1973-D half dollar error possibly silver 3 3

[Christoph1776]

[J P M]

On 6/16/2023 at 7:35 AM, Christoph1776 said:

Found it in a old roll of half's. And the weight is correct. 

12.5 for a silver coin?

[Christoph1776]

 11.50

Edited June 16, 2023 by Christoph1776

[Christoph1776]

And it's 30.6 mm the same as the 1970 so if it was plated it would gain a mm on each side. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Christoph1776

[J P M]

On 6/16/2023 at 7:48 AM, Christoph1776 said:

 11.50

11.30 for clad coins add a bit for silver plating ? 12.50 for silver half's. 73 would be a odd year to have silver planchets running around 1976 maybe I could see.

[Christoph1776]

12.50 if it was 90% not 40% 11.50

[Christoph1776]

And thank you!  your help is much appreciated. There was a mix up with a unknown amount of 1970 40% silver planchets and have been found in 1971 and now hopefully 1973 d. And trust me I was a skeptic too I've litterly proved myself wrong multiple times so I'm just as confused as anyone else and Ive been collecting for awhile

Edited June 16, 2023 by Christoph1776

[J P M]

On 6/16/2023 at 8:01 AM, Christoph1776 said:

12.50 if it was 90% not 40% 11.50

Yes but your coin is a 1973 . I wish you luck it would be a unicorn for sure.

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by J P M

[ldhair]

The proper weight for the 1973 is 11.34. Silver plate it and you will be at about 11.50. Images of both sides of the coin would be helpful.

[Just Bob]

On 6/16/2023 at 6:58 AM, Christoph1776 said:

And it's 30.6 mm the same as the 1970 so if it was plated it would gain a mm on each side. 

I'm not sure where you came up with this number, but silver plating can be applied in a layer as thin as 0.000003 inches. The two coins pictured are plated. If you don't agree, send them to NGC and have them authenticated as errors.

[Sandon]

@Christoph1776--Welcome to the NGC chat board. I have the following observations regarding your claim of finding a 1973-D Kennedy half dollar on a silver clad planchet:

    1.  When you post an inquiry about a specific coin on this forum, please start a new topic instead of replying to someone else's old topic about another coin. 

    2.  Please post clear cropped photos of each side of the coin about which you are inquiring, not just its edges and a very slanted photo of the obverse.

    3. Your holding the faces of the coin between your bare fingers demonstrates a lack of familiarity with the proper handling of coins that are thought to be worth more than face value. If you must touch such a coin with your bare hands, hold it only by its edges.  The oils on your skin will discolor and otherwise degrade and devalue the coin.

    4.  It is most unlikely that silver clad half dollar planchets would be present at the Denver mint in 1973, as production of silver clad pieces had ceased in 1970, and the production of Bicentennial silver clad coinage would not begin for some time and then at the Philadelphia mint (a few test strikes only), with production at San Francisco in 1975-76. The 0.16 gram difference in official weight between a silver-clad and copper-nickel clad piece is miniscule, and metallurgical analysis would be necessary to establish the coin's true composition. Based on the limited photos that you have posted, the color and surface texture of the piece are quite unlike those of either a silver-clad or copper-nickel clad Kennedy half dollar. It is likely a plated (or coated) copper-nickel clad piece as others have suggested.

   5. The numismatic community and collector marketplace will not regard your find as genuine unless it is duly authenticated and is encapsulated by a respected third-party grading service such as NGC, PCGS or ANACS.  I have been actively participating in these forums for about the past year now, have seen numerous posts by persons claiming to have found off-metal planchet or other new or extremely rare major errors or varieties, and so far none of them has been established to have been genuine.

[EagleRJO]

On 6/16/2023 at 8:05 AM, Christoph1776 said:

And thank you!  your help is much appreciated. There was a mix up with a unknown amount of 1970 40% silver planchets and have been found in 1971 and now hopefully 1973 d.

