Silver content of British Silver Coins

[jansman]

For anyone venturing into the world of coin buying, the purity of ( actual silver content) of the coin is reflected in the price. If you are buying bullion coins from a dealer, the purity is stamped on it. Actual currency is another matter. What you may buy at auction or whatever, will most likely have been in actual circulation, therefore will be worn.This changes the actual Troy weight of the coin. Below is the silver content for uncirculated British Silver Coins.

There have been four distinct eras for coins since 1800;

1800 to 1920 British coins had a high silver purity ( Sterling silver) 92.5%
1920 to 1946 British coins had lower purity of silver 50%
1947 to 1971 British coins ( new issue) contained NO SILVER.They were silver coloured copper - nickel.
1971 to now silver coloured coins were,again copper- nickel.The legal tender £2 bullion coins issued by the Royal Mint are an exception to that, but although they are legal tender, they were never meant for circulation.

Coins you may consider pre 1920;
Threepence .420 troy ounce of silver
Sixpence .841 troy ounce of silver
Shilling. .1682 troy ounce of silver
Florin. .3364 troy ounce of silver
Half Crown. .4206 troy ounce of silver
Double Florin .6727 troy ounce of silver ( 1887 to 1890)
Crown. .8409 troy ounce of silver.

[jansman]

British Silver Coins 1920 to1946 ;

Threepence .0227 troy ounce of actual silver
Sixpence. .0455.
Shilling. .0909
Florin. .1818. (1920 to 1936)
TwoShilling. .1818 (1937 to 1946)
Half Crown .2273

Remember, all circulated coins will be worn and therefore will weigh less if you are buying them purely for silver content.

[raz]

interesting to know i buy alot of silver coins atm but never considered the wear and tear aspect of the 1s that have been in circulation.. i like to learn something new every day.. this ticks todays box

[jansman]

Glad to help

[Arzosah]

Coins you may consider pre 1920;
Threepence .420 troy ounce of silver
Sixpence .841 troy ounce of silver

This is really valuable to know, thanks jansman - there are lots on offer on the bay of fleas, but they're not listed on that silver recyclers place, and since without that I couldn't figure out how much above the scrap price I was paying, I've ignored them. But with this info, I can work it out myself. Ta muchly

[jansman]

Remember too, when buying old coins it is not just about the scrap value. There is also NUMISMATIC value. I.E. collector value/ rarity/ condition. You will notice that the coins in good nick always fetch a higher price.

[pseudonym]

Great info, thanks for putting it together.

[Winklebury]

Hello, I have been checking this out.

Above it states that a pre 1920 silver sixpence contains 0.841 of a troy ounce of silver

That would make it a total weight of: 0.841 X (1,000 / 925) = 0.909 troy ounces or 28.27 grams

In fact the silver sixpences were 2.8275888 grams when minted new.

Be careful

[Winklebury]

Weights taken from:

http://www.coinandbullionpages.com/engl ... pence.html

[jansman]

You are correct about actual mass ( weight) of coin. the .841 refers to the amounty of actual pure silver within that coin. i.e . The percentage if you like.