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Message:: [QUOTE="Juan Blanco, post: 1558841, member: 41665"]I also just found & reviewed another thread on the subject <a href="http://www.cointalk.com/t133717-3/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.cointalk.com/t133717-3/">The "Real" Weight of Junk Silver</a> Is there any substantiation for the claim that "mint tolerance is 1%"? Where does that misunderstanding come from?  In fact, US Mint tolerance for 90/10 Ag coinage was 1.5 grains troy per 412.5 grains by Law: that's 0.363636%.  In other words, "Mint tolerance" for a Washington Quarter 96.45 grains troy (6.24986 grams) was +/- 0.35073 grains; a new Quarter weighed as high as 96.801 or as low as 96.1 grains. An uncirculated "Mint tolerant" Washington Quarter should weigh 6.227 - 6.273 grams. (Less or more is outside of Mint tolerance, in fact.)An uncirculated "Mint tolerant" Mercury Dime should weigh 2.491 - 2.509 grams, no less no more.  (otoh, I believe many overweight Roosevelts were issued in 1963-4; I don't know why.) A lingering question I have is what was the Mint tolerance for circulated 90/10 coinage, to be withdrawn? At what point, percentage-wise, did an underweight coin get yanked and melted? Thanks! On Mint tolerance, see "An International coin, the Stella, Goloid metric coinage, and metric gold coinage." 3/3/1879 45th Congress, 3rd Sess. House of Representatives Report #136[/QUOTE]