I Don't Understand Silver Content - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,272
snitchard Valued Member United States 420 Posts	Posted 03/07/2013 1:58 pm Good Morning, I was looking at a Coin Melt Value Calculator to try and better understand the silver content in 40% and 90% content in coins. Using a 90% Kennedy half dollar and a 1961 Franklin half dollar as examples according to the Coin Melt Value Calculator these coins contain 0.3617 troy ounces (or 36.17%) of Silver. So where does 90% come from? Using a 40% Kennedy half dollar as an example according to the Coin Melt Value Calculator these coins contain 0.1479 troy ounces (or 14.79%) of Silver. So where does 40% come from? Any help in understanding this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Rich Rich M. - Collector since 2008 Report this Post to the Staff

biokemist6 Bedrock of the Community United States 12437 Posts	Posted 03/07/2013 2:06 pm Your usage of percentages is wrong, you are not accounting for the correct weight of a half dollar which is considerably less than 1 troy ounce. Report this Post to the Staff
basebal21 Bedrock of the Community 13014 Posts	Posted 03/07/2013 2:12 pm The silver content (90% 40%) is just the percentage of the coins metal thats silver. The 90 percent coin means that coin is made of 90 percent silver ect. The troy ounces are a different thing all together because that is just the amount of total silver which has more to do with the overall size of the coin Report this Post to the Staff
GoldenChest Pillar of the Community United States 814 Posts	Posted 03/07/2013 2:31 pm Report this Post to the Staff
allranger Pillar of the Community United States 1391 Posts	Posted 03/07/2013 2:35 pm A Franklin half dollar is 12.5 grams in weight. There are 31.1 grams in a troy ounce. If a Franklin half is 90% silver then: 12.5 * 0.9000 = 11.25 grams of silver in a Franklin half. To convert to actual silver weight (ASW) 11.25 / 31.1 = 0.3617 troy ounces of silver in a Franklin half. For a 40% Kennedy half dollar: 11.5 grams * .4000 fineness = 4.6 grams of silver. 4.6 / 31.1 = 0.1479 troy ounces of silver. Your mistake is that you have the weight of the half dollar coins wrong. Edited to add in 40% Kennedy. Edited by allranger 03/07/2013 2:42 pm Report this Post to the Staff
smokeriderdon Pillar of the Community United States 3755 Posts	Posted 03/07/2013 2:52 pm allranger got it. The 36% is 36% of one troy ounce. Report this Post to the Staff
bpoc1 Rest in Peace United States 4078 Posts	Posted 03/07/2013 4:09 pm Nicely done Allranger. A good reference. Report this Post to the Staff
ninamason Pillar of the Community United States 1227 Posts	Posted 03/07/2013 7:13 pm Snitchard, the 90/40% is a reference to the content, not the weight. I just grabbed a shirt out of my closet to demonstrate. The tag in this shirt says it is made of: 71% polyester 29% rayon Presumably, you've been clothes shopping a few times in your life (even if under duress) and understand how clothing labels work--my shirt isn't 71% of an ounce (or pound or kilogram or whatever) of polyester. 71% of the fabric blend that's in it is. If Kennedy halves had shirt tags, here's what they would say: 1964: 90% silver 10% copper Do not wash 1965-1969: 40% silver 60% copper Do not wash 1970-Present: 91.67% copper 8.33% nickel Dry clean only You see how this stacks up? Report this Post to the Staff
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