These coins include dimes, quarters, half dollars, and dollars. 900 silver was used instead of 999 fine silver because more alloy means that the coins would be more dent-resistant. You can also find 900 silver items from Latin America and foreign countries such as China and Germany. Scrap silver jewelery can often be found cheaply and the silver calculator can easily be used to determine the bullion value of these items. Typical silver purities for silver jewelery are 925 (Sterling), 900 (Coin Silver), 850, 830, 825, and 800. Look for the fineness of your silver jewelery stamped on it numerically, or perhaps via a hallmark. 900 is just another silver alloy, maybe that's the standard in some countries, here in Italy the standard for silver is 800, for instance (most 925 items are made to be exported to countries having the 925 standard, like the US), but you can find also items in 999 or 835 silver (coins, mostly). But only 925 silver can be called sterling.