I’m So I went to my bank today and saw that the teller had 2 half dollars in her tray, so I asked her to sell them to me. Turns out they were both Kennedy S proofs. A 1999 and a 2000. Reading up on them, I see there are 2 proof types for those years. One clad and one silver. So I look up what the weights should be (11.345 Clad and 12.5 silver (grams). So I whip out my postal scale and each one weighs 12 grams. I don’t think my scale does 1/10ths of grams. So do you think it’s safe for me to assume these are silver?. Any other ways to tell? Thanks in advance.
Oh no! Never, never, never touch the surface of a coin, especially a proof coin, with your fingers. The oil can damage the surface. Don't try to wipe the fingerprints off. It will just cause more damage. Chris PS. Don't use the word "so" so much.
The top one's definitely clad. The bottom one is either clad, or toned on the edge; it looks like a 40% coin, but in those years it would've been solid 90% silver, and should have an edge the same color as the rest of the coin. You could try putting a paper clip or something (that weighs a fraction of a gram) on the scale, then weighing each one again. If they still show the same weight, that increases the likelihood that they're the same composition.
Well, yeah, but after someone handed them to the teller, and then the teller handed them to OP, I think the pressure's off...
I took a 1974 Kennedy half and put it on the scale. It weighed at 12 Grams too. I'm going to assume for now that mine are both clad until I can get a more accurate scale that does partial grams.
