Silver Coins by the Pound
$839.74 melt value of a pound of 90% silver dollars
One Morgan: $49.49
Silver spot $63.98/troy oz · $933.04/lb · updated
Quick answer. About 17 Morgan or Peace silver dollars make a pound. Each holds 0.7734 troy ounces of silver, so a pound of them holds 13.125 troy ounces, worth $839.74 in melt today. But silver dollars almost never sell at melt: even worn ones carry a collector premium. When a lot is sold "by the pound," the price per ounce of silver is the number to check.
- Coins
- Morgan dollars (1878–1904, 1921) and Peace dollars (1921–1928, 1934–1935)
- Weight and purity
- 26.73 g each, 90% silver
- Silver per coin
- 0.7734 troy oz (melt $49.49 today)
- Coins per pound
- about 17 (16.97 at full weight)
- Also sold by weight
- 40% Kennedy halves (1965–1970), mixed older coin lots
| Coin | Coins per pound | Fine silver per pound | Melt per pound today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan / Peace dollar (90%) | about 17 | 13.125 troy oz | $839.74 |
| Pre-1965 halves, quarters, dimes (90%) | about 36 / 73 / 181 | 13.125 troy oz | $839.74 |
| Kennedy half, 1965–1970 (40%) | about 39 | 5.83 troy oz | $373.22 |
What "Silver Coins by the Pound" Means
Coin lots sold by weight are a mail-order and auction staple. The most common are bags of Morgan and Peace silver dollars, sold as a quarter pound, half pound or full pound. Some lots are mixed: older dimes, quarters and halves, sometimes with foreign silver coins mixed in.
The appeal is clear. A pound of silver dollars feels substantial, and weighing is a simple way to sell a pile of coins without grading each one. The risk is just as clear. A weight tells you nothing about the coins' condition or dates, and those are what drive the price of silver dollars far more than the silver in them.
Morgan dollars were struck from 1878 to 1904 and again in 1921, with Lady Liberty on the front and an eagle on the back. Peace dollars replaced them in 1921 and were struck through 1928, then again in 1934 and 1935. Both are 90% silver and weigh 26.73 grams, so for melt purposes they're identical. Both were minted in the hundreds of millions, which is why common dates in worn condition can be bought in bulk at all.
Cull, Circulated and Uncirculated Lots
"By the pound" lots come in different condition bands, and the premium over silver rises sharply as condition improves.
Cull. Damaged coins: holes, heavy scratches, bends, cleaning, corrosion. Cull silver dollars are the closest a Morgan or Peace dollar gets to melt value, which is why "by the pound" offers are often cull lots. Even so, they usually sell above melt, because the supply of silver dollars keeps shrinking and there's always collector demand for them.
Circulated. Worn from use but undamaged: the grades collectors call Good through Extremely Fine. These carry a noticeably higher premium than culls, since they're what most collectors buy as inexpensive examples.
Uncirculated (BU). No wear. Common-date uncirculated Morgans and Peace dollars sell at a large multiple of melt value, and they're almost never sold by weight. If a lot "by the pound" advertises uncirculated coins, compare its per-coin price with individual BU coins before buying.
When a Pound of Coins Hides a Collector Premium
The critical number for any coin lot is the price per troy ounce of silver. To get it:
- Take the lot price.
- Divide by the number of coins, or by the weight in pounds if that's how it's sold.
- Divide again by the silver per coin (0.7734 for a silver dollar) or per pound (13.125).
- Compare the result with spot, $63.98 today.
A pound of culls priced near melt is a reasonable way to buy silver in a historic form. A pound priced at double melt is a collector purchase, not a silver purchase, even if it's sold by weight. Neither is wrong, but you should know which one you're making. Our premium calculator has a silver-dollar preset.
Two more checks:
- The count. A full pound of silver dollars is about 17 coins. A lot that weighs a pound but holds fewer coins includes packaging or something other than silver dollars.
- Key dates. Scarce dates (for example, the 1893-S Morgan or the 1928 Peace dollar) are never in weight lots at sensible prices. A seller who hints at "possible key dates" in a bulk lot is selling hope.
40% Halves and Mixed Lots
Kennedy halves from 1965 to 1970 are sometimes sold by the pound too. They're 40% silver overall, so a pound holds only 5.83 troy ounces, less than half of a pound of 90% coins. Make sure a lot labeled "silver halves" says which kind it is.
Mixed lots of old coins, including foreign silver, are harder to value, because foreign coins vary widely in purity (from well under 50% to 92.5% and more). Unless the seller lists every coin, treat a mixed lot's silver content as unknown and price it cautiously.
Related Guides
- Junk silver by the pound
- Silver monster boxes
- Premium-over-spot calculator
- How to buy silver by the pound
FAQ
How many Morgan dollars are in a pound?
About 17. Each weighs 26.73 grams, and a pound is 453.6 grams.
What is a pound of Morgan silver dollars worth?
$839.74 in silver content today. In practice, even cull silver dollars usually sell above melt.
Are Peace dollars and Morgan dollars the same silver?
Yes. Both are 26.73 grams of 90% silver, holding 0.7734 troy ounces each.
Is buying silver dollars by the pound a good deal?
Only if the price per ounce of silver is close to spot. Work it out before you buy.
What's the difference between cull and circulated?
Culls are damaged; circulated coins are worn but intact. Circulated coins carry a higher premium.
Data sources: Spot price via api.gold-api.com · COMEX futures (SI=F) via Yahoo Finance. Prices are for informational purposes only and may be delayed. Figures on this page were generated . Silver is quoted in US dollars per troy ounce.