Genuine error? No copper on edge 1999 Pennsylvania Quarter

Discussion in 'Error Coins' started by Kurisu, Jan 26, 2021.

  1. Mountain Man

    Mountain Man Supporter! Supporter

    @Kurisu thank you for posting your results so we can all learn.
     
    -jeffB and Kurisu like this.
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  3. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    thanks
     
    Kurisu likes this.
  4. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    A lot of people with these things make a similar comment. So one question, What do you think it would look like if it was plated AFTER it acquired the wear and dings? Think you would see any copper in that case?
     
  5. Kurisu

    Kurisu Well-Known Member

    I already "liked" someone else's comment who made a similar observation. And I agree it's a valid observation...it just didn't occur to me because I was totally aware of those plated TV coins... and so the initial thought was not that they might be plating worn dinged up coins :)
     
    Kentucky and thomas mozzillo like this.
  6. Tamaracian

    Tamaracian 12+ Yr Member--Supporter

    Congratulations to you for your willingness to post, and for the investigative effort and professional looking photos, as this elicits highly constructive comments from the members, and also provides insight to those of us that may come across a similar looking coin. Based upon the excellent suggestion from Fred Weinberg, there was little to risk in performing the cut in between two reeds. If you have a coin that seems to be inconsistent with Mint specs for weight, composition, or appearance and you don't feel like you want to post it on CoinTalk just yet, you might want to investigate whether a coin dealer, jewelry dealer, or pawn shop near you has an XRF (X-Ray Fluorescence) Analyzer that can tell the operator the exact metallic composition of an alloy--including any plating--within about 2-3 seconds. HINT: if you bring a piece of Gold jewelry with you to a jeweler or pawn shop to see how much you might get for melt value IF you sell it to them, they may not balk at taking their valuable time to also test your coin.
     
    Kurisu likes this.
  7. mike estes

    mike estes Well-Known Member

    great thread and posts guys. very informative for future reference. great pictures to
     
    Kurisu likes this.
  8. Conder101

    Conder101 Numismatist

    Keep in mind the shortcoming of the XRF gun is that it can only sample the SURFACE of the coin down to a depth of 8 to 15 microns. So on a plated item it will give a false reading of just the surface plating. For example if you use an XRF gun on a copper plated zinc cent (pure copper on a nearly pure zinc core) the results you will get back will be roughly 50% copper 50% zinc. So gold plated copper or silver plated copper fake could actually come back with a 10% copper 90% precious metal composition if the plating is thick.
     
    Kentucky likes this.
  9. Tamaracian

    Tamaracian 12+ Yr Member--Supporter

    Hi Condor. Your observation is correct for most Analyzers out in the field. Most of the original generation, and current lower-end XRF Analyzers were/are limited to the depth of 8 to 15 um depending upon the beam strength and spot size; more up-to-date ones can go to 60 um and also have ED capability that can measure up to 5 layers of plating, and with either interpolation or a 2nd measurement, also the base metal.

    I was trying to suggest that XRF could be a valuable, non-destructive tool in the identification of metal composition, and therefore, could help to determine if a coin was fake or not--I just didn't go into very much detail on what results might be expected with any particular coin.
     
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