I have about 800.00 in kennedy half dollars that i inherited from my fathers collection. I have scanned through them knowing that 1969 and under are silver.. I dont think i have any here. Is there a great identifier that will make it easy to tell the difference?
No, not really. The rim on many silver halves won't show copper...but on some 40% halves it does. Plus, on some clad halves no copper is visible so despite popular belief, visible copper is not a a good a diagnostic. The easiest way is to just look at the dates. Any half 1970 and older is silver. 1964 is 90% silver and 1965-70 is 40% silver.
You might also keep an eye out for S mint proofs. 1974 D doubled die obverse and 1982 P no FG varieties are two others to look for.
thanks everyone for your input.. My father was into coin and stamp collecting and has a massive collection, some have value written right on them and what they are exactly!! I am not very good at identification but it does interest me so i am doing a lot of research on certain coins and stamps he has saved.
Well actually the 1970 is 40% too. The easiest way is to look at the rim in 90%ers, but it won't always show if the coin is dirty or heavily tarnished. The 40% ideally will have a different look to it too. If you're experienced, you know the typical silver dull shine. If you're not, meh no big deal. You might miss some anyway, like I said some coins can be dirty and/or tarnish. I'd say the best way for you is to look at the dates. If you're experienced enough to know the different clang of dropped silver, I suppose you could do that as well. But honestly I hate to see an coin treated in such a way. Plus, if this was from a personal collection, some of those halves might be in really nice condition (like gem bu) and worth holding onto even if they aren't silver. So yeah, just look at the dates. And for the love of god take condition into circulation; I wouldn't just be selling any really nice coin as junk silver.
In this case, I'd find a good coin dealer with a nice reputation and have the collection appraised. This would be far be the fastest and easiest way for you to make heads and tails of it all. Just mention that you're not interested in selling; it'll decrease your chance of having the collection under valued if you know what I mean. And probably throw out there that this collection has got you interested in collecting. Oh, and don't put much stock into what is written on any holders, especially if it's been a while, because coin values do fluctuate; especially when talking about silver value.
Ask your friends, A lot of people collect coins and and keep it quiet. You would be suprised who collects coins.
