a blackened dime 0

[Wraithhawit]

I've got a 1975 dime that looks like it's made from some black metal. It doesn't look like fire damage and it doesn't look like paint. My friend is saying that means it's probably a proof dime. Is there any way to verify this? I'll post pics later, but it looks much blacker to the eye than it does on film.

[RWB]

Is your friend a coin expert, maybe?

It's just been subjected to high heat such as a gas stove.....

You still use film in your camera....?

[Coinbuf]

Once we have some photos we can offer some opinions, can only guess otherwise.

[Wraithhawit]

Lol my friend isn't an expert, he's a very casual hobbyist. I'll have pics when I'm off work, and "on film" was more natural sounding than "in pixels"

[Wraithhawit]

I mainly have two questions. What can the blackening be? And how to tell if a dime is a proof dime or not

[Oldhoopster]

A proof coin is not black.  

Too many wherefores and whatnots to give you any kind of reasonable answer.  More than likely environmental damage, but until you post a cropped, focused pic, it's just a wild guess

[l.cutler]

I’ve never seen a black proof dime, While some sort of environmental, heat or chemical damage is most likely, pictures will help identify the issue.

[Wraithhawit]

[Sandon]

    A coin that appears to be made of "blackened metal" when viewed at all angles is either severely corroded or has been painted or otherwise colored with something. (A coin can tarnish or "tone" to a darker color, but this has nothing to do with its being a proof.)  A proof coin from 1975 would have deeply mirrored fields, usually with at least somewhat frosted devices (the portrait and other elements of the coin's design).  Additionally, there should be an "S" above the date, the mint mark for San Francisco, where 1975 proof dimes--like nearly all others issued since 1968--have been made.  The mirror fields would make the fields look "black" when viewed from an angle to the light, brilliant when the light source is directly overhead.  The 1977 proof dime in the photos demonstrates this appearance.  

  While typing the last paragraph I got your photo. Your coin is simply a well circulated (worn) and toned 1975 dime made for circulation at the Philadelphia mint, one of a reported 585,673,900 made that year. Spend it!

    If you're interested in becoming a coin collector, please advise. We can help you with acquiring the necessary knowledge.

Edited August 15, 2022 by Sandon

[Wraithhawit]

On 8/14/2022 at 6:59 PM, Sandon said:

    A coin that appears to be made of "blackened metal" when viewed at all angles is either severely corroded or has been painted or otherwise colored with something. (A coin can tarnish or "tone" to a darker color, but this has nothing to do with its being a proof.)  A proof coin from 1975 would have deeply mirrored fields, usually with at least somewhat frosted devices (the portrait and other elements of the coin's design).  Additionally, there should be an "S" above the date, the mint mark for San Francisco, where 1975 proof dimes--like nearly others since 1968--have been made.  The mirror fields would make the fields look "black" when viewed from an angle to the light, brilliant when the light source is directly overhead.  The 1977 proof dime in the photos demonstrates this appearance.  

  While typing the last paragraph I got your photo. Your coin is simply a well circulated (worn) and toned 1975 dime made for circulation at the Philadelphia mint, one of a reported 585,673,900 made that year. Spend it!

    If you're interested in becoming a coin collector, please advise. We can help you with acquiring the necessary knowledge.

Thanks for your very detailed response. I think my friend might be gaslighting me. As someone who just casually started this, I'm curious as to what "deeply mirrored fields" means. Also now he's saying people are selling non proof versions for 40,000 USD. And now he's telling me to look up a "clad proof"

[Sandon]

   I think your friend is referring to the 1975 proof dime that was accidentally struck from a die that lacked the "S" mint mark.  I'm sure he was joking! Only two of these are known to exist, and they were both found in mint issued proof sets, which are sealed in hard plastic holders, which is how collectors obtain proof coins from the mint.  Unfortunately, all of the coins struck at Philadelphia for circulation in 1975 had no mint mark either. (Philadelphia began using a "P" mint mark for most coins except cents in 1980.)  

  By "deeply mirrored fields" I mean the fields look like a mirror so that you can see your reflection in them, unlike the bright but non-reflective frosty or satiny finish that coins made for circulation generally have on both their fields and devices before they become worn. The 1975 "no S" proof dimes have the mirrored fields.  There would be no way that a coin as worn and tarnished as yours could be identified as one of these, even if it had incredibly started out as a "no S" proof that was broken out of a proof set and spent.

   All dimes made for circulation dating from 1965, as well as the standard proof set, are made of "clad metal" consisting of outer layers of copper-nickel alloy bonded to a pure copper core. This format replaced silver in circulating coins.  Proofs struck in this format are referred to as "clad proofs."  (The mint has also offered more expensive proof sets containing silver coins since 1992.) I don't know what your friend is talking about referring to "non-proof versions."

   I suggest you start learning about coins by purchasing and reading a copy of the current standard edition (2023) of A Guide Book of United States Coins (commonly known to collectors as the "Redbook), which is available from its publisher at whitman.com or from most book retailers.  You can also look at--and purchase if you wish--current year proof sets and other current coin sets from the mint at usmint.gov.

[Coinbuf]

On 8/14/2022 at 4:52 PM, Wraithhawit said:

 

 

 

 

What you have is a regular everyday clad dime that has been environmentally damaged.   It may have spent time in the ground, exposed to heat or chemicals, I am not sure from the photos alone, but I am sure its nothing special and worth exactly 10 cents.

Edited August 15, 2022 by Coinbuf