Definition of Coin Silver

Original Definition

• Prior to 1906 there was no law defining coin silver, but it was an unofficial category used by manufacturers of silver products to assure their consumers. Often it meant that the silver in the products came from melted-down coins, but these coins could also have been from other countries, or of dubious purity.

Old Coin Silver

• Because coin silver had no legal definition, items that were marked as coin silver could vary from below 75-percent to above 95-percent pure. Most coin silver, however, was between 89.2-percent and 93-percent pure (which was the range used for silver coins in the U.S.).

Legal Coin Silver

• In 1906 the National Stamping Act defined coin silver as being at least 90-percent pure. Everything made after 1906 and stamped with COIN must meet this purity standard.

Marks

• As well as COIN, coin silver may be stamped with PURE COIN, DOLLAR, STANDARD, or PREMIUM.

Conclusions

• If you know when your coin-silver item was made, you can make a pretty good guess about it's purity. If it is important to know for sure, you will probably need to have it chemically tested.