How to Calculate the Melt Value of Silver Coins

To calculate the melt value of a silver coin, multiply its weight in grams by its silver fineness, divide by 31.1035 to convert grams to troy ounces, and multiply by the spot price of silver. A Morgan dollar, for example, weighs 26.73 grams at 90% silver: 26.73 × 0.900 ÷ 31.1035 = 0.7734 troy ounces of silver, so at $32.50 an ounce its melt value is about $25.14.

That is the whole method. The rest of this guide gives the weights and finenesses of the coins dealers see most, works through examples, and covers the mistakes that make melt figures wrong. Spot prices in the examples are round numbers for the math. Check a live spot price before you buy or sell.

The melt value formula

Melt value = weight (grams) × fineness ÷ 31.1035 × spot price per troy ounce

• Weight is the coin's standard weight as struck, in grams.
• Fineness is the share of the coin that is silver (or gold), written as a decimal: 0.900 for 90%, 0.400 for 40%, 0.999 for 99.9%.
• 31.1035 is the number of grams in one troy ounce. Precious metals are priced in troy ounces, not the ordinary ounces on a kitchen scale.
• Spot price is the current market price for one troy ounce of the pure metal.

The first three numbers give you the coin's actual silver weight (ASW) in troy ounces. That number never changes for a given coin type, so you only work it out once. Melt value then moves with spot.

Silver content of common US coins

These are the figures for coins as struck. Worn coins weigh a little less, which matters for large lots of circulated coins.

Coin	Years	Weight	Fineness	Silver (troy oz)
Dime (Mercury, Roosevelt)	through 1964	2.50 g	0.900	0.0723
Quarter (Washington)	through 1964	6.25 g	0.900	0.1808
Half dollar (Walking Liberty, Franklin, 1964 Kennedy)	through 1964	12.50 g	0.900	0.3617
Morgan and Peace dollars	1878–1935	26.73 g	0.900	0.7734
Kennedy half dollar	1965–1970	11.50 g	0.400	0.1479
Jefferson "war nickel"	1942–1945	5.00 g	0.350	0.0563
American Silver Eagle	1986 to date	31.103 g	0.999	1.0000

The American Silver Eagle is struck to contain one troy ounce of silver, so its melt value is simply the spot price.

Worked examples

All of these use silver at $32.50 an ounce. Swap in the day's spot price.

One Morgan dollar

0.7734 oz × $32.50 = $25.14

A common-date Morgan in circulated condition usually trades above melt, because collectors want it. Melt value is the floor under the price, not the price.

A roll of 90% quarters

A roll holds 40 quarters, $10 face value.

40 × 0.1808 oz = 7.232 oz of silver 7.232 oz × $32.50 = $235.04

$1 face value of "junk silver"

Dealers often quote 90% coins by face value, because $1 face of dimes, quarters, or halves holds the same silver: 0.7234 oz as struck. Circulated coins have lost some metal to wear, so the trade commonly uses 0.715 oz per $1 face.

0.715 oz × $32.50 = $23.24 per $1 face

A $100 face bag at that rate is 71.5 oz, or $2,323.75 at $32.50 spot.

A 40% Kennedy half

0.1479 oz × $32.50 = $4.81

A war nickel

0.0563 oz × $32.50 = $1.83

Only the 1942–1945 nickels with a large mint mark over Monticello are 35% silver. Other years are copper-nickel and have no silver melt value.

Gold coins work the same way

The formula is identical with gold fineness and the gold spot price. Pre-1933 US gold is 90% gold. Modern American Gold Eagles are 22 karat (0.9167) and contain their stated weight of gold.

Coin	Weight	Fineness	Gold (troy oz)
$2.50 quarter eagle (pre-1933)	4.18 g	0.900	0.1209
$5 half eagle (pre-1933)	8.359 g	0.900	0.2419
$10 eagle (pre-1933)	16.718 g	0.900	0.4838
$20 double eagle (pre-1933)	33.436 g	0.900	0.9675
American Gold Eagle, 1 oz	33.931 g	0.9167	1.0000

At $2,600 an ounce, a $20 double eagle has a melt value of 0.9675 × $2,600 = $2,515.50. A 1 oz Gold Eagle has a melt value of $2,600, and the extra weight over one ounce is the copper and silver alloy.

How to find the fineness of a coin you don't know

• Look it up by type. Standard references and the US Mint list the weight and composition of every US coin.
• Use the grading service record. If the coin is in a PCGS holder, the PCGS record for the coin type lists its weight and metal content, such as "90% Silver, 10% Copper". Look up the cert number on the PCGS site.
• Check the date and mint mark. Many series changed metal partway through. Dimes, quarters, and halves dated 1965 or later are copper-nickel clad, except the 40% Kennedy halves through 1970 and special silver issues sold to collectors.
• Weigh it. A coin that is far under its standard weight is worn, damaged, or not what it seems. Use a scale that reads to 0.01 gram.

Common mistakes

Using ordinary ounces instead of troy ounces

An ordinary (avoirdupois) ounce is 28.35 grams. A troy ounce is 31.1035 grams. If you divide by 28.35, every melt figure comes out about 10% too high.

Using gross weight as silver weight

A Morgan dollar weighs 26.73 grams, but only 90% of that is silver. Multiply by the fineness before you convert to ounces.

Forgetting wear on circulated coins

Struck weights are for new coins. For large lots of worn 90% coins, the 0.715 oz per $1 face rule is closer to what a refiner pays for.

Treating melt as a buy price

Melt value is the metal at spot. Refiners and wholesalers pay less than spot, and they charge to assay and ship. Most dealers buy junk silver at a percentage of melt and sell above it. Set your buy and sell spreads on top of melt, not in place of it.

Using a stale spot price

Spot prices change through every trading day. A melt figure from last week can be off by several percent after a large move. Note the time of the spot price you used.

When melt value matters more than numismatic value

For bullion and common-date silver, melt value sets most of the price. For better dates, high grades, and key coins, the collector premium is far larger than the metal. An 1893-S Morgan has the same 0.7734 oz of silver as a 1921 Morgan, and the two sell for very different prices. Track melt on everything anyway: when silver jumps, some common coins in your case can end up priced under their metal.

How CoinManagerPro shows melt value

CoinManagerPro works out melt value for each coin in your inventory from the latest gold, silver, platinum, and palladium spot prices. It reads the metal content in one of two places: the coin's own Metal and Pure metal (troy oz) fields, or the weight and metal content in its PCGS cert data. The coin page shows the spot price, the troy ounces of pure metal, and the melt value. See melt value.

Each day CoinManagerPro also checks the coins in stock, and a coin whose value or Flow Dealers price is under its melt value gets a price alert. If you price certified coins, a cert lookup brings in the PCGS metal content with the grade.