what is coin silver made of

[SanIker]

Ah, coin silver! Its name isn't just a clever marketing ploy; it's literally the stuff from which silver dollars and other currency were made back in the day. So, what's in this metallic cocktail? Let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

Coin silver is what you get when you tell pure silver it needs to toughen up for the real world. On its own, pure silver is a bit of a softy, too delicate to survive the rough-and-tumble life of being jangled in a pocket. To give it some backbone, it's mixed with other metals, creating an alloy.

Specifically, coin silver is a standardized mix that is 90% pure silver. The other 10% is typically a more rugged metal, like copper or nickel, that acts as a strengthening agent. This 90/10 split was the required standard for silver coins in the United States, making the material durable enough for circulation. Think of it as the slightly less-pure, but arguably more street-smart, cousin of sterling silver, which clocks in at a posher 92.5% purity.