How Much Do Coins Weigh? A List Of U.S

Table of Contents History of the American dimeHow much does a dime weigh in 2022?How much do quarters, nickels, and pennies weigh?What are coins made out of now?FAQsKey Takeaways Article Summary:As of 2022, dimes weigh 2268 grams, or 0080 ounces, and have a core of copper surrounded by a nickel coating

This differs from the original dimes that were made of 27 grams of silver, which was literally worth ten cents in the 18th centuryCoins have a long history, making collecting them an interesting hobby

Anthony dollar coin, which was minted from 1979 to 1981 and again in 1999

It commemorated the women’s suffrage leader, who was also the first actual woman to ever appear on a circulating US coin, not counting Lady Liberty’s headWhatever your interest in coins, whether it’s purely as an investment or for their historical significance and unique designs, you might have wondered: what do they weigh?

And why the heck is the dime the smallest coin of all?

Let’s take a closer look at those questions and more about dimes and other US coinsGet Competing Personal Loan Offers In MinutesCompare rates from multiple vetted lenders

Get Personalized RatesIt’s quick, free and won’t hurt your credit score History of the American dimeHistorically, the size and weight of coins made some kind of sense — they were tied to their intrinsic value

As in, a silver dime that weighed 27 grams was literally worth ten cents worth of silver, and so onBut that evolved pretty rapidly, due to changes in the value of precious metals and other practical reasons, and coins became more like tokens of value rather than literal worth

Since then, coin size and weight changed, as well as the materials used to mint themFrom the 1700s to the 1800sThe original dimes were made of silver and weighed 270 grams (0095 ounces)

The silver dimes were created in 1796 following the Coinage Act of 1792, which established the US dollar as the nation’s currency and created a mint for national coinageThe design, known as Draped Bust Dimes from 1796 to 1837, showed Liberty on the obverse side (heads) and an eagle on the reverse side (tails)

However, from 1809 through 1837, the Capped Bust Dime was minted and weighed a bit less at 241 grams (0085 ounces)Dimes from the 1800s to 1900sIn 1837, a wreath design replaced the eagle, and the Seated Liberty Dime (also known as the Liberty Seated Dime), was in circulation until 1891

Liberty, in various forms, stayed on the dime until 1946

(The Liberty Seated coinage, incidentally, which was cast the same year as the final Capped Bust Dimes, was a break from the traditional close-up portraiture )The weight also fluctuated a bit, partly due to rising silver prices, but eventually settled at a weight of 25 grams with a composition of about 90% silver and 10% copper, and maintained that weight until the Coinage Act of 196520th- and 21st-century dimesFrom 1916 to 1945, the US began minting dimes known as “Mercury” dimes

The two symbols represented America’s military readiness and the desire for peaceThe current design of the US ten-cent coin is the Roosevelt dime, minted in 1946 soon after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s death following World War II

The torch signifies Liberty, the olive branch, peace, and the oak branch represents strength and independenceHow much does a dime weigh in 2022?Since 1965, all dimes minted in the US weigh 2268 grams (0080 ounces)

They’re made from a copper core and are wrapped in nickel which gives them that shiny, silver color

A US dime also has reeded edges (ridges, basically), and each one has 118 reedsCoins each have unique inscriptions on them as well

Roosevelt dimes, for example, have the year, “Liberty” and “In God We Trust” on the obverse

The reverse says, “United States of America,” “One Dime,” and “E Pluribus Unum,” which is Latin for “out of many, one” It’s also sometimes translated as “one from many,” and is considered a United States motto signifying the creation of a unified nation of people with different beliefs and backgroundsWhat does a half dollar weigh?Because half-dollar and dollar coins are rarely used anymore, you might be surprised to learn that half-dollars are the largest and heaviest of all circulating coins, with a weight of 11340 grams and a diameter of 3061 mm (1205 in )

They have a thickness of 215 mm, 150 reeds around the edge, and a metallic composition — or “clad sandwich” — of primarily copper and 833% nickelThe “Kennedy” theme is the current design of the US half-dollar coin

The United States Mint first issued this design in 1964, a year after the assassination of President John F

The head’s side shows an image of Kennedy, based on a portrait prepared for his presidential medal, and the Presidential Seal appears on the reverseThe Mint cast the first half dollar in 1794, and it was made of silver like the first dime

The designs on these silver coins, from 1794 all the way up until 1947, showed a woman symbolizing Liberty on the obverse and an eagle on the reverseWhat does a dollar coin weigh?The newest dollar coins in circulation during 2022, which you probably won’t find in your pocket change, weigh in at 81 grams with a diameter of 2649 mm (1043 in) and a thickness of 20 mm

