Help! My coin is broken!

I think whatever it is, it's awesome.

Is it magnetic? If you slide a magnet down it, does the magnet move slowly?

 

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I gotta agree with the cast fake crowd. The side view is way too porous for a coin that was struck.

 

I just tried the slide test with a magnet and the results are the same when compared to a known real silver quarter. My scale only measures in one gram increments, but the coin weighs in at 6 grams which is in the ballpark. Also, I just dropped the coin on my kitchen counter and it sounds just like a real silver coin. I think it is silver, but I'm starting to agree it may be a cast fake. I can't find any trace of a casting seam though.

 

I want to say this is all just PM damage and the coin has just been tortured. This is a thread where a forum member decided to do everything he could possibly think of from dipping to burning it to cooking it in an oven (http://www.cointalk.com/t49000/) Some of the patterns look similar, and I would guess that the break is just from being bent, probably in a vice give all the nicks around the edges.

Anyway that is my guess.

 

Torch job?

 

I have taken some opportunities to bend and break coins, and have found that they will all show some amount of curl at the broken edge. This one doesn't show that curl.

 

My vote would be crystallization caused by exposure to heat or chemicals. I see similar breaks on crystallized ancient silver coins, and have seen it on metal detector silver finds. Rarely, soil conditions are such that US silver can crystallize, and if dropped can "shatter" like that.

Just my opinion based on the outside appearance of this coin.

 

I'm wondering if a dip in liquid nitrogen would allow it to be cracked like that.

 

There are really rare coins that do come apart like this due to poor alloy mix but this one is so bad condition it may be impossible to tell for sure if it is a seperated planchet or done by someone. The real ones also have a grainy looking appearance.

 

I'm taking it to a coin shop on Thursday. If the owner is there I may get an answer. If the only people working that day are the bullion zombies, I'll have to wait a little longer. I will keep you posted.

 

I am leaning towards an acetylene torch doing this type of cutting. The heat would make it blister and appear porous on the edges. I've seen this on other metals, but never felt the need to torture silver coins personally.