1965 US silver quarter?

ryandistelrath

Hello folks. A while back I have posted in the metal detecting forum of this site showing some of my better finds. Since then I have moved to Nashville tennessee and work in Franklin, practically all of which has been concreted over. I work at a movie theater and am on a constant hunt for silver quarters (the movie theaters charge in .25c incriments in order to make change easier.... in the box office at least). I have found 2 silver quarters already.. a '59 and a '64. I have also found a peculiar gold electroplated quarter of the newer state variety as well. Today in the change I found a 1965 quarter, but the edges are completely silver (which to the best of my knowledge tells me that this is not of the new clad alloy variety). I am wondering... would there be such a thing as a 1965 silver quarter? Did they come in proof sets? This coin is in very nice shape, and the ridges are completely silver. What do you guys think?

Thanks for any reply!

Ryan Distelrath

LincolnCentMan

Get a 1964 quarter and flip it with your thumb so it hums in the air. Then get a 1965 clad quarter and flip it with your thumb so it hums in the air. Note the different pitches. Flip the 1965 "maybe silver" quarter in the are so that you can hear it's pitch. Which pitch did it match?

David

ryandistelrath

Actually I just did the "drop on the table" test and there is a definite tone difference. I just find it funny how there is no signs of the reddish tint that most clad quarters have. Do you suppose this could have maybe a higher silver content than the modern clad quarters, as if it were in the beginning of the 1965 run? I've never seen a clad with pure silver around the edges. But to make a long story short, there is a definite difference in the sound.

ms70

I wouldn't bang it around any more. I would get it to PCGS for authentication. Is it possible? Sure it is.

richbeat

1965 silver quarters are known to exist, but are extremely rare. I highly doubt you have one. My bet is that it's silver plated, without being able to see it.

ryandistelrath

You are probably right due to the sound difference in the dropping of the quarters. My question is why would somebody go through to the extent of silver plating a quarter and then letting it get into circulation? It does sound *slightly* different than a more modern clad quarter when dropped, but it just doesn't have that "ring" to it. I dont know if I should pay the money for PCGS to grade it or not. I would like to scrape the ridges to look for discoloration, but if it really is a good quarter that'd ruin it. Dangit what's a man to do?

richbeat

Perhaps the easiest way to tell would be to weigh it. A silver Washington quarter weighs 6.25 grams. A copper nickel clad Washington quarter weighs 5.67 grams. If you don't have a scale you can try the popsicle stick balanced on a pencil method. Put your suspect quarter on one end and a copper nickel clad quarter on the other end. If it stays balanced you know what you've got. There's also the specific gravity test, but I'll leave that one to one of the experts to explain.

Why would someone do that (if it is silver plated)? There are a bunch of reasons why someone might. The most obvious reason would be to try and pass it off as a genuine 1965 silver quarter and score some big bucks from a novice or an unsuspecting person. A genuine 1965 silver quarter is worth some serious money. A lot of 1943 steel cents were copper plated for the same reason.

morgannut2

There was also a "20th Century Type Coins" coin board, framed and glassed, marketed in magazines a few years ago. The silver and clad circulated coins in the board all are thinnly electro-plated to make suckers think they are uncirculated.

jdsinva

Is it possible that this coin was struck on a planchet of a different composition than a regular clad coin? I recall my days as a paperboy in the 1970s and I received a quarter in change that had no copper layer in the coin. I never could find out anything about it at the time and the coin disappeared over time but I know darn well it wasn't a clad composition. I'll never know now.

oldcameoproofsguy

<< <i>I am wondering... would there be such a thing as a 1965 silver quarter? Did they come in proof sets? >>



There were no 1965 silver quarters minted for circulation. There were no proof sets in 1965, just Special Mint Sets; none of them had 90% silver coins. I have heard of dimes and quarters struck on the wrong planchets (ie, 90% silver) in 1965 and as mentioned before are extremely rare. I am unsure of any 1965 90% silver halfs struck on wrong planchets. That too would be very rare as well.

cladking

There are six or eight '65 silver quarters known but dimes are more plentiful at around fifteen.

There are also clad 1964 dated coins but these are scarcer with the quarter being unique.

Conder101

On rare occasions the "scrapping" of the edge when the blanks are punched out will drage the copper nickel alloy over the copper edge so that it can't be seen. A plated coin is possible. And a third possiblity is a quarter struck on a five cent planchet. The real key is the weight like richbeat said. Clad or plated is 5.67 grams, silver is 6.35 grams, and struck on five cent planchet is 5 grams.

wondercoin

Here is the highest graded 1965 Silver Quarter I have seen enter the market in the past 5-10 years. The coin sold tonight at $10,062.50.

PCGS-MS64 Silver 1965 Quarter

Wondercoin

lordmarcovan

RD, come back to the MD forum sometime! We miss ya!

cladking

<< <i>Here is the highest graded 1965 Silver Quarter I have seen enter the market in the past 5-10 years. The coin sold tonight at $10,062.50.

PCGS-MS64 Silver 1965 Quarter

Wondercoin >>



That's a beautiful specimen.

It's funny how much more you notice the design changes when struck in silver.

goldrush00013

What the holey man said!

BTW I saw this post on the Treasure Depot earlier today!