Hello all, a week or so ago I had bought a quarter that was said to be missing it’s clad layer as error. I don’t know to much about these except they can be worth a bit. I got it for a lower price and was pleasantly surprised. I started to do some thinking then some looking online on these coins because from the get go I thought it looked a bit different from others I’ve seen. Now I’m starting to think that this coin has been dug possibly? Or maybe an error but I thought ask you all what you thought. I don’t have the coin in my possession yet so I used the pictures as listed. Thank you in advance!
It looks to have been exposed to harsh environmental conditions. Also, please someone correct me otherwise, but isn't a missing clad layer normally on one side not both
I don’t know for sure but the graded coins I’ve seen that are missing the clad layer it’s always been one side
I picked these up off the ground on side of highway. Not sure if they will help but maybe something to use for comparison of environmental damage
Stay away from it. That is definitely Environmental Damage to the Clad layer! Missing clad layer usually involves just one side of a Clad Coin. It could be either side depending on how the Blank Planchet entered the chamber to be struck. Here are examples from my collection
Exactly. Detectorists are familiar with that look. Here is a legitimate missing clad layer on a 2001-P dime I once had. The obverse got struck on what should have been the inner copper core, had the planchet been the usual "sandwich" with two outer layers of copper-nickel and an inner layer of pure copper or bronze. You see the stark contrast, and note also that the reverse side is pristine and looks as a normal dime should. When a copper-nickel coin is a brownish color on both sides, I would imagine that's usually environmental damage, 99+% of the time. @paddyman98 only posted one side of each of his coins, and the pictures are a little dark, so you don't quite see the contrast. But I suspect you'd see something like my coin's "two-tone" effect on his: a silvery/whitish color on the side that was struck on the outer clad layer of copper-nickel, and a reddish color on the side that was struck on the exposed inner copper core, due to one of the copper-nickel outer layers being missing. One will usually see some softness of strike on this side, too, because the resulting coin is thinner than it should be. Note the somewhat indistinct lower edges on the obverse of my coin here.
Having worked in the PCB industry, someone could have tossed it in the electroless copper bath for a couple minutes and give it a thin coat of copper (a much 'rougher' application than electroplating, but copper nontheless).
poorly bronze plated and then circulated, if it was missing a clad layer, on a quarter, it will be a gram lighter than a quarter should be, per missing cladding side, and it would be thinner also.
I agree with the others. Environmental damage. Let us know what it weighs, once you get it. Hopefully you didn't pay much. Good luck.
Thank you for all of the replies! From not a single person saying this is a good choice I will be returning for a full refund! I’ll know what to look for a little more in the future. As for the weight my scale brought it into a whopping 5.8 grams! Definitely not missing it’s layer..
I HAVE PURCHASED SEVERAL DIMES AND QUARTERS WHERE THE CLAD LAYER IS INDEED MISSING, FIRST OFF, YOU WILL NOTICE SOME DISTORTION ON ONE SIDE, OR BOTH SIDES, LIKE A WEAK STRIKE, THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE METAL MISSING, WHAT IS LEFT OOZES OUT MORE, AND CAN LOOK A BIT STRETCHED, AND MOST OF THE TIME, IT IS ONLY 1 SIDE MISSING THE CLAD.., BUT THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE,,THE ONE YOU PICTURED LOOKS LIKE A DUG UP COIN TO ME