[TheHound]

You aren't allowed to melt down coinage for the metal content. It's against the law. No smelter will do it and there isn't all that much silver in our silver coins, from that era.

I remember silver coins so worn you couldn't read the dates or anything, and have no collector value. My question is - if they can't be melted down, where are they all?

[nopardons]

Yes, I too remember those coins.

Banks turn in worn out and defaced paper and badly worn coins to the government. They are then destroyed.