900 silver is a type of silver that is common with older US coins. Below we'll provide more detail about this silver type and how much it can be worth.
What Is 900 Silver?
900 silver is real silver with a relatively high purity. The number 900 refers to its level of purity, and it means that that your silver item is 90% silver and 10% alloy. This number system is an easy way to tell an item's purity. Another example is 800 silver which is equal to 80% silver.
Most US coins minted before 1965 were 90% silver and 10% copper. These coins include dimes, quarters, half dollars, and dollars. 900 silver was used instead of 999 fine silver because more alloy means that the coins would be more dent-resistant.
You can also find 900 silver items from Latin America and foreign countries such as China and Germany.
How to Find Markings
Markings are easy to spot for any type of silver piece. You should clearly see the number 900 engraved on the piece. If you have a piece of jewelry then the number may be smaller and more concealed, but it should still be visible.
Older US coins won't have any markings, so you would just need to lookup the specific coin to see what its silver content is.
The Value of Your 900 Silver
In order to get the melt value of your 900 silver piece, you'll need to multiply the total ounces of silver by the spot price of silver. We make this easy for you with our scrap silver calculator. All you need to do is load up the calculator, select 900 from the purity dropdown box, enter the weight of your item, and then click the 'calculate' button.
If you have 900 silver American coins then you can use our silver coin calculator.
It's always good to know the value of your silver item. If you were ever going to sell your item then you have a base price.
Alternatives
Silver items come in all different types of purities. Below we will review one popular alternative to 900 silver.
925 Silver
925 sterling silver is the most common type of silver for American silver items. It has become the modern-day standard. It has a high level of purity and it still remains durable.