They have a manganese-brass finish giving them the (sort of) look of old-timey gold coins of the pastThe first dollar coin made with an outer layer of manganese brass came about when the US Mint issued the Sacagawea Golden Dollar from 2000 to 2008

The obverse design features Sacagawea and the reverse depicts a soaring eagle

In 2009, the dollar transitioned to the Native American $1 Coin Program using the Sacagawea obverse paired with different reverse designs every yearFour of the new “American Innovation” $1 coins with distinctive reverse designs are released each year starting from 2019 and continuing through 2032

A quarter has a diameter of 2426 mm and a thickness of 175 mm; the nickel is 2121 mm wide and 195 mm thick; and pennies are 1905 mm in diameter with a thickness of 152 mmOf your pocket change, only the penny and nickel have plain edges, whereas the quarter, dime, and half dollar are all reeded

The quarter has 119 reeds, which is randomly only one reed more than the dime hasFun FactThe first copper pennies were almost as big as a half dollar is today, and there were half-cent copper coins as well

Eventually, in 1857, Congress discontinued the unpopular half-cent coin, and pennies were shrunk down to cut back on the amount of copper neededWhat are coins made out of now?The penny, dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar coins are all clad coins these days

Clad means the coins have an inner core of metal surrounded by an outer layer of a different metal

The Mint makes most clad coins with an inner core of copper, except for the penny

The nickel, interestingly, is the only circulating coin that isn’t cladPlus, the nickel isn’t even totally made of nickel!

It’s actually cupro-nickel, or copper-nickel (CuNi), which is a copper-nickel alloy that contains nickel plus strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese

The dime, quarter, and half dollar are also clad in cupro-nickel

The penny, which looks like copper, is actually copper-plated zinc and only 25% of its metallic content is actually made up of copperWhy aren’t coins made from precious metal anymore?Circulating coins used to be made out of valuable metals like silver and gold, in addition to copper

But as these metals got more and more expensive, the US Mint started replacing them with cheaper and longer-lasting metals

The last coin circulated that included silver was the 1970 half dollarDenominationCentNickelDimeQuarter DollarHalf DollarDollarCompositionCopper plated zinc 25% Cu Balance ZnCupro-nickel 25% Ni Balance CuCupro-nickel 833% Ni Balance CuCupro-nickel 833% Ni Balance CuCupro-nickel 833% Ni Balance CuManganese-brass 885% Cu 6% Zn 35% Mn 2% NiWeight2500 g5000 g2268 g5670 g11340 g81 gDiameter0750 in0835 in0705 in0955 in1205 in1043 in1905 mm2121 mm1791 mm2426 mm3061 mm2649 mmThickness152 mm195 mm135 mm175 mm215 mm200 mmEdgePlainPlainReededReededReededEdge-LetteringNo of ReedsN/AN/A118119150N/ASource: US MintFAQsWhy is the dime smaller than a nickel or a penny?Back in the day, the weight of the coin was meant to equal its value, so a dime was literally worth ten cents of silver

Turns out five cents worth of silver makes for a pretty tiny coin, which was known as a half-dimeEventually, for practical purposes, the metallic content of coins changed and the half-dime became a nickel because it was made out of… you guessed it — nickelWhy are presidents’ faces depicted on coins?The face of Lady Liberty appeared on circulating coins for more than 150 years

When considering options for the first coins, Congress debated over whether to feature George Washington and later presidents, but many thought that was too similar to Great Britain’s practice of featuring their monarchs

Instead, Congress chose to personify the concept of Liberty rather than a real personIn 1909, Abraham Lincoln replaced Lady Liberty on the penny

A while after that, presidents began to appear in other denominations

First was the quarter in 1932, then the nickel in 1938, the dime in 1946, the half dollar in 1964, and finally the dollar coin in 1971

Liberty last appeared on a circulating coin in 1947 in the final year of the Walking Liberty half dollarsWhat does it mean to “drop a dime” on someone?To “drop a dime” basically means to rat out a criminal or someone believed to be a criminal

More specifically, it used to refer to dropping a dime into a pay phone when calling the police to inform on another person without revealing your own identity

For example, “I’m grounded this weekend cause my sister dropped a dime on me to my parents for skipping school on Friday”Incidentally, it’s also found its way into some sports lingo

For instance, “dropping a dime” means making a sweet assist in basketball or executing a difficult pass in footballKey Takeaways A 2022 dime weighs 2268 grams with a diameter of 1791 mm and a thickness of 135 mm

Dimes were originally 270 grams of silver, which was actually worth ten cents in the 1700s

Most coins minted in the 2000s are clad, meaning the coin has a metal core that differs from the metal coating the coinView Article Sources Collecting Basics — US Mint Coin Specifications — US Mint The History of US Circulating Coins — US Mint The 1943 and 1944 Cents — American Numismatic Association Do Luxury Watches Appreciate In Value?

