How can I determine if I what I have is a genuine error, or merely something someone modified (ie. artificial toning)? Shnaggletooth
hi, welcome to cointalk. You can check for plating by weighing the coin. I don't know the correct weight offhand, but i'm sure some others will. by the way, the mint allows a certain weight difference to be passed. it will have to be a large difference to qualify as messed with.
Post some photos....it could be plated or damaged and worthless....or it could be an error....and in that case maybe worth some money. Speedy
Welcome to the forum Definitely post some pictures if you can. My guess is you've found one of the many many plated state quarters being sold by most of the TV home shopping shows. If gold plated, the plating is so thin that it won't even add $0.01 to the coins value. Interesting find in circulation. Probably not worth much, but we'll let your pictures tell the story
Interesting. I found the same thing a few months ago, and have been meaning to ask about it as well. A Golden La. state quarter. Reading some of the other threads, I thought maybe somthing like a Sintered Planchet - Copper Wash, except it is the same colour as a Sacagawea. The reverse is toned evenly, while the obverse goes from golden at the top, to more silverish towards the bottom. pictured with a Sac on one side and a normal quarter on the other for comparison. No flaking or metal buildup, the stike is as sharp as any other new quarter. Now that the hollidays are over, the post office should start slowing down, perhaps I'll go down and have it weighed. Any thoughts?
Shnagletooth and tfoth, I bid you both to CoinTalk. Neither the thin gold plating used by HSN and the other "collectible" hawkers, nor chemically induced tarnish, will noticeably affect either the appearance of the strike, or the 5.67 gram weight. Postal scales are nowhere near sensitive enough to detect variations of a gram or less. For that you need to see a jeweler, a high school chem lab, or someone else with a low-weight scientific scale.
Howdy and welcome...I would think this is some kind of toning as you can almost see the clad under the golden color...can you get a weight on it... Speedy
