Bicentennial silver quarter

I found a bicey quarter in the till. It looks to be silver. S mintmark. It sounds different when dropped than a regular quarter, and I can't see any copper cladding on the edge. Is it possible that I have a silver '76 quarter? I'll post pics in the morning when I get to my computer.

 

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Well, if it has the S and its not a proof with a copper core showing, then there's good possibility that its a 40% Silver coin. Congrats!

 

I am 99% sure it is silver. I dropped it on the floor and it sounded different from a clad coin. It has that silvery shine to it that clad coins don't have. And it definitely does not have a copper core. I didn't realize these were 40% silver instead of 90% and that is what threw me for a loop. Here are some snaps:

 

How about the tissue paper test?

It looks like silver to me. The sound and the edge have me convinced. Congrats!

 

Nice find.

 

The edge definitely looks like a 40%, so I'm going to agree with the others.

 

It is a 76 S and it is not a proof so it HAS to be a 40% silver piece. (Frankly it would be worth a LOT more if it WASN'T 40% silver.)

 

Sorry.......unintentional post.......

 

Good catch! A Keeper.

 

I happened to snag it because I snag all bicentennial coins that I find. I didn't even realize it was odd until later.

 

I found a 76-s half that wasn't silver. Do the quarters not follow the same rules?

 

What is the tissue paper test?

 

Put some coins on a flat surface, some silver, some not silver. Look at them through a piece of tissue paper. The silver ones will look "brighter".

 

They follow the same rules. Are you saying you have a business strike 1976-S half that is NOT 40% silver? Because if that is true then yes you have a major rarity.

 

The Redbook says that there were non-silver 1976-s halves. Unless you mean something by "business strike" that I'm not understanding...

 

Business strikes are coins intended for circulation.

 

Yeah, but as far as I know, San Fran didn't produce business strikes during this time period. Correct (hit me on the head) if I'm wrong fellers.......

 

Smack.
1976-S came in

40% Silver Uncirculated (meant for collectors, numismatic purposes) - a business strike
40% Silver Proof
Clad Proof

 

Right, but business strike to me means something intended for circulation. All of these coins were geared toward collectors.

 

Yeah, it is best to use unambiguous terms whenever possible. How about "non-proof"?

The non-proof 1976-S is 40% silver for quarters, halfs and dollars. If you have a '76-S clad non-proof then you have a rarity for sure!