— SuperMoney The 25 Most Expensive Pens in the World — SuperMoney 1943 Steel Penny Value vs

World’s Most Expensive Coins — SuperMoney Silver Certificate Dollar Bill: What Is It Worth Today?

Many people have asked the question, “How much do coins weigh?”

The United States has many different types of coins — so naturally there isn’t a single answer, but rather several

Today I’m going to show you how much US coins weigh — by denomination…

Can You Weigh Coins To Count Them?

In fact, many coin counting machines can accurately calculate a quantity of coins simply by weighing them

If you want to weigh coins to count them yourself, versus using a coin counter, then your best bet is to buy a coin electronic weighing machine — a digital coin scale

The Best Coin Scale To Use

A digital coin weigher is probably the most convenient method for weighing coins, but an analog coin scale could work, too

Whichever type of coin scale you decide to use, be sure it can provide an accurate, unrounded weight down to at least 1/10th of a gram and preferably 1/100th of a gram

Scales that measure only in whole grams will round off the fractions to the nearest whole gram and can therefore provide incomplete readings — and that’s not good when weighing coins, especially those whose metallic variants are distinguished by weight differences of less than 1 gram

However, they generally provide readouts only to the nearest whole gram — so it’s best to avoid using food scales and stamp scales

If you want to weigh coins accurately and like a pro, buy a coin scale!

In this video, I’m showing you the 5 things you need to know before weighing coins PLUS my favorite coin scale:

5 Tips For Using A Scale To Weigh Coins [Coin Collecting]Watch this video on YouTube

How To Count Coins By Weight

So, you want to group all of your coins together and count them by weighing them, right?

Separate all of your coins by denominationNow, within each denomination, separate them by type of metal (pre-1965 90% silver dimes, quarters, and half dollars vs

post-1982 zinc pennies, etc )Next, place all coins of the same denomination and metal type on a coin scaleFinally, divide the number in the weight readout by the standard weight of a single coin of that type (see coin weights listed below)

Voila… The quotient of your calculation should be the number of coins on the scale!

NOTE: It’s important that you realize the accuracy of the quotient (the final number you arrive at with your calculation after division) depends on the scale providing an accurate readout to at least 1/10th of a gram

The US Mint is permitted to strike coins within a certain range or deviation of the standard weight — this difference is known as a tolerance

The weight difference based on tolerance depends on the denomination in question, and we’ll cover this in greater detail below

Also, coins that contain a lot of wear may weigh less than the standard weight for a coin of that type

Therefore, when you weigh coins to count them, you must take these minor differences into account

How Much Coins Weigh By Denomination

If you’re going to weigh coins to count them, then their weight in grams is absolutely important to know

How much does a dollar coin weigh?

US dollar coins were first struck in 1794 and have been made in different sizes and with various metals

Therefore, there is no single standard weight for all silver dollars or other dollar coins made by the United States Mint

Here are the various circulating US dollar coin weights:

Silver dollars made from 1794 through 1835 — 2696 grams Silver dollars made from 1836 through 1839 — 2673 to 2696 gramsSilver dollars made between 1840 and 1970 — 2673 grams40% silver dollars made from 1971 through 1976 — 2459 grams Copper-nickel clad dollars made from 1971 through 1978 — 2268 gramsCopper-nickel clad dollars made from 1979 through 1999 — 81 grams“Golden” dollars made since 2000 — 81 grams

*Tolerances for silver dollars are 39 grams more or less and 52 grams more or less for copper-nickel clad and 40% silver Eisenhower dollars

How much does a half dollar weigh?

Like silver dollars, the half dollar has been minted since 1794 and there have been some changes to this denomination over the years

Here’s how much a 50 cent coin weighs:

Half dollars made from 1794 through 1836 (larger size of 325 millimeters) — 1348 grams Half dollars made from 1836 through 1839 (smaller size of 30 millimeters) — 1336 grams Half dollars made from 1839 through 1853, no arrows at the date — 1336 grams Half dollars made from 1853 through 1873, (1853-55 with arrows at the date) — 1244 grams Half dollars made from 1873 through 1964, (1873-74 with arrows at the date) — 125 grams 40% silver half dollars made from 1965 through 1970 and 1976-S — 115 gramsCopper-nickel clad half dollars made since 1971 — 1134 grams

*Tolerances for half dollars are 26 grams more or less

How much does a quarter weigh?

