42 S war nickel struck on nickel?

I had listed this coin a while ago. my question is more related to a specific comment. I had submitted this coin to mike diamond and his response was this " APPEARANCE AND RING MATCH CU-NI ALLOY. FOLLOW UP WITH XRF ANALYSIS" does this mean that there is a chance this could be struck on a nickel planchet and I should definitely follow up on it?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

That's the way I would read his statement -
ie; if you want to be certain of it's medallic
content, you need to pay for a XRF spectrograph
analysis.

Cost about $150-$200, as I remember.

However, over the decades I've seen (and 'heard')
numerous Warnicks (with the MM over the dome)
that look like a normal nickel composition, but are
are in fact silver warknickels.......

If you feel fairly certain that it's on a pre-Silver
Warnickel planchet, that's the only way to proof
it, as the weight is exactly the same for each
type of planchet.

 

I was certain enough that the $5 fee for examination was worth finding out. for $150-$200 I have 2 questions. 1- IF it came back as struck on nickel would the value of the error be worth the cost? and 2- where would I would I find some one with the gun? I had already called coin stores and pawn shops and they said they don't carry them because they are to
pricy. do you know how I can have the test done? thank you.

 

I believe PCGS and NGC offer a service called “Metallurgical Analysis” or something to that effect. Not sure of the exact process but it sounds like what you would need.

 

Do you mind showing a pic of the coin or link to the old posting? I'm curious to see what the coin looks like. Thanks!

 

I don't think it's worth the cost. Have these off metal war nickels been discovered and sold for a great deal of money?
Don't jewelry stores have devices that can give a pretty accurate metal composition analysis? For little or no cost?

 

I don't know if any have been discovered and if so what they went for. the pawn shop has a silver tester but they say they have to shave a small piece off but then there is damage being added to the coin right?

 

Nice, thank you !

 

I will have to look into that. thank you for that option.

 

Can't tell from those photos. Although I am not seeing the
standard gray war nickel patina. GL

 

I recently spent a lot of time looking at war nickels. I hope you can find a way to determine exactly what you have.

 

Independent test labs and some universities will do non-destructive XRF or SEM/EDS compositional analysis. Most have equipment that is more sensitive and accurate than the handheld guns. The $150-200 cost sounds like it's in the ballpark. SEM/EDS may be easier and Cheaper since you're only looking to see if you have Mg or Ni. Google 'XRF test labs' or something similar

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/XRF-METAL-...550039&hash=item43ea1f6355:g:X40AAOSwmLlX~pJ7

The price has dropped. The problem is that accuracy depends on obtaining a small free sample to work with. You can email this company to see if damaging the coin would be necessary and if they would do it with out damage..
Jim

 

and THAT is what caught my attention. I had also found a 1941 that DID look and feel like a war nickel but came back as just a normal 41 with odd coloring. someone had suggested that it was just a shiny silver nickel but it REALLY does not look silver. if the value of the error would not get my cost back then its obviously not worth it. I would need to know the value of the error (if it is) to determine how to proceed.

 

would a university help a non student in such cases?

 

Some have specific centers set up to offer analytical services on a fee basis for businesses. You need to check if schools in your area do this. You may run into difficulty getting things set up. You're probably going to have to explain exactly what you're looking for i.e., Ni or Mg content, and make sure you understand any sample prep to make sure nothing is damaged (Most people in the labs won't know anything about numismatics, and will need to know how to handle the coin).

IMO: you better be darn sure you think you have something, because you probably won't be able to just walk in and say analyze this, and it's not going to be cheap.

 

That sure looks like nickle to me. Even the nicks and dings look Ni and do not look like soft Ag. The luster thats left does not look silver either, at least to me.

 

Just a suggestion. I would take good photographs of the coin as you obviously have by your posting of photos. Then I would send it out to PCGS or NGS as an error on a nickel planchet. Pay the extra amount for the error designation, details grade and encapsulation. The scratches or dings will probably keep it out of a straight grade for the error. Good luck. Nice coin and hope it is an error on a nickel planchet.

 

There's no point sending it in until you know what the composition of the metals are.