How much silver is in other common U.S. silver coins (half dollars, quarters) and how do their melt values compare to Morgans?
Executive summary
Morgan silver dollars contain 0.7734 troy ounces of pure silver, substantially more than circulating pre‑1965 half dollars and quarters, which contain roughly 0.362 and 0.181 troy ounces of silver respectively, meaning a single Morgan dollar’s metal melt value is roughly 4.3× a pre‑1965 quarter and about 2.1× a pre‑1965 half dollar when calculated from the same silver spot price (calculations and denomination rules summarized below) [1] [2] [3].
1. What a “melt value” means and how it’s calculated
Melt value is the intrinsic worth of the metal in a coin: the coin’s fine silver content (in troy ounces) multiplied by the current silver spot price; live calculators and tables on specialist sites show the same approach and let owners update values as spot moves (NGC, Coinflation, USA Coin Book) [4] [3] [5].
2. The Morgan dollar: the baseline heavyweight
Morgan (and other 90% silver dollars of that era) contain 0.7734 troy ounces of fine silver because they were struck as 90% silver/10% copper pieces with a larger total weight than fractional coins; that 0.7734‑oz figure is the commonly cited silver content used to derive a Morgan’s metal floor value [1].
3. Pre‑1965 half dollars: roughly half a Morgan by metal
Common 90% silver half dollars (Walking Liberty, Franklin, 1964 Kennedy) contain about 0.362 troy ounces of fine silver, a figure used by melt calculators and price guides to produce per‑coin melt values; this makes a circulated half dollar worth, in metal alone, roughly 47–48% of a Morgan’s melt value at a given spot price [2] [5].
4. Pre‑1965 quarters: pocket change that still contains real silver
Pre‑1965 90% silver quarters (Washington and earlier designs) contain roughly half the silver of a half dollar — about 0.181 troy ounces of fine silver — because U.S. denomination weights scaled by face value (a quarter is one quarter the weight of a silver dollar in that coinage system), which places a single quarter’s melt value at about one‑quarter of a Morgan’s silver value [2] [5].
5. The 1965–1970 transitional coins and 40% pieces
After the Coinage Act of 1965 removed silver from most circulation, the Mint produced 40% silver Kennedy half dollars for 1965–1970; those contain about 0.1479 troy ounces of fine silver (4.6 grams) per Stack’s Bowers calculator example, so their melt values are materially lower than true 90% halves and can be roughly comparable to or slightly less than a 90% quarter depending on spot [6].
6. Putting numbers to melt comparisons (how to read the market)
Using the standard metal contents above, take the current silver spot and multiply: e.g., at $20/oz, a Morgan (0.7734 oz) = $15.47 metal, a 90% half (0.362 oz) = $7.24, and a 90% quarter (0.181 oz) = $3.62; live melt calculators and price guides corroborate this arithmetic and let sellers update instantly for market moves (NGC, Coinflation, USA Coin Book, FindBullionPrices) [4] [3] [5] [7].
7. Caveats, collectibility and market reality
Melt value is the floor, not the ceiling: many Morgans, certain dates, mintmarks (e.g., Carson City), or coins in superior condition carry significant numismatic premiums that push them well above metal value, whereas most circulated pre‑1965 quarters and halves are traded close to their silver content; dealers and online calculators note that “junk silver” prices generally track melt while rarer pieces diverge [8] [7].
8. Practical takeaway for holders and sellers
For someone valuing a hoard of pre‑1965 coins, treat Morgan dollars as the metal richest unit; use reputable melt calculators and live spot feeds to compute up‑to‑date metal floors, and always check for numismatic premiums before assuming a coin will only fetch melt (NGC, Coinflation, Stack’s Bowers, USA Coin Book) [4] [3] [6] [5].