Silver content in coins

United Kingdom.
One shilling 1887, silver .925

 

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Netherlands.
Gulden 1848, silver .945

 

Zambia.
5000 kwacha 2003, silver .999

 

Another 0.350

1966 Finland, Markka

 

Here is a silver 0.346.

 

Thanks. This leads me to start to denote the silver content of coins on my flips. Of course there are many more silver coins, can you recommend a reference(s) for this information? Also gold content would be useful.

 

Thanks for sharing. And the point is?

 

Does anybody know what the silver content is of coins called "billon". In the 1700's the Kingdom of Sardinia in Northern Italy made some coins that were made of "billon".

 

So, if a coin contains more than .500 silver, it is a 'silver coin', but those with less than .500 silver content are not? Maybe those should be called 'silvery coins'

 

Billon is generally any silver alloy of less than 50% fineness, mixed with base metal
(usually copper, but could be other metals too). Typically not used to describe
modern issues such as 40% silver half dollars. Nor electrum. Billon is not a
specific fineness, and can cover a wide range up to 0.500.

Why billon coins might be issued (quoting myself from Quarantine Diary, p. 6):
1) To conceal a debasement.
2) To keep coins at a familiar size after a debasement.
3) To allow coins of a small denomination to still have value based on silver content.
4) To allow small-value silver coins to not be impractically small.

And why are billon coins mostly no longer used:
1) Improved minting technology allowed copper and other base-metal coins to be circulated at face value higher than metal value. (Copper was widely counterfeited.)
2) Billon was seen as a "waste" of silver. It was not widely accepted in international trade, and the silver is expensive to recover to a purer form.
3) It is hard for ordinary people to assess the value by weighing.
4) It is relatively bulky for small purchases.

 

This thread might be a nice referencing point for world silver, one of the reasons I imagine.

 

It's an excellent thread for collectors of world silver coins and how silver content varied from country to country and from different years.

 

This thread needs a link for measuring specific gravity.

 

Fun

 

Mexico 0.500

 

Question: what's the highest silver content in any circulating coin? Is it .945?

Seems like anything higher would wear poorly.

 

I don't think there are any currently circulating silver coins, but historically the British coins were 0.925

 

Dutch coins were silver .945

 

Great job. Thanks for you time to show us that collection

 

Is that the highest until recently?