Old British Silver Coins

Threepence to crown:
the silver of pre-decimal Britain.

A printable reference for British silver coinage from the 1816 Great Recoinage to the 1947 silver-out — sterling and 50%-silver eras side by side, with exact silver content per coin and the pre-decimal junk-silver formula.

The shortcut to remember £1 face = ~3.36 troy oz of silver For any pre-1920 mix of sterling silver threepences, sixpences, shillings, florins, half crowns. Multiply face value by 3.36 for ounces. For 1920–46 (50% silver), the same coins hold ~54% as much silver: £1 face ≈ 1.82 ozt.

Silver Content Reference — United Kingdom

Modern British silver coinage, 1816 (Great Recoinage) through 1946 (silver-out). All weights are exact mint specifications; circulated coins lose 1–3% mass over a century.
Pre-decimal: £1 = 20s = 240d. The shilling (1s = 12d) is the spine of the system; the florin (2s) and half crown (2s 6d) are the round-money workhorses.
Spot prices used for "Melt": Ag — Cu — Ni — From the calculator; live spot will differ.
Coin Years Total wt Composition Silver (ozt) ≈ Fraction Face
92.5% sterling silver — Circulating, 1816–1919
Threepence (sterling)
 1816–1919 1.41 g 92.5% Ag · 7.5% Cu 0.0421 ~1/24 oz 3d
Sixpence (sterling)
 1816–1919 2.83 g 92.5% Ag · 7.5% Cu 0.0842 ~1/12 oz 6d
Shilling (sterling)
 1816–1919 5.66 g 92.5% Ag · 7.5% Cu 0.1683 ~1/6 oz 1s (12d)
Florin (sterling)
 1849–1919 11.31 g 92.5% Ag · 7.5% Cu 0.3364 ~1/3 oz 2s (24d)
Half Crown (sterling)
 1816–1919 14.14 g 92.5% Ag · 7.5% Cu 0.4205 ~5/12 oz 2s 6d (30d)
Crown (sterling)
 1816–1919 (mostly commem.) 28.28 g 92.5% Ag · 7.5% Cu 0.8409 ~5/6 oz 5s (60d)
92.5% sterling — Special & commemorative
Double Florin
 1887–1890 22.62 g 92.5% Ag · 7.5% Cu 0.6727 ~2/3 oz 4s (48d)
50% silver — Reduced fineness, 1920–1946
Threepence (50%)
 1920–1944 1.41 g 50% Ag · 40% Cu · 10% Ni 0.0227 ~1/44 oz 3d
Sixpence (50%)
 1920–1946 2.83 g 50% Ag · 40% Cu · 10% Ni 0.0455 ~1/22 oz 6d
Shilling (50%)
 1920–1946 5.66 g 50% Ag · 40% Cu · 10% Ni 0.0910 ~1/11 oz 1s
Florin (50%)
 1920–1946 11.31 g 50% Ag · 40% Cu · 10% Ni 0.1818 ~2/11 oz 2s
Half Crown (50%)
 1920–1946 14.14 g 50% Ag · 40% Cu · 10% Ni 0.2273 ~2/9 oz 2s 6d
Trade silver — Far East colonial commerce
British Trade Dollar
 1895–1935 26.96 g 90% Ag · 10% Cu 0.7800 ~4/5 oz $1 trade
Maundy money — Royal ceremonial set, 92.5% sterling, continuous
Maundy Penny continuous 0.47 g 92.5% Ag · 7.5% Cu 0.0140 ~1/71 oz 1d
Maundy Twopence continuous 0.94 g 92.5% Ag · 7.5% Cu 0.0280 ~1/36 oz 2d
Maundy Threepence continuous 1.41 g 92.5% Ag · 7.5% Cu 0.0421 ~1/24 oz 3d
Maundy Fourpence continuous 1.89 g 92.5% Ag · 7.5% Cu 0.0561 ~1/18 oz 4d
Pre-1920 sterling silver Any mix of 3d, 6d, 1s, 2s, 2s 6d, 5s: £1 face = 3.36 ozt. A £10 face bag ≈ 33.6 ozt.
1920–1946 50% silver Same coins, ~54% of the sterling silver: £1 face = 1.82 ozt. A £10 face bag ≈ 18.2 ozt.
The shilling rule of thumb A pre-1920 shilling holds ~0.168 ozt — roughly the silver content of a US 90% quarter (.181 ozt). The two coins are economic cousins.
Metal legend — click any badge for details

How to use this card: at the coin shop or estate sale, multiply the count of each coin by the "Silver (ozt)" column, sum, then multiply by the day's silver spot price. Treat numismatic premium (rarity, condition, key dates) as a separate question — this card prices the metal only. Click any coin photo to see it at full Wikimedia resolution.

Why 1816? The Great Recoinage of 1816 fixed the shilling weight at 5.6552g of sterling silver — the system every later denomination derives from. Earlier hammered and milled silver coinage exists from Saxon and Tudor periods but uses different weight standards; covered in a future expansion.

Why 1947? Post-war pressure on Britain's silver reserves (most owed to the United States under Lend-Lease) led to the Coinage Act 1946, which removed silver from circulating UK coinage entirely. The shilling, sixpence, and the rest continued in circulation as cupronickel until decimalization in 1971.

A note on the 50% alloy: the table shows "50% Ag · 40% Cu · 10% Ni" as a typical 1920–1946 formulation, but the base-metal recipe actually varied: 1920–1922 was 50% Ag / 50% Cu (which tarnished badly), 1922–1927 was the 50/40/10 Ag/Cu/Ni shown here, and 1927–1946 was 50% Ag / 40% Cu / 5% Ni / 5% Zn. The silver content (50%) is constant across the era — only the base-metal alloy changed.

Britannia bullion (1997–present): the modern Royal Mint Britannia is a separate beast — 1 troy ounce of .999 fine silver, sold as bullion at spot + premium. Not on this card; it's a 21st-century investment product, not circulated currency.

Coin photos via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain (Royal Mint historical) and CC-licensed contributor uploads. Click thumbnails to view sources and licenses.

Data sources: Royal Mint specifications · Coinage Acts of 1816, 1920, and 1946 · Spink Coins of England and the United Kingdom. Conversions mirrored across this site.