I have a '71D Kennedy that I swear appears to be partly silver. Has anyone ever heard of this? Is that possible? Bill
Are you Sure???? cause if you do It would probebly be worth a ton considering that is on your after they were 40% silver.
There have been rumors of 40% silver '71-D half dollars since about 1972. There are no confirmed specimens.
I'm not sure, that's why I'm asking if anyone has heard of it. I know it looks a lot like my '68 and '69, and it sounds a little like them when dropped on the table. I'm just not sure how to tell for sure. Bill PS OH BOY if it is, you're telling me it would be worth a ton. Got that right!!
whelp it sound's like it's possible my best guess is to send it to a TPG....after you are almost sure it is one.....wait Wiegh it, if its silver it should weigh 11.5g if it's clad it should weight 11.34g.
Ok, but where exactly can you find a scale that can see such a small variation in weight? I don't exactly live in a science lab. Are there cheap scales you can buy to check that sort of thing? Bill
Try to get a shot of the edge of the coin; that will make it really obvious whether or not it's a copper-nickel clad or a silver clad. If it's a normal clad, you'll see a copper colored layer in the edge, if it's a 40% silver, you'll see a dark greyish layer.
It looks like he scanned it, and if that is the case, it can really take away the coin's luster, so if it looks silver in hand, it may not in a scan.
I can pretty easily tell silver from clad by looking at coins directly... but I have scanned both, and found it's nearly impossible to tell from scans, as the luster doesn't come out well.
Yes and no. I've never seen a scale capable of that kind of measurement for less than $75-100, and really good ones are even more than that. On the other hand, the weight difference is enough to distinguish with a balance scale. A balance scale doesn't provide a specific weight unless you have a commercial one with a set of calibrated weights, but if you put your the questioned coin on one side, and a known coin on the other, the heavier one will sink, and there's your answer. An el-cheapo version of a balance scale can be constructed from a round wooden pencil, and a popsicle stick. Place the pencil on a flat surface, with something on each side to keep it from rolling. Then very carefully adjust the popsicle stick so that it lies horizontally at right angles to the pencil. Place one coin exactly on one end of the stick, and the other exactly on the other end. Wellah!
You need to get the weight....an don't think about it might being real.....because the chances are pretty slim....after that get back with the weight here and then we can go from there. Speedy