Apparently there are three types of dime for 1968 in Canada - 90 percent silver, 50 percent silver and non-silver. I have a few that I think are at least partial silver. How can I tell?
http://www.coinflation.com/silver_coin_values.html Scroll down to the Canadian section. A 68 dime is 50% silver. Some are 0% silver. The weight would give it away. A 50% silver dime is 2.33 grams and a 99.9% nickel dime is 2.07 grams. The 80% silver dimes started in 1920 and ended part way through 1967 when they switched to 50% silver.
I've read about a magnet test. The 50% silver will not stick to a magnet while those with no silver do stick to a magnet. I have never tested it, but you can try it. As for the 1967's, there is no way to tell the difference between the 80% and the 50%. Many people just call them 65% because of this. If you have the resources, you can test the 67's for density. The 80% will be slightly denser then the 50% because silver is denser than copper. I got this info from these links http://www.coinscan.com/technical/canasp.html http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php?topic=369522.0
Well, the two coins in question don't stick to a magnet, so hopefully that means they are silver. Silver has a certain look to it, and that's why I thought these were to begin with.
is there no weight difference between the 50% silver and 80% silver coins? Thanks in advance whether you know or not
According to the links above, both the .800 and .500 dimes weight 2.33 grams. Maybe there's a miniscule difference, but I guess a gram scale wouldn't pick it up. I'm interested too, because I have a couple of 1967 and 1968 Canadian dimes.
It is an interesting contrast how the RCM can change the metals in coins so seemlessly, the cent, the five cent and the larger denomination coins changed pretty frequently. Lately with the cent they were going back and forth betwixt the copper rolled steel and the copper plated zinc. With the five cent coins they do the same, at least until 2006 they were minting in two metals. The vending machine lobby and the zinc lobby must not be very powerful in the parliament like they are in the US Congress.
The sheen is also different. Nickel is a little darker but very bright & reflective. Silver is lighter in color & not as reflective unless in mint state.
FYI, the local coin shop has a PM tester that can discern the difference. Supposedly costs about a grand, though...
