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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;rocket, post: 1040002, member: 24349&quot;]I came across an auction where the seller stated he was selling a silver proof set but disclaimed that the coins in the set were not silver and that he was taken. He stated that the buyer of the set must acknowledge that the set was clad even though it was in a silver proof set holder before he would accept payment and ship the coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>This bothered me - that someone could and would actually open up a (50 state quarters) silver proof set, remove the silver coins, insert clad coins and sell it as silver. I felt bad for him.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have bought a number of 50 state quarters proof sets, so I set out to determine if mine were silver or not. There is nothing like peace of mind. </p><p><br /></p><p>I had a couple of 50 state quarters proof sets both silver and clad from 2007. When comparing them visually, it isn&#039;t always easy to notice the difference, but there seemed to be a little more white and white frosting on the silver coins. Having to look at all the sets would be time consuming and frustrating, so I set out to figure out another way.</p><p><br /></p><p>I have an electronic balance. Its a fancy name for electronic scale. It measures down to the .0001 gram. I weighed the 2007 clad and silver proof sets and noticed that the silver sets weighed around 5 grams more than the clad, when complete with cardboard, certificate of authenticity and plastics. </p><p><br /></p><p>I then set out to weight all of the proof sets in all years 1999-2009 in their boxes and plastics, and noticed that they all weighed within +/- 2 grams of the average for each year.</p><p><br /></p><p>In order to determine - in real life terms - if there WAS indeed a weight difference in silver vs clad proof coins, I looked up on the internet what the weights were of clad vs silver halves, quarters, and dimes and here is what I found:</p><p><br /></p><p>Half dollar:</p><p>Clad: 11.34 grams</p><p>Silver: 12.5 grams</p><p><br /></p><p>Quarter dollar:</p><p>Clad: 5.67 grams</p><p>Silver: 6.25 grams</p><p><br /></p><p>Dime:</p><p>Clad: 2.268 grams</p><p>Silver: 2.50 grams</p><p><br /></p><p>Equating differences in the 1999-2008 Proof Sets:</p><p><br /></p><p>Clad half + clad dime + 5 x clad quarters = 41.958 grams of metal</p><p>Silver half + silver dime + 5 x silver quarters = 46.25 grams of metal</p><p><br /></p><p>note: There are no differences in penny, nickel, and dollar(s)</p><p><br /></p><p>DIFFERENCE in silver vs clad sets = 46.25 grams - 41.958 grams = 4.292 grams</p><p>(For the 2009 set, the difference is 4.872 grams due to the extra quarter)</p><p><br /></p><p>In conclusion, if the sets I had were within +/- 2 grams of average, I felt that everything was ok. Luckily everything was. </p><p><br /></p><p>For those who are interested, here are what I found the weights of the boxed silver proof sets to be and justification for the differences between years:</p><p><br /></p><p>1999: 154 grams (I only have 1 set, so that is based on it alone)</p><p>2000: 164-5 grams (increase due to an 8 gram gold dollar added in 2000)</p><p>2001: (not measured but I believe it would be 164-166 grams as in 2000-2003)</p><p>2002: 165 grams</p><p>2003: 165-166 grams</p><p>2004: 170-171 grams (two nickels in this set versus one in 2001-2003)</p><p>2005: 170-171 grams (two nickels in this set versus one in 2001-2003)</p><p>2006: 165-166 grams (back to one nickel)</p><p>2007: 270-271 grams (due to the additional 4 gold dollars, extra 2 cardboard boxes and extra plastic holder for the dollars)</p><p>2008: 250 grams (20 grams less than 2007 may be due to 3 cardboard holders vs 1)</p><p>2009: 255-6 grams (without pennies. The extra/sixth silver quarter in this set accounts for the increase of 6.25 grams)</p><p><br /></p><p>The above constitutes my opinion and findings only and </p><p>does not reflect those of any other company or individual.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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