1965 Quarter....not copper / nickel or silver

Hello....this is my first day as a member. Thanks for letting me be a member.
I added on to an old thread and it was recommended that I start a new one.
So here it is.....
I found a 1965 quarter in some change. I brought my jar of coins to my bank's self-service coin counter. It accepted all my coins except for this quarter. I ran it through several times and it kept rejecting it. I dropped it on the counter and it definitely didn't sound like a regular quarter, so I took it home thinking it might be a rare silver 1965 quarter. I put it on a scale and it weighed 5.4 grams. A silver quarter I own (slightly worn) weighed much more... 6.2 grams. A regular copper nickel quarter weighs 5.5 grams. I searched the web, but couldn't find anything about a quarter that weighs less than a normal copper/nickel quarter.
I brought it to a coin shop and they had a counter-top scanner. I just researched the type of scanner it was and I believe it is called an XRF analyzer. The woman put the coin in the scanner and it came back with these exact materials and percentages:
52.7% Tin , 43.3% Lead , 1.7% Gallium , 1.1% Platinum , .93% Copper , .25% Zinc
Any thoughts? I put the coin in my safe deposit box in case it's worth millions (wishful thinking).
Thanks for any insight into this coin.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

@rascal
We need your ultimate experience for this Quarter in question!

 

5.4 grams is light, but a coin that messed up over 55 years is not
out of the realm of possibility. (5.67 grams normal.)
It's about 100% this is a regular clad quarter.
For whatever reason those readings are incorrect.
The coin does not appear counterfeit. Just a beat up 1965. It can't be worth millions even if those percentages were correct.
If it's clad it's worth a quarter. If it's fake, it might be worth $1-$2.
If Paddyman or I put that coin under our metal detectors, we could tell you instantly that it is copper.

 

If it is a genuine U.S. quarter I doubt that the XRF scanner was correct in any way. I don't even think the Mint has lead to use, even for pattern work and platinum is just too expensive to use anyways. Tin is used in copper and bronze cents but the rest just does not add up.

 

Even without the scanner, I can definitely tell it's not copper/nickel....just by the sound of the coin hitting a table. The copper/nickel sound is different than the silver which is also different that my unknown coin.

 

@YOX

Thank you for following up so promptly and starting your own thread on this coin. I would be hard-pressed to prove or disprove your assertion, but I might question the accuracy and/or quality of the XRF Analyzer or the training of the person who used it. These analyzers are very expensive, and I can't see many dealers wanting to shell out thousands and thousands of dollars for one that would see very little use. I would think that a second opinion might be needed.

By the way, the flip that is shown in the third photo concerns me. It looks like the typical flip that contains the plasticizer, PVC, which is harmful to coins. ~ Chris

 

You are the one that seems to be the expert on here . Actually I don't know who the experts is on CT because I have only been back a little while. My opinion is it may be struck on wrong type planchet .

 

No offense but way too many people with perfect coin pitch.
"I can just tell by the way it sounds."
That's not scientific enough or factual in any way.

 

Welcome aboard @YOX we need some better pictures to prove what has already been said. It's a light weight copperclad quarter. That has been spooned. It got rejected so many times because it would not pass the thickness slot in the coin star.
You have a damaged quarter. Don't over draft the checking account. You will be in more hurt than that coin got!

 

It's a damaged regular, everyday run of the mill clad Quarter. Welcome to CT.

 

To add to Pickin and Grinin's line, you may find that a vending machine will reject it to. Sometimes coins are worn in such a way that is will be rejected by mechanical sorters.

 

I have never called myself an expert.. Specialist yes but not an expert.

Darn, I truly believed you had the answer but I guess I was wrong. I will never ever tag you again..

 

Do you have any document with the results?

There is no way any of us can tell you what it could be. Best thing is to go back to that coin shop and see if they could submit your Quarter to NGC or PCGS for attribution. Since they can afford a XRF Scanner I am assuming they know their stuff. So send it to have it attributed and then come back to us with the results.

and welcome to CoinTalk!

 

I have no reason to doubt that a coin or gold/silver buyer has an xrf analyzer. They may be expensive for an individual to own but 40~60 grand for someone in the business is a quite justified investment. A burger joint can have more than that in just the vent a hood over the stove.

The types of metals shown by the test, leave me to believe the results were contaminated though. Anything is a possibility, but actual proof will likely cost far more than any value.
If i truly believed that it was a valuable error and wanted to market it as such, spending money within reason to prove it would be a no brainer. Send it to ANACs with your claim and see how it turns out.

 

Don't that darn flipping coin ever wear out? Every where I look that thing is bouncing up and down .There is no need to get upset at me. I gave you and the rest of the members a good clue as to what this quarter could possibly be and looks like some of you didn't even pay any attention at all. A quarter that is struck on a nickel blank will not have the usual clad layers. I have one here somewhere and haven't looked at it in a long time. the best I can remember is it is authenticated and slabbed and I'm thinking it looks like a normal quarter because the edges are hidden in the slab.Also some USA coins have been known to have been struck on foreign coin blanks. If the XRF analyzer was correct then this one may be worth paying someone to check it out really good to see what it really is.

 

No.. You don't like my flipping coin then block me and you will never see it again! I don't get upset just annoyed.. Go away!

Please do not quote me again. Nor mention my name.
I'm asking you nicely.

 

Please don't make this complicated. The quarter is a cast, pot metal counterfeit. Nothing more. (Still a cool find)

As a knowledgeable error collector, you should know this CANNOT be struck on a nickel planchet. The weight and composition ARE WRONG! If you aren't aware of this data, I suggest you check your redbook.

As a knowledgeable error collector, you should also know which foreign coins where struck by the U.S. Mint. In case you don't know, search for an issue of the Error Mint News from May 2003. However, just take a look at the composition that the OP posted. Tin and Lead. Think this through. Does any modern coin issuing entity mint a legal tender coin from Sn and Pb? If you need to think about this for more than a few seconds, maybe you need to spend some more time with your Krause World Coin references.

As with many of your posts, you offer no hard data to support your opinions. And the facts are obtainable to any knowledgeable numismatist willing to do a little research. It is IRRESPONSIBLE to recommend that the OP spend hard earned dollars to have it authenticated.

Please stop giving "good clues". That aren't good

 

Of course counterfeit is possible, which makes it worth more than a quarter.
Is this a modern or contemporary counterfeit?
With 1.1% platinum, (5.4 grams x .011= .0594 grams of platinum) divided
by 31.1 grams per troy ounce= .0019099 x platinum spot price $744=
$1.42. Also, platinum was very recently around $1000. ($1.91).
So, you have a counterfeit quarter with $1.42 worth of platinum.

 

Strange as my 2nd day here and about 4 days ago I got 5 or 6 of these 1965 quarters in change too. Someone is hitting the old change jar??
Weighed 2 of them and they came in at 5.7 and 5.65g

 

The 65 is a very common date, I got one today metal detecting. And when I would go through rolls looking for the 2019 and now 2020 quarters, there's always 1965's in there. The clads should weigh 5.67 grams, but there is a tolerance range, and IDK how precise your scale is. After 55 years in circulation, it should be fractionally lower. 5.5/5.6 grams I imagine.