Oh those girls at the bank are so good to me! 3 Ikes and 20 Kennedy halves saved for me today! Includes 3 - 90% silver halves @ todays spot = $6.34 ea, and 3 - 40% silver halves @ todays spot = $2.59 ea. Thats $19.20 for $1.50 face cost and $7.77 for $1.50 face cost. Total of $36.97 for $13.00 The clad halves weigh between 11.16 g and 11.29 g, while a little light - seems normal. The 90% weigh 12.33, 12.46 & 12.49, again normal. The 40% seem to have one odd weight, 1965 - 11.55, 1967 - 11.68, the last 1967 11.25. Does that 11.25 weight seem low? I mean it's right down there with the clad weights?
Just curious, if you were to sell them who would you sell them to, I mean if they were key dates or rare in other ways collectors would be interested but for common 90% silver halves?, pawn shops? I’ve been saving silvers of all denominations for years as well as other coins and I’m happy to say my youngest son has taken up the hobby; he asked me the question of maybe selling the metal detector silver we find and who would buy it. I never really thought about it, anything I’ve found coin or otherwise I always held onto and stored in boxes or coffee cans, any ideas? Thank you.
Oh I am! I'm always pleasant with them. I bring Coffee & Donuts sometimes, and Special holiday treats!
The legal weight on the 40% silver halves was 11.50 grams with a legal tolerance of 0.259 grams, so the 11.25 is just within the low tolerance.
There is a LARGE overlap in the tolerance weights of the clad and 40% halves (The tolerance weight for 40% given by CaptHenway is wrong, it is the tolerance for the 90% coins.) The tolerance for 40% was +/- .400 g and for clad +/- .454 g. So the legal range for clad was 10.89 to 11.79 g. The range for 40% was 11.1 to 11.9 grams. So a coin that weighed from 11.1 to 11.79 could be either one. That is almost a .7 gram spread. Since the low for a 40% is 11.1 g your 11.25 gram coin is well within tolerance.
Remember the weights and tolerances were established by gov. standards for coins when minted so its just guessing how much wear or damage could remove or corrosion add on. Anything not uncirculated, the weight and tolerances do not apply. But of course our boobtube "advisors " don't mention that. Jim
Nice score on the FV silver! The Ikes are hard to come by at banks around here. My teller gets them, but is not allowed to set them back. They go in with the bulk bags, then back to Brinks. Can’t order them, either.
@Conder101 ... I got the 40% weight tolerance from the Coin World Almanac (which I helped write, but that is another matter). Four grains, or 0.259 grams, same as the 90%. What is your source, please?
@CaptHenway Coin World Almanac. The 1976 and 1977 editions agree with you, but they also give that same tolerance for ALL half dollars early 90%, late 90%, 40% silver and copper nickel clad. The 1987, 1990, and 2011 editions give the tolerances as .097 grams for 90% through 1947, .259 grams for 1947 thru 1964, .400 grams for 40% silver, and .454 grams for copper nickel clad. (I have had occasion in the past to look up the legislation that changed/increased the tolerance in 1947 so I known the tolerances CAN'T be the same for all half dollars.) I don't know which way the 1984, or 2000 editions show, my copies of those are not readily available. I would suspect the 2000 shows the same as the 90 and 2011, the 1984 could go either way.
Interesting. I did not know that they had changed the chart after I left there in 1978. Will look into it. Thanks.
