Posted 10/17/2016 6:40 pm
Nice coin in top condition!
They were struck in .250 fine silver, the rest copper.
The blanks for these were dipped in acid to leach the copper out of the surface layer. They were then thourughly washed before being struck into coins. That is why they look to be of much finer silver than they really were.
During circulation, the purer silver on the high points of the design was worn away, revealing the poorer alloy underneath. The poorer alloy exposed under the high points darkened due to the higher proportion of copper in the alloy, relative to the surface layer.
This coin does not display any darkening on the high points, because it has not been subject to circulation wear.
That is why it is such a nice coin!
They were struck in .250 fine silver, the rest copper.
The blanks for these were dipped in acid to leach the copper out of the surface layer. They were then thourughly washed before being struck into coins. That is why they look to be of much finer silver than they really were.
During circulation, the purer silver on the high points of the design was worn away, revealing the poorer alloy underneath. The poorer alloy exposed under the high points darkened due to the higher proportion of copper in the alloy, relative to the surface layer.
This coin does not display any darkening on the high points, because it has not been subject to circulation wear.
That is why it is such a nice coin!
