What is the highest silver loss on barber half dollars you seen?

Discussion in 'Coin Chat' started by anonandy21, Mar 3, 2017.

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  1. Paul M.

    Paul M. Well-Known Member

    I’ve never heard of this being done with silver coins, but I have heard of it with gold coins.
     
    Paul M., Nov 15, 2019
    #21 + Quote Reply
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  3. willieboyd2

    willieboyd2 First Class Poster

    I have these two worn 1906-S Barber half dollars.
    The mint issue weight for these coins is 12.50 gm.

    [​IMG]
    United States Half Dollar 1906-S 11.85 gm (95% of issue)

    [​IMG]
    United States Half Dollar 1906-S 11.64 gm (93% of issue)

    :)
     
    willieboyd2, Nov 15, 2019
    #22 + Quote Reply
  4. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Somebody callin me ??? :)

    Hmmm - plumb forgot all about this. Probably Peter's fault - everything else is @Peter T Davis :D

    OK, the envelope please - and the answer is - (and yes Frank, I do remember) - the coin only lost 0.003 gm.
     
    GDJMSP, Nov 16, 2019
    #23 + Quote Reply
  5. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    Heck, I wish I had a scale that gave reliably repeatable weights down to that level, especially over a period of years.
     
    -jeffB, Nov 16, 2019
    #24 + Quote Reply
  6. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    No great trick to it. Simply buy a scale that can be calibrated, and calibrate it with the same calibration weight, before each weighing.

    Oh, and you can also use more than 1 scale just to double check things.
     
    GDJMSP, Nov 17, 2019
    #25 + Quote Reply
    -jeffB likes this.
  7. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    And for what it's worth Jeff, I was just as surprised at the outcome as you apparently are. But the outcome was what it was.
     
    GDJMSP, Nov 17, 2019
    #26 + Quote Reply
  8. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    And what it was, among other things, was "useful"!
     
    -jeffB, Nov 17, 2019
    #27 + Quote Reply
  9. TheFinn

    TheFinn Well-Known Member

    So it went from 33.930 g to 33.927g?
     
    TheFinn, Nov 17, 2019
    #28 + Quote Reply
  10. Johndoe2000$

    Johndoe2000$ Well-Known Member

    The only accurate method would require weight checks before, and after wear. Cannot simply go by mint tolerances to compare.
     
    Johndoe2000$, Nov 17, 2019
    #29 + Quote Reply
  11. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Which is precisely what was done.
     
    GDJMSP, Nov 18, 2019
    #30 + Quote Reply
  12. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    I don't recall the exact before and after weights. But I most definitely recall how exactly how much weight it lost - 0.003 gm. And I remember it because it made such an profound impact on me. I fully expected the loss to be small because I've checked hundreds of coins in various states of wear, (maybe over a thousand), over the years to see how weight they lost from spec. But I was very surprised at just how small it was.

    And I also remember the loss amount exactly because I've posted the results for this specific coin at least a couple of times over the years.

    Weight loss due to wear is something I've studied for decades. And not just on modern coins, but on coins hundreds of years old. And the results are always the same in that the amount of weight lost is very, very, small. Much smaller than most folks seem to think. The vast majority of the time, once mint tolerance levels are taken into account, a coin has to get worn down VG grade before it loses enough weight to be out of spec.
     
    GDJMSP, Nov 18, 2019
    #31 + Quote Reply
  13. wood_ster

    wood_ster Active Member

    This puppy weighs.... half of what it should!
     

    Attached Files:

    wood_ster, Nov 18, 2019
    #32 + Quote Reply
  14. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    That's 'cause it got et.
     
    -jeffB, Nov 18, 2019
    #33 + Quote Reply
  15. TheFinn

    TheFinn Well-Known Member

    I ask because AGEs weigh more than a troy ounce, since they are 22kt gold. The spec says they weigh 33.930 grams. If you don't know what the initial weight was, how do you know it only lost 0.003 grams?
     
    TheFinn, Nov 18, 2019
    #34 + Quote Reply
  16. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    As he said, measuring the same coin before and after with calibrated scales.
     
    -jeffB, Nov 18, 2019
    #35 + Quote Reply
  17. serafino

    serafino Well-Known Member

    Old threads are excellent for those of us who never saw them and the new people who have joined recently . Much to be learned from them. Sometimes it's good to just refresh our memories of certain details.
     
    serafino, Nov 18, 2019
    #36 + Quote Reply
    Johndoe2000$ likes this.
  18. Michael K

    Michael K Well-Known Member

    The coin in post #32 is not from normal circulation wear.
    If it was in acid, it can easily lose half it's weight.
     
    Michael K, Nov 18, 2019
    #37 + Quote Reply
  19. wood_ster

    wood_ster Active Member

    It was found metal detecting on a saltwater beach. I know, not normal wear.
     
    wood_ster, Nov 18, 2019
    #38 + Quote Reply
    Michael K likes this.
  20. TheFinn

    TheFinn Well-Known Member

    Yet he didn't know what the initial weight was.
     
    TheFinn, Nov 18, 2019
    #39 + Quote Reply
  21. -jeffB

    -jeffB Greshams LEO Supporter

    "Three milligrams" is a lot easier to remember than "33.927g". Or are you saying that Doug is making this up?
     
    -jeffB, Nov 18, 2019
    #40 + Quote Reply
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