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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Conder101, post: 32589, member: 66&quot;]The specific gravity of 800 fine silver is 10.18 gm/cc and the specific gravity of 500 fine silver is 9.7 gm/ccso the 500 fine coin would have to be 5% thicker in order to weigh the same as the 800 fine coin.&nbsp; But it isn&#039;t possible to measure the &quot;thickness&quot; of a coin in any meaningful way.</p><p><br /></p><p>It might be possible to tell them apart using the &quot;tissue paper test&quot;.&nbsp; If you take a known 800 fine quarter and a 40% silver bicentennial quarter and put the coin in queastion between them and then place a single layer of tissue paper over them.&nbsp; The fineness of the coin in question should be readily apparent.&nbsp; Silver is the most reflective of all metals reflecting from 95 to 98% of all the light that hits it.&nbsp; The higher fineness quarter will reflect more light back up through the tissue paper and appear brighter.&nbsp; So if the coin is just slightly brighter than the bicentennial quarter it is 500 fine, if it is a bright as the known 800 fine piece then it is 800 fine.&nbsp; (The greater the alloy the less light reflected.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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