1976-S Quarter silver?

I received a 1976-S quarter in change recently. Based on the coloration I suspect it might be silver (I believe they made both clad and silver 1976-S quarters). Does anyone know of an easy way to tell for sure if it's silver?

 

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Try the tissue test

 

Silver issue— Weight 5.75 grams; composition, outer layers of .800 silver, .200 copper bonded to inner core of .209 silver, .791 copper (net weight .0739 oz. pure silver).

Copper-nickel issue— Weight 5.67 grams; composition, outer layers of .750 copper, .250 nickel bonded to inner core of pure copper.

Yeoman, R.S.. A Guide Book of United States Coins 2015: The Official Red Book

 

Use the single ply cheap stuff. Two ply is too thick for a good read.

 

You should be able to tell by the reed of the coin and the other way would be the sound of the coin easily.

 

Balance the quarter on the tip of one finger and gently tap the edge with another coin. If it has a pleasing ping it is silver, if it is more of a clunk it's a clad. Try it on a clad first.

 

So I’ve never had a 40% Quarter, but isn’t it the same composition as 40% halfs? Can you not just look at the edge?

 

Yes. But the OP's coin could be a plated clad quarter. Plated to look silver, thus the edge would look like the edge of a 40% or 90% silver quarter.

 

Fair enough but seems like a bit of a stretch. XFR test will tell you for sure. Most pawn shops and jewelry stores have them.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions! I tried the tissue test first since it was the first one recommended to me here...silver it was!

 

Or silver plated.

 

If it is silver plated, the edge would be the same silver color as the rest of the coin. If it is silver clad, the edge should show the core to be a slightly different color, being only .209 silver. It would be hard to plate only the non-edge surfaces, but if a clad coin were plated that way, the edge would look like a normal clad coin, not the lighter color of the clad silver coins.

 

I find this to be an excellent test, because when I determine that I don't have silver, I have a tissue to cry on!

 

Yes it is the same composition. In theory yes you might be able to tell by looking at the edge, but I consider that to be a marginal test subject to a lot of incorrect results.