1971 P half dollar...SILVER!!!!!!

I saw mention in the red book of 71 d and 77d examples being struck on silver. But no mention of a P. What the heck would this be worth????

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

A 40% half should weigh 11.5 grams and a CuNi clad should be around 11.34. Yours is light either way but suspect that you probably have a plated coin.

What does the reverse look like?

 

That didn't work... I respectfully disagree. Of course i will need to send it in for verification. What would the potential value be?

 

What does the reverse look like?

 

Either way, it is too light for a 40%er.

 

I saw that when I looked at the silver and clad weights. Kinda threw me off.

 

Just based on the appearance, it looks like it could be 40% silver, but the low weight is a huge red flag. Check your scale with other halves to see if that isn't a problem. Also, your scale does not have enough resolution to accurately distinguish between 11.34 and 11.50 grams, so you should probably have it weighed elsewhere

 

I was going to send it in to mike diamond with other coins to be examined. Even though my scale does not go to the hundredths place... it is still at least a gram lighter. So that in itself is weird. If the silver stock was at the end would it be thinner there giving a reasonable explanation to the weight?

 

But if it was lighter and thinner, I would expect the strike to be weaker

 

Just out of curiosity, what does it sound like? 40%ers have a distinct sound to them. Not sure what it would sound like if plated though.

 

You can easily check your balance by weighing a couple coins to see if they are close. Since you are interested in determining if your scale is weighing properly in the 11-12 gram range, weigh 5-10 clad halves. If you consistently get 11.4-11.6 grams on your balance with 0.1 gm resolution, then the 10.4 grams on the half in question may be real.

Not a true calibration, but it's a good "quick and dirty" way to see if you have any problems.

 

It does appear to be that way. More so on the reverse.

 

It does have that silver sound... but that could also be the lack of weight.

 

The halves come up 11.0-11.1

 

Scale needs calibrated. Have it weighed at your local coin shop or a jewelry store. The low weight may not be real.

 

do they have a way of testing it without having to do damage to the coin?

 

The "reason" that both silver issues have turned up at the Denver Mint is because San Francisco would regularly send planchets and dies to Denver if they were not of the quality needed for proof strikes.
This accounts for the 1965 Type C Washingtons and all those 40% Silver clad IKE's and Kennedy's.

At the specific weight of your coin, I doubt that its a 40% Silver Clad Planchet as it's nearly a full gram off weight.

The other question might be: What other coins were being struck in Philly during 1971?

OR, it could just be a plated coin of which there are many.

Mike will be able to come up wit some type of answer.

 

A specific gravity test will reveal a LOT about the coin.

As for calibrating a scale? No damage is done to the objects being weighed since specific known weights are used, not the object being weighed.