What one American Silver Eagle is worth in silver
One American Silver Eagle contains 1.0000 troy ounces of pure silver, from a coin weighing 31.1346 grams at 999 parts per thousand. At the current benchmark that metal is worth $63.84. The benchmark behind it was set on , and every figure on this page moves with it.
| How many | Pure silver | Melt value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.0000 ozt | $63.84 |
| 10 | 10.0000 ozt | $638.40 |
| 20 | 20.00 ozt | $1,276 |
| 50 | 50.00 ozt | $3,192 |
| 100 | 100.00 ozt | $6,384 |
What the coin is
The American Silver Eagle contains exactly one troy ounce of fine silver, which is 31.103 grams of actual silver. Because the coin is 999 fine rather than pure, the blank it is struck on weighs a fraction more, about 31.13 grams, and that last 0.1% is copper. The law is written around the silver content rather than the coin weight, so the melt value is the silver benchmark itself and the figure at the top of this page tracks spot directly.
It has been struck since 1986, carries a nominal face value of one dollar that has nothing to do with what it is worth, and is the official silver bullion coin of the United States. The obverse is Weinman’s Walking Liberty design from the 1916 half dollar, and the reverse changed in 2021 from the heraldic eagle to a flying eagle, splitting the series into Type 1 and Type 2.
The one ounce of silver is guaranteed by the US government as to weight and purity, which is the whole point of a sovereign bullion coin. That guarantee is what lets a dealer buy one without assaying it, and it is the reason the coin trades differently from an unmarked bar of the same weight.
Is it worth more than its metal?
A Silver Eagle never sells for melt. The premium over spot has historically run from a couple of dollars to well above ten in periods of tight supply, and it exists because the mint charges a premium to authorised purchasers before the coin reaches the market at all. Anyone quoting you exactly spot for one is quoting you badly.
Certain dates carry premiums far beyond bullion. The 1995-W proof, issued only inside a gold anniversary set, is the key of the series and worth thousands. The 2008 reverse of 2007 variety, the 2011 25th anniversary set and low mintage burnished and proof issues all trade well above metal.
Condition is unusually important for a modern coin. These are collected in certified high grades, and a coin graded MS70 can be worth a large multiple of the same date in MS69, which is a distinction invisible to the naked eye. A raw coin from a tube is a bullion coin regardless of how perfect it looks.
Selling it
Sell Silver Eagles to a bullion dealer and expect an offer quoted as spot plus a premium, not as a percentage of melt like scrap jewellery. That is the normal market for them, the spread is narrow, and a dealer who offers you a scrap percentage for a sealed tube of Eagles is not the right buyer.
Keep them in their tubes or original packaging. Unlike jewellery, where condition is irrelevant to metal value, a scratched or fingerprinted Eagle loses its grading potential and drops to plain bullion, and handling the surfaces is how that happens.
Melt, resale and appraisal value sets out why those three numbers differ for the same object, and how we calculate shows every constant used on this page.
American Silver Eagle questions
How much silver is in an American Silver Eagle?
Exactly one troy ounce of fine silver, which is 31.103 grams of silver. The coin itself weighs slightly more, about 31.13 grams, because it is 999 fine rather than pure. Its melt value tracks the silver spot price directly.
Why do Silver Eagles cost more than spot?
The US Mint sells them to authorised purchasers at a premium over the metal, and every buyer down the chain adds to it. Minting, distribution and dealer margin mean the coin has never traded at plain melt value.
What is the rarest American Silver Eagle?
The 1995-W proof, issued only within a gold anniversary set and struck in very small numbers, is the key date and worth thousands. The 2008 reverse of 2007 variety and several low mintage burnished issues also trade far above bullion.
Should I sell Silver Eagles as scrap?
No. Take them to a bullion dealer who will quote spot plus a premium. A scrap buyer paying a percentage of melt is the wrong market and will cost you both the premium and part of the metal value.