pennsylvania quarter missing copper ???

hey guys,

i'm not an avid coin collector, but i take notice when i spot something not normal. i spotted this quarter in a roll that my wife got from the store. this quarter is a 1999 pennsylvania quarter,(pennsylvania mint), and is missing the copper "ring"/layer around the ridge. i did weigh this quarter and it is 5.55 grams. to compare, i weighed the following quarters just to compare:

maryland=5.65 grams
wisconsin=5.70 grams
ohio=5.78 grams
georgia=5.71 grams

edit: i forgot to mention that this quarter is "silver" on both sides, meaning, there is no showing of copper on this quarter whatsoever.

anyway, if you guys could enlighten me on this one, i'd really appreciate it.
sorry for the bad pictures, the camera lacks zoom.




bill

 

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Hmmm. I'm not one of those around here who's knowledgeable, but I wonder if somehow that particular coin got more thoroughly clad than the others.

 

please correct me if i'm wrong, but it took me awhile to find this info.

(as quoted from this site:http://dph1701.tripod.com/50quarters/stats.html)

Denomination: Quarter
Value: 25 United States cents / 0.25 United States dollars
Obverse Image: George Washington
Obverse Designer: John Flanagan
Reverse Image: varies
Reverse Designer: varies
Diameter: 24.26 mm (0.955 inches)
Thickness: 1.75 mm
Edge: Reeded
Number of Reeds: 119
Coins per Role: 40
Value per Role: $10.00
Standard Coins
Composition: 91.67% copper, 8.33% nickel
Weight: 5.67 grams
Manufactured in: Denver & Philadelphia (for circulation), San Francisco (for Proof Sets)
Silver Coins
Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper
Weight: 6.25 grams
Manufactured in: San Francisco (for Proof Sets)
Timeframe: 1999-2008


i noticed that there were silver proof sets of these quarter and wasn't sure if a quarter made of solid silver would weigh more than a standard quarter.

 

I think you answered your own question 5.67 grams (cirulation) vs. 6.35 grams (silver proof)

If you don't have a scale that will measure down to grams, then a simple test is to use a ruler and a pencil. Place the coin in question at one end of the ruler, one of the other standard coins from the role at the other and balance the ruler on the pencil.

Couple of questions for you:

Was this a mixed role of circulated coins, meaning different dates in the same role? Or new role of the same date/state from the bank?

If they are all new coins,on the faces of the coin, is the background field polished looking, like a mirror, or more velvety like the other coins in the role?

At any rate, do your best not to get finger prints on the coin, until you know what you have. Fingerprints will lower any potential value. If there are already there, DO NOT wipe them off

 

thanks for the info lawdogct, i appreciate it.

edit:the scale i used is calibrated per mil-specs every 6 months, so i'm confident in the weight even if you give or take 5/100ths of a gram.

this quarter actually came out of the roll seen in the first picture from walmart. this quarter has been in circulation for awhile. it's not in too bad of condition, but it's not mint either.

what is baffling me is the weight of this quarter. i thought it might be a proof, but there is no destintive marks on it that would indicate it was ever a proof coin, as in the velvet bust/polished background.

i'll try to scan it this evening and post pics.

bill

 

Here are a number of questions that need to be addressed:

1. How does the "ring" sound, when you balance it on your finger and tap it with another quarter?

2. Is it attracted to a magnet?

3. Is the reeding normal?

4. Is the diameter normal?

5. Is the strike clear?

It's possible that you've got a quarter struck on a foreign planchet. If true, it would be worth several thousand dollars. Its abnormally low weight would make a plating job seem unlikely. It's possible that a dull blanking die or base plate hole could have smeared a layer of copper-nickel clad material onto the edge, obscuring the copper core. It could be a struck counterfeit, although I haven't seen any state quarters of this nature.

