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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;WingedLiberty, post: 1054066, member: 26030&quot;]Over the past year, I have acquired a large number of circulated 90% silver half dollars (Kennedys, Franklins, Walkers, and Barbers); and I wanted to answer the question of how much silver is lost on well worn 90% silver coins.&nbsp; An issue that I have never seen hard calculations or measurements.</p><p><br /></p><p>The images below are a typical coin I pulled out of each lot of coins. The condition (grades) for each lot, I believe to be as follows:</p><p><br /></p><p>Condition:</p><p><br /></p><p>- EF to AU on the Kennedys&nbsp; ( bought for 1.0% over spot ... <span style="color: silver"><span style="color: silver">$8.65&nbsp; per coin in 10/2010</span> </span>)</p><p>- EF to AU on the Franklins&nbsp; ( bought for 2.5% over spot ... <span style="color: silver">$6.58&nbsp; per coin in 12/2009 </span>)</p><p>- F to VF on the Walkers&nbsp; ( bought for 3.6% over spot ... <span style="color: silver">$8.95 per coin in 10/2010</span> )</p><p>- G to VG on the Barbers&nbsp; ( bought for 22% over spot ... <span style="color: silver">$11.95 per coin in 11/2010</span> )</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: silver">Just for comparitive purposes, the current silver melt value of a 90% silver half dollar (with no silver loss from wear) is $10.37 based on Friday&#039;s close of spot silver at $28.68 per ounce.</span></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH]103726.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]103727.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]103728.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]103729.vB[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>I know that there have been some discussions on this board about how much silver is lost in worn 90% silver coins, so I thought I would do some weight tests.</p><p><br /></p><p>I took a random sample of 20 of each type of coin in the lots above and came out with these total coin weights</p><p><br /></p><p>Measured Coin Weights:</p><p><br /></p><p>- 20 Kennedys (EF/AU) weighed 251 grams</p><p>- 20 Franklins (EF/AU) weighed 251 grams</p><p>- 20 Walkers (F/VF) weighed 244 grams</p><p>- 20 Barbers (G/VG) weighed 236 grams</p><p><br /></p><p>To convert from grams to troy ounces I used the conversion factor of 0.0322, then multiplied the troy ounce weight by 0.90 since they are 90% silver coins. So I got these silver content values per coin.</p><p><br /></p><p>Calculated Silver Content per Coin:</p><p><br /></p><p>- 1 Kennedy (EF/AU) contains 0.3631 troy ounces of silver (on average)</p><p>- 1 Franklin (EF/AU) contains 0.3631 troy ounces of silver (on average)</p><p>- 1 Walker (F/VF) contains 0.3530 troy ounces of silver (on average)</p><p>- 1 Barber (G/VG) contains 0.3414 troy ounces of silver (on average)</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: plum">(It should be noted that my Redbook says these 90% silver halves contained .3617 ounces of silver when minted, so my calculation of .3631 ounces of silver on the Kennedys and Franklins based on my measured weights is showing my scale has an error of being 0.3% (one-third of one percent) too high.) </span></p><p><br /></p><p>Therefore ... </p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: darkorange"><b>Calculated Loss of Silver Content (%) per Coin:</b></span></p><p><span style="color: darkorange"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="color: darkorange"><b>- 1 Kennedy (EF/AU) = 0% loss of silver </b><b></b></span></p><p><span style="color: darkorange"><b>- 1 Franklin (EF/AU) = 0% loss of silver</b></span></p><p><span style="color: darkorange"><b>- 1 Walker (F/VF)&nbsp; = 2.87% loss of silver (on average)</b></span></p><p><span style="color: darkorange"><b>- 1 Barber (G/VG)&nbsp; = 6.36% loss of silver (on average)</b></span> </p><p><br /></p><p>My total weight numbers are slightly off due to calibation tolerances in my scale, however when comparing percentage losses, the numbers should be fairly accurate (since all the weights would have the same error). I&#039;m sure it&#039;s clear to everyone that the loss of silver is related to the grade of the coin and not the type, but I separated by type only because my lots are already separated by grade.</p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: royalblue">So the upshot is if you buy bulk 90% silver coins in the following grades take into account the silver loss when computing your price over spot:</span></p><p><span style="color: royalblue"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: royalblue">***********************************</span></p><p><span style="color: royalblue"><b>&nbsp;&nbsp; </b></span></p><p><span style="color: royalblue"><b>A Generic Buying Guide for Silver Loss:</b></span></p><p><span style="color: royalblue"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="color: royalblue"><b>- EF/AU there is negligable loss of silver</b></span></p><p><span style="color: royalblue"><b>&nbsp;&nbsp; - F/VF there is roughly 3% loss of silver</b></span></p><p><span style="color: royalblue"><b>- G/VG there is roughly 6% loss of silver</b></span> <span style="color: royalblue"></span></p><p><span style="color: royalblue"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: royalblue">***********************************</span> </p><p><br /></p><p>If anyone sees anything wrong with my math above ... or has done similar calculations, feel free to post.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I thought that if anyone was going to be buying 90% silver coins in bulk as a cheap(er) way to buy silver in the near term, you might be helped by this analysis.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s nice that the 0%, 3%, 6% silver loss percentages that apply (in inverse) to the pairing of the major grades (G/VG, F/VF, EF/AU) is pretty easy to remember off the top of your head!&nbsp; &nbsp; Think of it as the <span style="color: royalblue"><i><b>&quot;036 Rule&quot;</b></i></span>.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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