Hey, I'm new here. My name's Benjamin. I just have two questions about things I've frequently encountered while expanding my collection. 1.) What is the "fineness" of silver? I've seen it represented as .500 or .900 many times and I was wondering if it meant that the coin was 50% silver and 50% other metal/alloy, or that it meant that the coin was .500 Troy ounces or something. 2.) I've encountered several coins that have 75% or more of the original mint luster, but some of the minor features are worn (they're present but not sharp). Should I grade the coin XF40 due to the lack of sharpness on the details or compromise at a higher grade due to the good amount of mint luster present (XF45 or AU50)?
Hi Benjamin. You're right that the fineness of silver indicates how much actual silver is in the coin. .900 means that it's 900/1000 silver, or 90% (10% other metal). Nothing to do with the weight. I'll leave the grading explanation to someone better at it than I am.
