Hi all, So here's my introduction (hello!) and a first question...been hanging out for a few weeks now, and decided this place is pretty sweet. Thanks for the education, both from the past weeks and everything going forward. Anyways, I am *just* getting in to the whole coin collecting & investing thing. Yes, I know many here think those are exlusive. My primary hunt right now is old 90% and 40% silver coins, as well as filling my books with circulated coins. Halfs are currently what I'm looking at. So, I got 10 rolls today from WF, and was horribly disappointed to find nothing before 1971. We'll see what happens next time. The interesting find: There was a 1971 'D' in the lot, and it makes a different noise than the other coins. It is distinctively lower in pitch than other coins, whether you're flicking it, stacking it, dropping it, etc., it sounds really different. What's the verdict? Can it simply be warped somehow (it doesn't look that way), or is there some type of difference in this year? Sorry for the long winded-ness; and thank you for the answers! ~Mark
hmmm, a strange pitch...I don't know. Are the obverse and reverse aligned properly? Can you see any seam along the rim on either the obverse rim or the reverse rim? What I'm thinking is that it may be a container coin where the coin is hollowed out and the obv and rev are then put back together. That's all I can think... oh yeah, welcome to the forum!
Howdy mnmark - Welcome to the Forum !! CT could easy be right - they make a magicians coin such as he describes to hold another coin inside.
Welcom and Be sure to check out Contest 52. As far as the coin goes, if your askind is it silver there would be only one true way to be sure. Have it tested. Weight, bulk weight, mass. But before persuing that be rest assured that the reason GDJMSP and CT didn't metion it is because there were no silver ones minted in 1971, especially at Denver.
There are multiple possibilities. The most likely is that the cladding is not well bonded on a small area. The second most likely is that there is an internal defect such as slag or scale in the copper core. Other causes would likely be apparent.
Wow - thanks everyone for the fast responses. After reading The_Cave_Troll and GDJMSP's responses, I spent a good amount of time playing with the coin...I'm pretty sure that thing isn't going to come apart anywhere! My guess is that there is some type of defect, internally, that makes it vibrate differently than the other coins. I'm sure it isn't worthing anything more, but something novel to keep around anyways, in case someone else wants to play 'guess the problem' with it later.
Don't give up!. From what it sounds like GD and CT are accurate. There are a fair share if magician's coins in circulation. Many that have been in circulation for awhile are very difficult to separate. Take a loupe at least 10Xs magnification and look around the rim (between the lettering and the rim of the coin). Try both sides. You are looking for a cut line. If you don't see it try again, or use greater magnification. Extremely percise jewlers tools are used to create this cut. The line is often thinner than a human hair. It is meant to be hidden. Another thought is to try to open it in a different manner. Some magician coins (or box coins) pop out by tapping the side on a table. Other's actually screw out, by pushing your thumb down on the face and turning. There are also versions which have a hinge inside the coin. These are the hardest to open. You have to push down and slide up the face of the coin. Good luck.
If there isn't an obvious seam visible after lose examination then Cladking's explaination is the most likely answer. Internal defects such as voids or laminations, occluded slag etc can result in what is called a "dumb" planchet that has either a subdued ring or no ring at all.
