What is coin silver?
"Coin silver" means silver of about 90% purity, the standard used for US silver coins until 1965. In the 1700s and 1800s, American silversmiths often made spoons and cups from melted coins, so antique American silver is frequently marked COIN, C, PURE COIN, DOLLAR or STANDARD rather than sterling.
Coin silver melt value = weight (ozt) × 0.900 × silver spot price
Example: a 30 gram antique coin silver spoon contains 27 grams, or 0.868 ozt, of silver. If silver were $50 per ounce, the melt value would be about $43.40.
A note on antique coin silver purity
Before standards were enforced, American coin silver ranged roughly from 80% to 90% silver. If you're unsure, a slightly lower purity such as .850 or .800 in the calculator gives a cautious estimate. A dealer can test the actual purity.
90% silver coins
US dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 and earlier, and Morgan and Peace silver dollars, are 90% silver. Their silver content per coin is fixed, so it's easier to count them than to weigh them. Use the US coin melt value calculator for that. Weighing works too: just enter the total weight here with .900 purity.
Collectors often call circulated 90% coins junk silver. These coins usually trade close to their melt value, and dealers often pay a higher percentage of melt for them than for scrap jewelry because they are easy to verify and resell.
Frequently asked questions
Is coin silver the same as sterling?
No. Coin silver is 90% silver, while sterling is 92.5%. Coin silver was common in America before about 1870, when sterling became the standard.
How much is coin silver worth per ounce?
A troy ounce of coin silver contains 0.9 troy ounces of pure silver, so it is worth 90% of the silver spot price at melt.
What is junk silver?
Junk silver is a nickname for circulated 90% silver US coins with no extra collector value. They're bought and sold mostly for their silver content.
How many 90% silver coins make an ounce?
About $1.40 in face value of pre-1965 dimes, quarters or halves contains roughly one troy ounce of silver ($1 of face value holds 0.7234 ozt).