I doubt it is plated with platinum and would suggest it's even that much more likely to be gilded if actually platinum as opposed to silver. Now why did the sigma say silver since it should certainly be able to distinguish between silver or platinum?
It doesn't discern the metal but it does discern it's conductivity. The plated quarter with Platinum nickel and copper was similar in conductivity to the 90% silver quarter
Jeff B I guess you're right I shouldn't have made such a long post. Now my question to you and the others again in the long post what would be the worth of the spitting horse mint error with the Gilded or plated Platinum coating?
I doubt that there are many collectors interested enough in the spitting horse variety to want it after it's been plated. Plating a coin's surface is right up there with drilling a hole in the coin or carving initials into it.
Why do you doubt that it's plated with platinum, given that (1) platinum-plated quarters are sold by the thousands, and (2) an XRF analyzer confirmed it as platinum?
I had no idea anyone was selling platinum quarters by the thousands or at all even. I deduced somebody decided to platinum cover a quarter. It looks gilded more than plated although I suppose if thousands of them plated are available, the odds some nut burger went outside and gilded a quarter are greatly reduced. Gilding platinum would be something easily done and leave no traces of current transfer or rounded build-up on sharp corners. Sheets to do it are readily available. Are you sure the thousands of platinum plated quarter really are electroplated?
Consider you haven't posted pix of it front and back giving any idea of it's actual condition. I don't know what a normal spitting horse is worth in various grades and I'd think somebody might be talked out of more if nicely gilded with platinum, maybe a little less is plated. It looks gilded for a couple of reasons.
Yeah, I have about 20 rolls of platinum plated quarters too with no where to go with them. I don't even consider them worth face value.
The companies that gimmick up quarters with gold and/or platinum use the term "layered". I've also seen "drenched". I have a feeling they use whatever technique consumes the absolute bare minimum possible of precious metal, as long as the method itself doesn't get more expensive as a result. I'm also sure that step zero in the process is cleaning the coin in a way that would ruin it numismatically, even if it were rescued before the coating is applied. The platinum and gold "layered" quarters I've seen display no mint luster whatsoever.
I don't even consider them worth face value. I refuse to spend them because I am then inundated with calls much like the OP's. Then they want to argue with me that it is a valuable error and I am the bad guy who (with 48 years of experience in numismatics) just doesn't know what I am talking about and wants to rip them off.
