I’m looking through a roll of Kennedy half dollars , see this and think oh boy a 90 percenter. Below is what I pulled out. Weighs 11.1 Gmail. I know it can’t be silver. But what is it? Doesn’t look plated to me either…. But what do I know. s
Hmm. It kinda does look plated to me -- at least, there's something going on with the surface. Those parallel lines don't look normal, and the blobs around the obverse edge look like tarnished plating rather than tarnished cupronickel. Sometimes the cladding layer can be dragged completely across the copper core during punching, but I don't think that's what's going on here. Does it behave the same way as all the other clad ones when you wave a strong magnet over it?
Does it behave the same way as all the other clad ones when you wave a strong magnet over it? No reaction to a magnet. The only thing that makes sense is it is plated.
This was plated probably as a science experiment. When I was younger (and before I was into coins) I used to plate coins, knives, and whatever else I could find in a mason jar.
Hmm, again. Often coins are first plated in pure nickel, which is attracted to magnets. Direct silver plating wouldn't change the magnetic properties much, though, as long as it isn't very thick. That tarnish on the obverse sort of looks like what happens to silver. How does the color compare to other silver coins? Have you tried the tissue test? (Clad coins look dark when viewed through a layer of tissue paper, silver coins look bright.)
My vote is plated as the surface looks like it was dipped in some solution. Did you try the tissue on top of it along side a known silver coin? Just curious what it would look like.
How does the coin measure, I have found fakes that are close to weight, slightly less in diameter but slightly thicker. That half looks really odd. Definitely do some more checking into it before damaging it to determine it's make up. It looks like it has plating also on the reading and the reeds are very sharp.
