyond the imagination until recently.

Silver Certificates are poised for the same sort of drama. The same situation exists. These banknotes are approaching “old age”, and the hoards are becoming fewer and fewer each year. There’s only one conclusion that a sane collector can reach: buy now, because you may not be able to find (or afford) them in the future. But there’s a warning for all the would-be get-rich-quick dreamers out there. Things won’t change overnight. It may take a few years, and the changes may at first seem insignificant. But before you know it, you could be sitting on a silver mine!