so today i go around searching for silver halves and find 2 that are very unique. the first one is a bicentennial but, it's silver. it doesn't look like a proof but i can tell it's silver. i can tell by the color, the sound it makes when dropped or flipped, and the edge. i haven't come across another like this before. check it out hard to tell from the picks but, it has that whitish look of silver as you can see from the side there is no other color. it's got the uniform silver, almost white color. what do you all think of this? as far as i know there aren't silver bicentennials except for proofs. is this just a proof that has lost it's mirror like luster? i'm just so sure this is silver. i'd like to go get it tested to be certain. next is another unique coin. hard to tell from the pics but, this one looks almost like it's been chromed. you can see someone has stamped "1960" to the left of jfk and "1980" to the right and it appears to be gold in color. the back has slight aging. looks nice to me. not sure if you can see it well from the pics or not. anyway, what do you all think of this half? both are really interesting to me. most of the halves i like are different. they all have the aged look either naturally or maybe even chemically. anyway, i think these 2 i will be keeping for myself. i'd still like to get them tested to see if they're silver. if i do i'll let you all know the results. thanks for looking and comments are welcome.
The 1960-1980 Kennedy half dollar has been discussed in two or three threads in this forum in the past few months. It's just a gold-plated novelty that has no particular collector value.
That looks to be exactly what it is. I've only found the proofs, not the business strikes, in 40% silver.
oh ok. that explains the gold coloration. the gold plating has worn off almost entirely. it'll be a neat addition to my collection i suppose. it does have an S mint mark. that's great. i never knew the bicentennials came with silver content. anyone know how many were produced? value? another nice addition to the collection. 2 uncommon finds in one day is unusual for me. glad to know what i've found now tho. thanks for sharing guys.
Make sure that you never hold a coin by the faces, only the edges. The oils in your skin can damage the coins and leave marks.
There are 3 types of "s" mint bicentennial half dollars - proof clad, proof 40% silver and uncirculated 40% silver. It's worth is determined by the silver content unless in mint condition. bob
If you look a bit closer at the edge of your first coin, you can see a narrow band of darker color. This is because, contrary to general belief, the 40% halves are clad. They have a 80% silver / 20% copper outer cladding on a 21% silver / 79% copper core.
Well he did say he found it in circulation looks like someone broke up one of the red folder special mint sets they were a three coin set of the quarter, half, and dollar. Still have one of them around here some where. Now if it were still like this it would be easy to handle.
Dicedealer, your 1976 S Kennedy is indeed 40% silver. I have one myself, and there is a scan of it in my coin album. They minted 3 types of coins in San Francisco in 1976. Proof clad, proof silver-clad (40%), and uncirculated silver-clad (40%). The one I have is the last of the three. They only did this for the Washington Quarter, the Kennedy Half-Dollar, and the Eisenhower Dollar. All only contain 40% silver, but hey it is better than nothing. The quarter contains a tad less silver than a 90% dime, the half dollar contains the same amount as a standard 1965-70 half, and the Ike contains a little less silver than a standard 90% half. Hope this helps! - Rob.
Yes see my post above it is my original set from back then. Edit to add that I also have these three coins in PCGS certified holders as part of my Collectors mint set in the PCGS registry which is coins only issued in mint sets.
