I work at a supermarket and I cashier. Anyways, the lady gave me some change and w/o looking, I heard a certain clinking of the coins. I knew right away there was silver in there. So after she left, I bought the 1957-D Washington Quarter from my till! Tis great working with money!
Good eye (ear)! I can relate with your story because I received a 1947 quarter in change a couple of months ago. It doesn't happen very often.
Good job! That reminds me of a time a few months ago when my mom found not one, but three silver quarters while working. One day, a customer bought something with some change. My mom told me that the quarters "sounded different" and showed me them, and they turned out to be a 1964, 1961-D, and 1941-D.
Ok, time for one of those anoying newbie questions... But, How do you end up with quarters that are made out of silver? And are there specific years I should keep an eye(ear?) out for? A webpage would help if anyone has a link... I've heard about this once before.. but that was when I was like tweleve and heard it from a cashier at an IHOP, so I didn't know what to think considering the source and being young, etc. Zoey
All dimes, quarters, and halves dated 1964 and earlier are 90% silver. If you look at the edge of the coin, you will not see any copper.
Silver was used for U.S. dimes, quarters, halves and dollars until 1964. Since then there have been silver clad Kennedy halves, silver proof quarters, and American Silver Eagles, which are 1 oz. silver bullion pieces with a nominal denomination of $1. The combination copper/copper-nickle clad coins have been issued in the 10¢-50¢ values since 1965. The SBA dollars were also cu/cu-ni clad, but the Sac dollars use manganese-brass for the gold-colored outer layers.
And the silver has a different sound than the metals used today. Very distinctive. I would venture to guess that more silver coins are found from the sound than by looking for the dates.
The one I received is in VG condition. It is worn but still very shiny. I now have it in an airtite holder.