Soo confused still :( ugh

Sorry....

#1. open the Red Book
#2. find the coin you want to reference
#3. look at the composition
#4. check the mint mark on your coin
#5. compare your coin to the one in the Red Book

 

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Holy cow! Do you know how many '71 halves I just took to the bank that'd been sitting in my dads den for 41 years?!?! ARGH!!!!

 

If your IKEs have silver on the edge, they are silver. Not only have silver, but an S. Now there are clad S Ikes as well. LOL Yeah, it's a bit confusing at first. But if you have circulated IKEs P & D, they are clad. The websites you refer to are telling you about the S Silver Ikes, they are not talking about the P & D Ikes.

As for half dollars, any circulating halfs post 1970 is clad. Now there are some silver halves from the 90s to present (as well as some bicentennials), but in order to get them, you have to specially purchase them. The chances of finding one of those silver halves in circulation is probably .0001%. Now there are some key dates to look out for. I think it was either 86 or 87 that was a mint set release only date. The halves from 2002 to current date are not intended for circulation, so they do carry a small premium over face.

 

This is a good time to go back and look at those sites, and see if that's what they really say. (I'd like to take a look myself, if you feel like sharing links.)

If they really say all 71-76 Ikes have silver, make a note to stay away from those sites, because they don't know what they're talking about. If they don't, you may still want to stay away from them, because they apparently don't do a very good job of making things clear.

 

i will have to try to find them. it doesnt say QUOTE, save all, but lists to keep all 71-76 aside in your collection due to the fact they have silver content, other sites i will search will go in to more detail,

i just really dont want them if they have no silver content, i would rather, sell them and get more for my silver collection , i just dont want to kick my self and have them be in demand later b/c they are soo hard to find as well. so i cam contemplating that

 

Nice pics, CadillacKid, I'm drooling!

 

Clad Ikes are selling between $.25 - $.35 over face.

 

I see in the RedBook that it says there were 40% Silver IKE's and Copper Nickel Clad IKE's, but I don;t see where it tells you what to look for and how to tell the difference.

Granted, the 40% Silver IKE's, whether proof or business strike, all had S Mintmarks but the S Mintmark was not exclusive to 40% Silver coins which confuses most new collectors. Remember that 1974-S had a CnClad Proof as well as 1976-S T1 and T2. Of course, this does not address those random 1974-D and 1977-D IKE's which were inadvertantly minted on rejected 40% Silver planchets.

Personally, I've never sat down and read the RedBook from cover to cover. All I've learned is from asking questions of folks on forum boards.

Yes, it gets boring responding to the same old questions but I have absolute certainty that the folks who answered my questions, were equally as bored yet their boring answers were news to me.

For the OP, turn the coins up on edge and the 40% Silver coins should stick out like a sore thumb. They definitely will not have a copper colored edge.

 

I'm sorry to hear this!

Back when I was ordering Kennedy's by the $500 box and searching for silver, I got to thinking that it was a huge waste of time. Especially since a lot of boxes were simply bone dry!

I began building a "from circulation" set. I then began studying which of the coins had an abundance of die varieties. Insanity quickly took over and I am now, technically, insane!

But I also have a nice collection.

 

Simple rules for silver ikes.

ALL business strike S mint Ikes are 40% silver (OK there are 2 coppernickel clad 1973-S Ikes known)

ALL 1971-S and 1972-S Ikes are 40% silver

SOME proof 1973-S, 74-S and Type 1 76-S Ikes are 40% silver. Identify by tissue test or by weight.

There are about half a dozen 74-D and 77-D 40% silver Ikes known. Identify by tissue test or by weight.

Everything else is copper nickel clad.