when did the us government stop using silver in coins
Coinage Act of 1965 The Coinage Act of 1965, Pub.L. 89–81, 79 Stat. 254, enacted July 23, 1965, eliminated silver from the circulating United States dime (ten-cent piece) and quarter dollar coins. It also reduced the silver content of the half dollar from 90 percent to 40 percent; silver in the half dollar was subsequently eliminated by a 1970 law.
United States Mint coin sets All releases from 1936 to 1972 included the cent, nickel, dime, quarter, and half dollar from that year. The first proof sets through 1964 were minted at the Philadelphia Mint. There were two official releases in 1942: one regular five coin set and a set including a silver wartime nickel. United States currency was debased beginning in 1965, but the sets continued under the name United States Mint Proof Set.Production was moved to the San Francisco branch in 1968, and all subsequent issues bear coins with an "S" mint mark. In 1973, the Eisenhower dollar was added to the collection. Sets from 1975 will have a dual-date 1776-1976 quarter, half-dollar, and dollar as none of those coins were ever produced with a 1975 date. The Susan B. Anthony dollar replaced the Eisenhower in 1979. The 1981 mint sets were the only method of obtaining a Susan B. from that year, though many have slipped into circulation. With the cease in minting of dollar coins, the regular issue Proof Set for 1982 included a brass token. From 1983 until 1998, the annual United States Proof set resumed to only issuing the penny, nickel, dime, quarter, and half-dollar.