How much silver is in a Morgan dollar? The US Mint’s own figure

Where the number comes from

The Morgan dollar is the standard silver dollar struck under the Bland-Allison Act of February 28, 1878. The Mint’s annual reports list that coin’s standard weight as 412 1/2 grains and its standard fineness as 900, the same standard set for the silver dollar in 1837 and kept under the Pittman Act of 1918, when the Morgan design was struck again from February 21, 1921.

The arithmetic is short. 412.5 grains x 0.900 = 371.25 grains of silver. There are 480 grains in a troy ounce, so 371.25 / 480 = 0.7734375 troy ounces. In metric terms, a grain is 64.79891 milligrams, so the whole coin weighs 26.73 grams and the silver in it about 24.06 grams.

Morgan dollar	Figure
Standard weight	412.5 grains (26.73 g)
Fineness	900 (90% silver, 10% copper)
Fine silver	371.25 grains (24.06 g)
Fine silver in troy ounces	0.7734

Is a Peace dollar the same?

Yes. The Peace dollar, struck from December 21, 1921, is the same standard silver dollar in a new design: 412.5 grains at 900 fine, with 0.7734 troy ounces of silver. Both hold exactly the same silver, so for melt purposes a Morgan and a Peace dollar are interchangeable.

Why a worn Morgan has slightly less

The figures above are the standard: what the coin was meant to weigh when it was struck. A Morgan dollar that spent years in circulation has lost a little metal to wear, so a worn coin weighs a little under 26.73 grams and holds a little under 0.7734 troy ounces of silver. For most coins the difference is small, but it is one reason a buyer may weigh dollars instead of counting them.

From silver weight to melt value

Melt value is the silver weight times the spot price of silver per troy ounce. Spot moves every trading day, so look it up when you need it. If spot silver is X dollars:

• One Morgan dollar: 0.7734 x X dollars.
• Ten Morgan dollars: 7.734 x X dollars.
• A roll or box: the count x 0.7734 x X dollars.

Melt is the floor, not the value. A buyer who buys a dollar for its silver usually offers less than melt, because they must resell or refine it. A buyer who wants the coin as a collectible may offer more, because the date, the mint mark and the condition can matter to collectors.

Do not weigh it on a kitchen scale in ounces

Silver is priced in troy ounces of 31.10348 grams. A kitchen scale’s ounce is the avoirdupois ounce of 28.35 grams, about 9% lighter. A Morgan dollar weighs about 0.94 kitchen ounces but only 0.86 troy ounces gross. Weigh in grams if you weigh at all, and convert: grams / 31.10348 = troy ounces.

Silver in other US coins, for comparison

A Morgan dollar holds a little more silver than a dollar’s worth of 90% dimes, quarters or halves: those hold 0.7234 troy ounces per dollar of face value, against the dollar coin’s 0.7734. An American Silver Eagle holds one full troy ounce of .999 fine silver, and a 40% half dollar about 0.1479 troy ounces.

Melt or collectible?

Because Morgan dollars are also collected, do not sell a group of them by weight alone. Note each date and mint mark, keep any coins in holders sealed, do not clean anything, and ask a buyer which coins they value above melt. Our guide on where to sell silver dollars covers how to sell Morgan and Peace dollars coin by coin, and the melt chart gives the silver in every other US silver coin.

Where To Sell Silver Coins is an independent referral service, not a buyer, pawnshop or dealer. When you call or send your coin list, we pass your details to an independent buyer in New York, who makes any offer.

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