The US Mint has been making quarters since 1796, and there have been changes to the weight of the denomination since the first examples of this workhorse coin were made back in the late 18th century

Here’s a list of US quarter weights:

Quarters made from 1796 through 1838 — 674 grams Quarters made from 1838 through 1853 with Liberty Seated design and no arrows at the date — 668 grams Quarters made from 1853 through 1873 (1853-55 with arrows at the date) — 622 grams Quarters made from 1873 through 1964 (1873-74 with arrows at the date) — 625 grams Copper nickel quarters made since 1965 — 567 grams 40% silver Bicentennial quarters (1976-S) — 575 grams

*Tolerances for quarters are 19 grams more or less

Dimes have been made in the United States since 1796, and these coins have been made in various weights

Here are the weights for circulating US dimes:

*Tolerances for dimes are 09 grams more or less

How much does a nickel weigh?

The “nickel” is really just a shorthand term for the five-cent coin — which has technically been in production since 1794 and was originally a small silver coin known as a half dime (or half disme)

The nickel, as we know it today, is made from a copper-nickel alloy — it debuted in 1866

With the lone exception of wartime five-cent coins that were made from a 35% silver alloy during the period spanning 1942 through 1945 to save nickel for making World War II artillery, US nickels contain a 75% copper, 25% nickel composition

However, even with the metallic changes during World War II, the weight of the coin remained unchanged

Here’s how much US nickels weigh:

Since 1866 — 5 grams

*Tolerances for nickels are 19 grams more or less

How much does a penny weigh?

The iconic penny, or one-cent coin as this denomination is officially known in the United States, has been an American staple since 1793

The penny has shrunk in size over the years

Once nearly the size of a modern-day half dollar, the penny was initially reduced to its current diameter of 19 millimeters in 1856

The metallic composition of the “small” cent has also changed from copper-nickel to bronze, and then onto copper-plated zinc as we see today

Here’s how much a penny weighs:

Pennies from 1856 through 1864 (copper-nickel pennies) — 467 grams Pennies from 1864 through 1982 with the EXCEPTION of 1943 — 311 grams 1943 pennies (made from zinc-plated steel) — 27 grams Copper-coated zinc pennies made since 1982 — 25 grams

*Tolerances for pennies are 13 grams from 1856 through 1971, 12 grams from 1972 through 1982, and 10 grams since 1982

Other Questions About How Much Coins Weigh

How much does a silver coin weigh?

We’ve already listed silver coin weights above in the dime, quarter, half dollar, and dollar coin weight sections above

Hopefully that info answers your questions about how much silver coins weigh

Let’s look at the weights of some of the most common types of classic US gold coins:

There aren’t any US coins that weigh precisely 1 gram

The Chinese yen coin weighs 1 gram to a tee!

If you’re looking for coins that weigh 2 grams, check out the reform coinage of Chile

A 1975 1 centavo coin made from aluminum weighs exactly 2 grams!

You’re not going to find many coins, medals, or much of anything else in the numismatic arena that individually weighs 200 grams — that’s 705 ounces, or nearly half a pound!

But, there is a handy coin you can find in pocket change that, in multiples, easily adds up to 200 grams

That’s the nickel, which — again — weighs 5 grams

It takes 40 nickels to equal 200 grams

You know what else 40 nickels adds up to?

A $2 roll of nickels

And that’s a great segue into this next question about weighing coins in rolls…

How much do rolled coins weigh?

To answer this question, you need to know how many coins come in a standard bank roll:

A roll of pennies is 50 coinsA roll of nickels is 40 coinsA roll of dimes is 50 coinsA roll of quarters is 40 coinsA roll of half dollars is 20 coinsA roll of large-size dollars is 20 coinsA roll of small-size dollars is 25 coins

As you’ve already learned, each denomination of coin has been produced in different metals and weights over the years

So if you want to find out how much rolled coins weigh, then you’ll need to:

Know what period or generation of coin is inside the roll

Resort to using coin weight averages — not an exact number, but close enough

Do banks weigh rolled coins?

Some do, but even banks that weigh rolled coins may do so only as a secondary means of verifying the number of coins in a roll

For example, a roll of 50 pennies that are all copper-coated zinc coins made since late 1982 will weigh some 30 grams less than a roll of 50 bronze pennies struck prior to 1983

Therefore, weighing rolls might provide some rough idea as to the number of coins within — but because of differences in weight caused by tolerances, heavy coin wear, various metallic compositions, and other factors, weighing rolls of coins can be tricky business

Q&A How Much Does the Weight of Coins Vary When First Minted?Watch this video on YouTube

My love for coins began when I was 11 years old

I primarily collect and study US coins produced during the 20th century

I’ve authored nearly 1,000 articles here at The Fun Times Guide to Coins (many of them with over 50K shares), and I welcome your coin questions in the comments below!