Came across this 1977 Roosevelt when I was cleaning out my coin drawer. It was in date sequence and drew my attention because of its bright surface. With a closer look it appears to not be a bi-metallic planchet. I'm baffled. All thoughts welcome. Hope the pics are clear enough.
Plated coins have bright surfaces. That's my guess. I see this more with cents but maybe because it is more obvious on cents.
I don't have a scale adequate to weigh it but using an antique pharmecy balance scale, zero'd out first and balanced against a 1973 bi-metal dime it appears to be exactly the same. It is not magnetic. The plating idea seems possible given the bright finish. Any idea how much plating would increase the weight?
Sounds like the most likely scenario. I'm going to try to get to a coin show in Howell MI next weekend. Hopefully I can run across some people that know more about this stuff than me.
Although it is difficult to make any determination from the pictures, IMHO the coin was polished then it toned. I base this on the high polish (reflective) appearance and the smoothness of some of the details. If you could post some more pictures using much less lighting, we could better assess the coin! Frank
I think the coin was polished also that;s why the contrast of the fields are being photo like that you could see by the third pic that it was polished the rims indicate it and the surfaces of the fields do establish that jc
The first dealer I showed it to spoke about that, he said it didn't have the liquid feel that mercury would give it. Going to hit a coin show this weekend and show it around for input. I'll post what I hear....
Showed this dime around at two shows this weekend and the verdict is in.....(insert drum roll here). Plated. Thanks to all for your input and interest. I now own a valuable ($.10) novelty item.
