Unusual Half

cliff490

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I cashed in a bucket of change the other day and then bought all the halves the bank had. A 1971 looks like 40% silver and in very nice condition and is slightly struck off center. I took into a coin shop and he Xrayed it and it shows 44% CU and 56% NI I had two other 71 halves in my pocket and they both read 75% CU and 25% NI a magnet is attracted to this coin. His best guess it that it is a planchment from a foreign most likely the Philippines or Panama He told me that the US mints strike coins for other countries and one of their blanks must have been left in the hopper. I did not know the US mints strike coins for other countries?

Do you think it is worth sending in? I have looked in to two of the grading places and they both require a membership.
 
The coin shop might be able to send it in for you, usually they have accounts with the grading companies. If you think it is something special, I would get it graded. What did the coin guy say about the value?
 
He said if it was 40% silver the collectors would be interested, but this one not so much. I would ask him to send it in for me but the nearest shop is over 150 miles from me, I kinda live out in the sticks.
I placed a bid on one tonight claiming to be a 1971 that is 40% silver it is not slabbed and it sold for $11.61 There is documentation in coin books of error 71s made of 40% silver that are highly desirable.
 
I also have a ‘71 that I found roll hunting about a decade ago. It appears to be 40% silver because of the rim, there’s no clad “sandwich”. I performed a simple tissue test using a single-ply tissue. The half appeared dark which means non-silver. A 40% silver half appears light colored or whitish.
 
I would send it in, sooner or later, because if it is struck on the wrong planchet, it is worth considerably more $ to an error-collector. I have a Rosie dime on a foreign planchet here, and have been told it’s worth $100 or so. Any chance you can post a photo of it that includes the edge?
 
Well, per the X-ray you can eliminate 40% silver, also it’s a P mint and the error 40%’ers were struck at ‘Frisco. So, all you have left is a slightly off-center strike, not uncommon.

You could have it sent in for free at the most, but maybe still try and sell on eBay as there are people with more money than ‘cents’. :cool3:

PS, back in the 70’s JC Whitney co. sold home plating kits and peeps plated coins just for kicks, they were quite popular. Not sure if they’re still around. I bought an 8-track player from them back about 1980 when I was in high school and it never worked so I sent it back.
 
I cashed in a bucket of change the other day and then bought all the halves the bank had. A 1971 looks like 40% silver and in very nice condition and is slightly struck off center. I took into a coin shop and he Xrayed it and it shows 44% CU and 56% NI I had two other 71 halves in my pocket and they both read 75% CU and 25% NI a magnet is attracted to this coin. His best guess it that it is a planchment from a foreign most likely the Philippines or Panama He told me that the US mints strike coins for other countries and one of their blanks must have been left in the hopper. I did not know the US mints strike coins for other countries?

Do you think it is worth sending in? I have looked in to two of the grading places and they both require a membership.

I did buy a membership to NGC but have not sent it in as the form looks complicated and none of the multiple choice boxes fit this coin. The xraye also revealed that it was 2% gold and you can see a gold hue to it. I also included a photo of it in between two other 71D halves. It is in pretty good shape with little wear.
 

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That's a weird coin. At first I thought maybe you had one of those "magic" coins, where the reverse has been milled out, and then replaced with a back side that's half US coin and half something else. The cut line is insanely hard to see.

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/scotch-soda-magic-trick-magic-coin-154791879

That would explain the weird composition and maybe the magnetism. Does it sound right? These things sound "dead" -- don't ring like a normal coin.
The edge baffles me and the gold content probably means it's something else, but no clue what. Please keep us posted.
 
It is most likely that your coin has been plated. You stated it has a golden hew. This can explain the over-weight. This can also explain a light magnetism. In most cases it’s not actually plated with gold just a mixture of metals that has a golden hew that fades over time and wear.

A ‘Magic Coin’ that has been plated is also a possibility. Explains both weight and magnetism.

Not likely...
https://www.coinworld.com/news/prec...kennedy-half-struck-in-40-percent-silver.html
Does not explain the magnetism and it is over the max tolerance for weight.

I would not send it for grading unless it could be arranged to be done for free!!!
 
I am on a coin forum and it is quite common for people with strange coins to be advised that it will likely cost more to have a coin graded than it is worth. I have several I want graded but it’s a bit complicated and can cost $40-$65 per coin.
Who would pay you that much? In fact if it did have value the dealer would have tried to buy it from you.

In regards to the gold Kennedy half dollars I have several. They are plated and worth about....$1.
 
In KT's 7 years of sifting through a few 100,000 Kens a year looking for silver, He has collected several rolls of these gold plated Kens, many different dates, etc. They are not common, but not rare, having been plated by post minting companies, just like you see those with enameled scenes, etc. some times KT would got through 5 boxes and not see a single one, and other times He might get 5 from 1 box, just like finding dumped silver!
 
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