History of South America

How much silver used in making dollars after 1965?

There is no silver used in making US dollars after 1964. Before 1965, US dimes, quarters, half dollars, and silver dollars all contained significant amounts of silver. However, in 1965, the Coinage Act of 1964 removed silver from all circulating US coins except for the half dollar. The half dollar was changed from 90% silver to 40% silver in 1965, and then to a composition of 75% copper and 25% nickel in 1971. Today, all US coins are made from copper-plated zinc or copper-plated nickel, and do not contain any silver.