Let me apologize for lack of photos but everything I'm taking won't come out. The coins is a 1976 Kennedy that is silver. Everything about the coin matches the silver coins (weight, appearance, sound) but the mint mark really looks like a D. Unfortunately the mm is pretty worn, but every person I have shown it to, swears it's a "D" and not an "s". I keep saying it's an S because I didn't think they minted silver coins anywhere else. I admit, I haven't taken it to a coin shop.....yet, but is it possible that a silver 1976 would have been minted somewhere besides San Francisco? I will keep trying the photos to get a good one to post.
According to an excerpt from Tom DeLorey in The Authoritative Reference on Eisenhower Dollars, the San Francisco Assay Office had apparently shipped some 40% silver blanks (rejects for whatever reason) to the Denver Mint in 1973 once the SF Mint began striking the copper-nickel clad coins. At least two 1974-D and one 1977-D Ikes surfaced that were struck on the 40% silver planchets. He also received an unconfirmed report of the existence of two 1976-D Ikes struck on the 40% silver planchets. In 1976 or 1977, he had also heard a rumor of a 1976-D Kennedy half and a 1977-D Washington quarter that were also struck on the 40% silver planchets. If I were you, I would consider contacting Mr. DeLorey about your coin. I believe he still writes a column for Coin World. If it is one of the Denver-minted coins on the 40% planchets, it is quite a find. Chris
Thanks for the information. I think I'll try to get some better photos to post here for opinions as well as trying to contact him. The coin itself isn't in the best shape with some discoloring or stains on the front from something...
Even though the condition may be a little rough, it could still be one of the only ones in existence. Chris
im interested in how this turns out for you, i hope it goes well =) Also, try weighing the coin if possible. If it is a 40% half it will weigh 11.50 grams, If it isn't 40% silver and is composed of copper and nickel it should weigh 11.34 grams.
Simply weighing it wouldn't be all that conclusive. A specific gravity test would help. I know that NGC has a new service that can determine the composition of a coin, but I don't know how it works or what it costs. Chris
Your right about that new service and it's $75.00 added to the service fee. As to how it works after reading the article I've read that they determine the composition of a coin by using x-ray florescence. Here's the link to the article: http://www.ngccoin.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=1591&
Well I was able to blow the mm up to 200x on the TV using my kids portable microscope. I think you could make the argument either way as to whether the mm is an "S" or a "D". It appears that it might have every so slight of an indentation where the straight part of the D would be. I wonder if there will ever be a way to tell definitively if the mm is an S or D. I'm gonna try to photo the TV to show a huge blowup for those of you who look at this more often than I do. to a trained eye, it might be obvious what it is.
Think it's an S Ok after looking at this a while and from different angles, I'm thinking it's an S with a fat bottom, skinner top. The photos you see are at 100x and 200x. The mint mark is oriented top to bottom so you are looking at it correctly.
Thanks. It was fun while it lasted (ugh much like the Flyers) thinking that I might have something really cool. I have to say, the kids toy ended up working really well for seeing things like that, but since it only has 100-200-400 settings it's not as useful for looking at the whole coin at once.
Unfortunately, it's an "S". Boy, I would have given anything to see the look on Tom DeLorey's face if it had been a "D". Chris
Definitely an S, but did no one else notice the girl in the hula skirt? The question conspiracy theorists everywhere are asking is, "how did that get there?" p.s. Yakorie- That humor is not directed at you, but is a sort of forum joke based on some recent threads. Welcome to Coin Talk!
I think I may have seen some of the threads with alleged "things" in the coin that don't appear to be there for anyone else.....That must be a lamp reflection off the TV i was taking the photo from.
