Every gold, silver and platinum price you see quoted is a spot price, and it is also the number most beginners misread. It is not what a coin costs. It is the starting point for working out what a coin costs. This guide explains where the number comes from, how to turn it into the metal value of a coin, and why the price on the tag is usually higher.
The short answer
The spot price is the current price of one troy ounce of the raw metal, for immediate delivery, as traded in the wholesale markets. It moves all day while those markets are open. A coin, bar or round is then priced as the spot price of the metal in it, plus the cost of turning that metal into a product and getting it to you.
Where the number comes from
Spot prices come from large wholesale markets, where metal changes hands in bulk between banks, refiners, miners and dealers. Prices are quoted from that trading and update through the trading day, nearly around the clock on weekdays and not at all over the weekend. No coin dealer sets it, and no dealer can change it.
That is also why two websites can show slightly different spot prices at the same moment: they read the market at different times and from different sources. Ours is a reference, refreshed through the day, and it can run a few hours behind the market. Use it to understand the numbers and estimate a melt value, not as a trading quote.
Per troy ounce, not per ordinary ounce
Gold, silver and platinum are quoted per troy ounce, which is 31.1 grams. The ounce on a kitchen scale, the avoirdupois ounce, is 28.35 grams, so a troy ounce is about 10% heavier. A "1 oz" silver round holds one troy ounce of silver. Copper is different: it is normally priced by the pound, and a one-ounce copper round weighs an ordinary ounce. We compare the two in copper vs silver rounds.
Working out melt value
Melt value is what the pure metal in a coin would be worth at the spot price. The arithmetic is the weight of pure metal in troy ounces, multiplied by the spot price. Nothing else goes into it: no date, no condition, no rarity.
The table uses an example silver price of $50 an ounce. It is not today's price. Put the live number into our melt calculator to get the current figure.
| Piece | Pure silver | Melt value at $50 |
|---|---|---|
| Morgan or Peace dollar (90%) | 0.7734 oz | $38.67 |
| Half dollar (90%) | 0.3617 oz | $18.09 |
| Quarter (90%) | 0.18084 oz | $9.04 |
| Dime (90%) | 0.07234 oz | $3.62 |
| 1 oz silver round (.999) | 1 oz | $50.00 |
The 90% coins are the ones struck in 1964 or earlier, which is why the pure-silver weight is less than the coin's own weight. The junk silver guide shows how to value them in bulk.
Why a coin costs more than its melt value
The tag price on a coin has more in it than metal:
- Making it. Refining, minting and finishing a piece costs money, and small pieces cost more per ounce to make than large ones.
- Getting it to you. Packaging, insurance, shipping and the dealer's time and margin.
- Collector value. A coin that is rare, old or in fine condition can be worth many times its metal. A common worn dollar is not.
The difference between the price and the melt value is called the premium. It is normally quoted as a percentage over spot, which makes offers from different dealers easy to compare, and it is usually a smaller percentage on a larger bar than on a single small coin.
Why you get less when you sell
A dealer buying a coin has to cover their own costs and resell it, so what they offer is based on the melt value but adjusted for those costs and for what the coin will fetch. The gap between the buying and selling price is normal. Get more than one quote, and ask how the offer was worked out.
Copper has a spot price too
Copper trades on the same kind of market, quoted in dollars per pound. A one-ounce piece of copper is one-sixteenth of a pound, so at a copper price of $6.60 a pound it holds about 41 cents of metal. Our copper rounds and bars sell for $6.50 at a fixed price, and the difference is the design and the making, as set out in how much a 1 oz copper coin is worth.
Where we fit in
T&C Coin sells copper rounds and bars. The live gold, silver and platinum prices and the melt calculator on our site are a free reference, and there is no gold or silver to buy there. If you would like to talk a coin through, Thomas takes calls monday to saturday, 8am to 6pm, on (505) 518-2288.