 

Sorry, read your first post again, missed the measurements bit (got lost in the picts...doh). Mikediamond is one of the experts (if not THE expert) on error coins with this forum. A wealth of knowledge and experience

 

hey all,

thanks for the replies. i have not had time in the past couple of days to try to scan this quarter or get better pictures as we are in the process of moving.

i have looked at the quarter alot closer using a 30x eye loupe and have found a nick on the edge of the ridge. you can see copper.

now i am wondering if in this case that the copper clad was surrounded by the nickel in the pressing.

does this make sense?

thanks again,

bill

 

here is the best i can tell you with my untrained eyes and ears....lol

1. sounds like a regular quarter.

2. not magnetic.

3. reading looks clear but flatter surface.

4. diameter is normal

5. strike is very clear. almost more defined than a regular circulated PA quarter, although, i can't determine how much handling either one really has.

if i understand this correctly, and this being the more likely case, i'm gonna guess that my hopeful value of this quarter just dropped like a rock.

 

Not necessarily. Mike will better know, but it could still be a foreign coin planchet that is manufacutred differently than a US quarter planchet.

At any rate, its making for a fun thread to read and learn from for me, and I hope for you as well.

 

If you see a small spot of copper on the edge, it may or may not be the copper core. In an off-metal strike on a solid Cu-Ni planchet, fine particles of copper left behind by previous quarters can be struck into the coin. It could falsely lead one to reject a genuine off-metal error. However, if you're sure it's a nick, then that would indicate that the edge was either plated or the outer clad material was smeared onto the edge. The latter would carry little value.

 

I vote for it being counterfeit.

 

hey all,

i am new as of about ten minutes ago. i have been killing myself trying to find out about this type of coin. i found a 2002p ohio quarter like this on 4/14. i hope this thread is still being read??? i will post some photos in a few ticks here. i also plan on posting this question in another area.
my coin weighs in at 5.7 though. not magnetic. sounds like all other quarters when flipped. any ideas??

thanks,

michael

pics: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/peachymargarita/dollhouses/ohioside2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/peachymargarita/dollhouses/ohioreverse.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v625/peachymargarita/dollhouses/ohioobverse.jpg

coin looks yellowish in photos but it is nickel in color. my flash was washing out the image.

 

Since all other specs are the same as a normal quarter, the liklihood is that the edge was plated or the Cu-Ni clad metal was smeared onto the edge by a dull blanking die or base plate hole. In the first case, the coin has no value; in the second case it has slight value.

Since the possibility of it being a valuable off metal error is very small, what I would do is to place the coin under microscope and shave off a little metal from the side of one reed with a scalpel. This will reveal any underlying copper.

 

egads!!! take a knife to a coin??? is that not breaking some kind of cardinal rule? will the coin police come and take me away?
ok i shall give it a try.

thanks,

michael

 

alas i have struck copper!!! oh well still a fun find. i am still unsure as to how this occured? any thoughts?

thanks,

michael

 

I know most people frown upon invasive tests, but I prefer certainty over uncertainty. The mark will be invisible face-on, and nearly invisible edge-on without a microscope. Considering that grading services constantly encapsulate badly scratched, gouged, and abraded error coins with grades MS-63 and above, I doubt there would be any effect on the grade.

 

Like I say, it was probably either plated or the Cu-Ni clad metal was smeared onto the edge during blanking as the result of a dull blanking die or base plate hole.

 

not trying to beat a dead horse here, but i have now found more of these things from different years and mints. all statehood series though. is there a market for this? is this considered an error or just a novelty? any thoughts?

always searching,

michael

 

Resurrecting an old thread but found this one using Google and the subject seems to fit.

Got an Alabama quarter today with no copper showing. To my calibrated fingers it weighs less than a regular quarter and when bounced sounds dead in that it doesn't ring.

The metal is also "whiter" than a regular quarter. If I had to guess, I would say that it made from aluminum.

One other thing, the raised edge seems thicker.

Any thoughts?