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Question: Identifying Clad versus Silver / Kennedy Proofs

I received a 1976-S Kennedy Half today that i bought as a Silver. I was wondering if there is a fool prof way to tell if it's actually the Silver version or the Clad ?
Thanks,
Thanks,
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--Severian the Lame
Lane
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
<< <i>Err, can't you just look at the rim? >>
Err ???? ?
Look for what on the rims?
<< <i>
<< <i>Err, can't you just look at the rim? >>
Err ???? ?
Look for what on the rims? >>
<< <i>On a clad coin you will see a strip of metal that is a copper color that goes around the coin about half way up the rim. On a silver coin you will see no copper. I hope this helps you. Look at the rim of a modern quarter and you'll see what I mean. >>
Ok, This was my exact thought on how to tell but i was just not 100% certain because it was an uneducated guess..
If this is the case, then the coin i received that was supposed to be the Silver Proof, is in fact the Clad Proof. About half the edge looks copper.
Thanks Michael
<< <i>Ok, This was my exact thought on how to tell but i was just not 100% certain because it was an uneducated guess..
If this is the case, then the coin i received that was supposed to be the Silver Proof, is in fact the Clad Proof. About half the edge looks copper. >>
Remember that the 76-S silver coins were not 90% silver, but 40%. The silver clad pieces are an outer layer of 0.800 silver and 0.200 copper bonded to an inner layer of 0.209 silver and 0.791 copper. So, you may indeed see a copper core if you look at the edge of the coin. I do not have a silver clad piece in front of me, so I cannot be sure.
Try the tissue trick. Set the 76-S next to a known clad under a tissue. If both are the same color when looking through the tissue, then both are clad. If 76-S looks "whiter", then it's silver.
Lane
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
<< <i>Do you have any silver proof halves to compare it to? >>
Yes, I have other proofs but i'm not sure about the possibilities of changed compositions over the years.
I have the 2004 Redbook and am looking thru it now trying to determine the differences of the Clad and Silver Proofs.
I embarrassingly admit that it's a little confusing trying to define.
I knew i should have just bought a 1976 mint Silver Proof set.
Lane
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
Ok ok ok ............ I'll try the tissue
Once again ........... A good learning experience for me. Muchas Gracias Amigos !!
Silver sounds different from clad when they hit
Use the tissue it works
Paul
punched out of the strip the silver in the cladding could sometimes be pretty evenly
distributed along the face of the shearing metal. This would cause the resultant coin
to look like it was solid silver in many cases. It is not extremely unusual on 40% clads
with the core exposed for the core to tone some sort of red and appear cu/ni clad.
The tissue test works in all cases I've seen but if you want a more definitive test then
you can weigh it.
Cu/ni clad rarely will fool you but occassionally the core will turn dark enough to appear
silver clad.