when did us coins change from silver

[VonRobert]

Hey there! That's a great question that gets to the heart of a major shift in U.S. currency. The big change happened in 1965.

Based on the information provided, the U.S. government passed the Coinage Act of 1965, which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 23, 1965. This act was a response to a coin shortage that was partly caused by the rising price of silver. The silver in the coins was becoming worth more than their face value, so people were hoarding them.

This new law officially removed silver from dimes and quarters. Before this, those coins were made of 90% silver. Starting with coins dated 1965, they were produced with a copper-nickel clad composition, which is a copper core bonded to two outer layers of a copper-nickel alloy.

The half dollar was a bit of a special case. Its silver content was not eliminated entirely but was reduced from 90% to 40%. This 40% silver composition was used for Kennedy half dollars from 1965 through 1970.

So, as a general rule, U.S. dimes and quarters dated 1964 and earlier are 90% silver, while those dated 1965 and later contain no silver.