| Author |
 Replies: 33 / Views: 4,631 |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2213 Posts |
Tell me it ain't so. Please tell me if my calculations are wrong. Is the US Mint lowering the silver weight of the proof fractions? 2020 silver proof quarters and last year's Washington Crossing Delaware silver proof quarter weigh 6.343 grams or .2039 troy oz. It looks like the 2021 Tuskegee silver proof quarter and the new 2020 Women's silver proof quarters weigh .199 troy oz or 6.189 grams. The diameter is the same so it seems the Mint made the planchets slightly thinner? Notice the specs for the 2021 silver proof limited edition. It lists the quarters weights as 6.343 grams .199 troy oz. But 6.343 grams is not .199 troy oz, it's .2039 troy oz. And .199 troy oz is 6.189 grams. To make these specs correct, the Washington Crossing the Delaware quarter must be 6.343 grams while the Tuskegee quarter must be 6.189 grams. The 2021 silver proof limited edition specs for the dime and half dollar are 2.537 grams .079 troy oz and 12.685 grams .399 troy oz. But 2.537 grams is .08156 troy oz and 12.685 grams is .40783 troy oz. Does this mean the Mint lowered the weight of the dime and half dollar sometime during the production of this set? We'll see what the 2022 silver proof dimes and half dollars weigh. If I'm wrong about this I'm sorry. I'll say like Gilda Radner did on Saturday Night Live as Emily Litella about violins (violence) on TV, "never mind."   Thanks to YouTube Son of a Silver Stacker for pointing out the quarter reduction weight. Edited by livingwater
02/02/2022 09:13 am
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
5825 Posts |
It wouldn't be the first time the Mint has done this. The cases I'm familiar occurred in 1853-1855 on the Half Dime, dime, quarter and half dollar. But the Mint made it known. They put arrows at the date which indicated the change in silver content. There was another change in 1873-1874 but they actually increased the silver content very slightly. |
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
2213 Posts |
Thanks kanga, Yes it's been done before. We know one of the biggest changes came 1964-1965, going from 90% silver to 40% and clad. Here is a 1965 US Mint press release saying it's due to a world wide silver shortage. Debasement of currency has been done by other nations, kingdoms, empires, including the Romans. Silver content of the Roman silver denarius declined over time as the empire weakened and eventually fell. Coin debasement, national debt, inflation.....reasons I do some silver stacking. https://www.usmint.gov/learn/histor...age-materialEdited by livingwater
02/02/2022 12:29 pm
|
|
Moderator
 United States
187671 Posts |
Seeing as how the gram weight is consistent and the troy ounces was recently added, I believe it is an error. Or they wanted it to look pretty with the 9s.
If they really wanted or needed to save silver, they would just move everything back to 90% specifications or raise prices (again).
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2213 Posts |
Could be listing errors. I just emailed US Mint asking about the grams to troy oz discrepancies. I'll post what they say if/when they reply.
Edited by livingwater
02/02/2022 1:11 pm
|
|
Moderator
United States
187671 Posts |
Quote:
I just emailed US Mint asking about the grams to troy oz discrepancies. I'll post what they say if/when they reply.   |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4395 Posts |
Maybe the troy oz is only the silver content so 6.343g - 0.01% 'balance copper'.  |
|
Moderator
United States
187671 Posts |
I did the math earlier and at 99.9% silver it is still well above 2 grams.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2213 Posts |
I got a response from the Mint. Unbelievable! Here is copy of my email. Maybe I could have been more clear but when I specifically show the varying differences with grams to troy oz with dimes, quarters, halves you'd think the customer rep would have understood. The Mint answered back about their medals composition. Crazy. I didn't ask about that! I replied with another email...that's not what I asked! Can't wait for their next response.   |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4395 Posts |
I'm sure that's just an automated response or someone just quickly copy-pasting a pre-made script.
But I don't think this is anything to worry about. Looking at this again, they definitely just them rounded to the closest 9 to have nice looking number.
Just think about it. The difference between the stated troy oz and your calculations for the half dollar is 0.00883 troy oz. A whole 6/10 of a cent worth of silver. A difference likely within tolerance for most coins.
You think they would put .40783 instead of a neat .399? The difference is not at all great.
Edited by Tanman2001
02/02/2022 9:30 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
4587 Posts |
Remember, except for the earliest silver coinage where the mint used an illegal fineness: the mint doesn't do anything like this. The weight and minimum fineness are set by law.
-----Burton 50+ year / Life / Emeritus ANA member (joined 12/1/1973) Life member: Numismatics International, CONECA Member: TNA, FtWCC, NETCC, EveryCountry (online) coin club Owned by three cats and a wife of 40+ years (joined 1983) Author: 3rd Edition of the Sample Slabs book, https://www.sampleslabs.info/ |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2213 Posts |
Okay, it's not that big a deal. But still the math should be accurate. If the Mint's going to describe a product to the .000 degree why not get it right?
Edited by livingwater
02/03/2022 09:30 am
|
|
Moderator
United States
187671 Posts |
They should just have just stuck to grams alone and never added troy ounces to the description, but I suppose some marketing knob thought it would attract more buyers.  |
|
Valued Member
United States
473 Posts |
Quote:
If they really wanted or needed to save silver, they would just move everything back to 90% specifications or raise prices (again). I agree. Quote:
I replied with another email...that's not what I asked! |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2213 Posts |
I got a response from the Mint. When I replied to their irrelevant email about medals I stated I was not talking about medals but the grams/troy oz for silver proof dimes, quarters, halves. It may be an auto pre-made statement for complaints.  Edited by livingwater
02/04/2022 10:29 am
|
|
Moderator
United States
187671 Posts |
Thank you for the follow-up. I guess we wait to hear from upper management. |
| |
Replies: 33 / Views: 4,631 |
Posted 02/02/2022 12:15 pm
