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Need help please
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11 posts in this topic

I found a  1971 half dollar that looks like it is silver on the edge but does not have the correct  Weight.  But it weighs a little more than a clad coin And everything about it says that it is silver except the weight.  Even Did the ice cube test cut the ice cube like butter. Could this be plated. But certainly does not look like it. The last picture is the coin next to a 68

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My money would be on it's a run of the mill Half or it was plated. The chances of it being struck on a 70 planchet are slim to none and since these errors have only been found from the Denver Mint, I believe, I would say the odds are zero. Regardless, if you really wanted to prove the coin was struck on a 70 planchet you would have to get it professionally test. If I remember correctly the coin's specific gravity was used to determine the type planchet used as there is a significant overlap in acceptable weights due to the generous tolerances for Kennedy's.

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That is what I am swaying toward as well but I think I do want to get it tested just so I know.  Tried to get some better pictures even some close ups

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The silver clad spec is 11.50 +/- 0.400 gms and the regular clad is 11.34 +/- 0.454 gms.  

Your coin does not have an "As struck" appearance.  Lots of surface irregularities.  My opinion is that it's plated.

When you do the XRF, look for nickel.  

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XRF, X-Ray Florence  The coin is momentarily hit with x-rays.  The elements absorb the energy and then re radiate it.  Each element radiates it's own specific frequency,  What frequencies are there tells you what elements are present and the intensity of the radiation tells you the quantity of the element present.  The ratio of intensities tells you the percentage of each element in the composition.  One drawback is that the x-rays do not penetrate very deply so it is mostly a surface measurement.  But if it is plated there is a good chance such a test will penetrate the plating and report back a significant reading of Nickel, which would not be present on a 40% silver half dollar.

However a VERY strong argument for it NOT being struck on a 40% silver planchet is that Philadelphia has NEVER struck any 40% silver coins (None of the 1965-69 40% silver half dollars were struck at Philadelphia).  So there is nowhere for such a planchet to come from.  It is too light to be a 90% silver planchet, and the last 90% silver Philadelphia coins were struck in 1966 and in a completely different Mint building.  The current Philadelphia Mint opened and began production in 1969.  The third Philadelphia Mint where the last of the silver coins were struck was several blocks away

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