what does a silver dollar weigh ounces

[VanIan]

Ah, the weighty question of the silver dollar! It sounds straightforward, but the answer has a clever little twist, much like a coin flip that lands perfectly on its edge.

First, let's talk about the coin's total heft. If you were to place a classic Morgan or Peace silver dollar on a scale, it would register a total weight of 26.73 grams. For those of us who don't think in grams, that converts to approximately 0.8593 troy ounces. That's the full weight of the coin, baggage and all.

But here's the fun part. Those old dollars weren't made of pure silver; that would be too soft for circulation. They were a sturdy blend of 90% silver and 10% copper. So, if you're asking about the weight of the actual silver in the coin—the part that gives it its precious metal street cred—you're looking at 0.77344 troy ounces. The rest is just its copper friend along for the ride.

So, a silver dollar weighs about 0.86 troy ounces in total, but it contains about 0.77 troy ounces of pure silver. It's a classic case of what you see versus what you get, and in this case, both are pretty valuable.