At the beginning of 1971 the half dollars were to be switched to a CuNi planchet. But there was a mix up at the mint with a handful of the 1971 coins at the beginning of that year having an off-metal error from being struck on left over 40% silver clad planchets or coils from the previous year.

There is virtually no shot that a 1973 half dollar, which was to be struck on CuNi clad planchets since early 1971, was struck on a 40% silver planchet.  And there would have to be a batch of them, since there is no way for it to be just a one-off error. But none have been identified over the last 50 years.

On 6/16/2023 at 7:35 AM, Christoph1776 said:

... the weight is correct. 

Just weighing the coin would not help in identifying if it's on a 40% silver planchet.  A CuNi clad half dollar was to be 11.34g with a weight tolerance of 0.45g, which could weigh between 10.89g to 11.79g.  The half dollar on a 40% silver planchet would be 11.50g with a weight tolerance of 0.40g, which could weigh between 11.10g to 11.90g.  So either one, as well as a silver plated CuNi coin, could weigh around 11.34g or 11.50g.

So if you insist you have a 1973-D half dollar with an off-metal error from being struck on a 40% silver planchet you could likely waste your time and have it checked out by a coin dealer or jewelry store that has an XRF tester, which will give you the metal composition.  You could also likely waste your time and do a specific gravity (SG) test, as a CuNi and 40% silver coin would have distinctly different values.

Finally, you could likely waste your time and money to have a TPG do the XRF test to tell you the likely case, which is that the 1973-D half dollar was struck is on a normal CuNi planchet.

 

Edited June 18, 2023 by EagleRJO

[powermad5000]

There is once again the issue that the cheap scale used (most likely in both instances) is not calibrated properly or has the same fundamental weighing errors that the cheap scales coming from China have. I am always skeptical when I see the scales used in the photos provided by OP's and then claim the weight is the absolute 100% full on guaranteed to be correct. I owned three scales very similar to the one pictured at the beginning of this thread and none of them had an accurate weight for any length of the time I used them. 

[EagleRJO]

On 6/18/2023 at 12:36 AM, powermad5000 said:

There is once again the issue that the cheap scale used ...

Weight really isn't the issue as with the tolerances either a CuNi coin or 40% silver coin could weigh the same.

But you are right about the dirt cheap scales as I had the same issue with one or two of them before I spent a little more for a better quality scale a while ago,  I haven't had an issue with it or even needed to re-calibrate it since I purchased it.  Definitely worth the little extra amount of money.

[Christoph1776]

I agree best way to figure it out is to send it off. And that's what I did. Now the wait. Thank you for everyones answers. I will definitely post a update in 30 to 40 days

[Christoph1776]

Passed the gravity test, and yes I agree with everyone. And I was sceptical myself now not so much.

[l.cutler]

Be sure to let us know, whichever way it goes.

[EagleRJO]

On 6/18/2023 at 3:00 AM, Christoph1776 said:

Passed the gravity test ...

I'm not sure what you mean by "passed", and if you mean specific gravity test what were the dry and wet weights you came up with?

[Christoph1776]

Not sure if you understand I sent it out conversation over 

[VKurtB]

On 6/16/2023 at 5:58 AM, Christoph1776 said:

And it's 30.6 mm the same as the 1970 so if it was plated it would gain a mm on each side. 

Wait. WHHUUUUT?

[VKurtB]

On 6/18/2023 at 12:57 AM, Christoph1776 said:

I agree best way to figure it out is to send it off. And that's what I did. Now the wait. Thank you for everyones answers. I will definitely post a update in 30 to 40 days

Probability of being legit - nearly zero. 

[VKurtB]

On 6/19/2023 at 1:13 AM, Christoph1776 said:

Not sure if you understand I sent it out conversation over 

Don’t invest much hope in it. Plating is MILLIONS OF TIMES more likely than it being a silver coin. 

Edited June 19, 2023 by VKurtB