I have a 1979 half dollar no mint mark that weighs 11.49 grams I dont think its silver but i'm pretty sure the weight is that of a 40 percent. Is this normal?
The Mint didn't strike a 40% silver half in 1979, but I guess anything is possible. The clad coin is supposed to weigh 11.34 gms as opposed to 11.50 gms for a 40% silver. Have you ever calibrated your scale? Chris
I just got it yesterday and its been pretty accurate. Tommorow im going to my friends pawn shop and have hime weigh it on his
Oh, no! Not a pawn shop. Don't they usually set their scales a few grams light?:devil: If you have the time, take your scale to most any jeweler. They usually have weights to test the accuracy. Chris
The problem is it is also within the tolerance weight for a copper nickel clad as well. The Copper nickel clad is supposed to weight 11.34 grams, but the tolerance is +/- .4 grams which means it could weigh as much as 11.74 grams and still be of legal weight. A 40% half can weigh as low as 11.1 grams. So it is not possible to tell a 40% from a coppernickel half by weight. Color can give hints, weight can give hints, tonal ring can give hints, but it you want to know for sure you have to do a specific gravity test. Unles you want to do a destructive test on it.
