Question: Identifying Clad versus Silver / Kennedy Proofs

ss350camaro

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,

Weiss

Err, can't you just look at the rim?

XpipedreamR

I'm not at home, so I don't have my books...but I imagine the weight is different.

astrorat

Take a tissue (like a Kleenex) and place it over the coin. A silver coin looks "white" through the tissue where a clad looks a little "grey". Try it with a 1965-1970 half-dollar and a known clad and you can see the difference. Good luck.

Lane

ss350camaro

<< <i>Err, can't you just look at the rim? >>



Err ???? ?

Look for what on the rims?

XpipedreamR

<< <i>

<< <i>Err, can't you just look at the rim? >>



Err ???? ?

Look for what on the rims? >>

MSD61

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.

ss350camaro

<< <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

ss350camaro

ttt just once for any additional info ?

XpipedreamR

Do you have any silver proof halves to compare it to?

astrorat

<< <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

XpipedreamR

Yes, these 40% silver clads still show the copper on the edge, but it is less pronounced than on a Cu-Ni clad coin.

ss350camaro

<< <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.

astrorat

Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue! Try the tissue!

Lane

richbeat

The cladding on the edge of a silver clad coin will look very different from the cladding on the edge of a copper nickel clad coin. It's much less pronounced to almost nonexistent on a silver clad coin.

ss350camaro

Thanks very much for all the info

Ok ok ok ............ I'll try the tissue


Once again ........... A good learning experience for me. Muchas Gracias Amigos !!

GTOster

Throw it on the ground
Silver sounds different from clad when they hit LOL
Use the tissue it works
Paul

cladking

The edges of the 40% silver coins can fool you. When the planchets for these were
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.