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 Replies: 19 / Views: 11,805 |
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New Member
United States
8 Posts |
We have found a 1964 Roosevelt dime with no mint mark that weighs substantially less than the average 2.5 grams for coins of this year. We visited a local testing laboratory which weighed the suspect dime as 2.18 (2.182) grams and cross-checked a few other 1964 Roosevelt dimes from the same collection at 2.48-2.53 grams. There are no obvious other explanations for this significant weight difference. There is no outer sign of copper in the sandwich such as can be found in later alloy coins. We are liquidating a small family coin collection and we'd like to determine if there is a market for selling this unusual coin. We have seen a few references online for a 1964 alloy Roosevelt dime in two articles: http://blog.greysheet.com/4-valuabl...circulation/ & https://www.numismaticnews.net/arti...eets_the_eyeWe are not coin collectors, have limited expertise and are looking for guidance as to how we might realize the "four-figure value" listed in one of the two reference articles.  |
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Moderator
 United States
34435 Posts |
@BM2, first welcome to CCF. Second, it seems as though you have already done a bit of research on your coin, which is great. While your coin might have been struck on an undersized (thin) planchet, you certainly could go back to the laboratory to have a non-destructive test (e.g. XRF) to determine the primary components of the metal alloy. If you are sitting on a winner, you will want to have taken this step for sure.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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New Member
 United States
8 Posts |
Thank you Spence, we'll look into XRF!
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Moderator
United States
34435 Posts |
Yes no problem. I'm somewhat confident that it is silver, despite the slightly lower weight, but others will provide opinions soon enough. If you do end up checking the alloy, please come back and post your results to this thread!
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5240 Posts |
You can do a tissue test with a clad cent, make sure it is single ply or you can do a drop test on a hard surface. If it rings, it's silver. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
987 Posts |
Yes, the tissue test is a good option if you cannot get to a shop to test. |
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New Member
United States
8 Posts |
I took out my dial caliper and did some rough measurements, the suspect dime measured .043 inches along the axis of the torch pillar on the obverse as compared to .0465 to .05 inches along the same axis in a few samples from the rest of the 1964 Roosevelt dime samples. I have made an inquiry about the possibility of XRF, we'll see what we can drum up. |
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New Member
United States
8 Posts |
did a drop test for the suspect dime, and rang similar to a presume high silver 1964 Roosevelt dime as compared to a 2013 Roosevelt dime with no ringing sound. |
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New Member
United States
8 Posts |
tissue test inconclusive with the same comparative actors with both 1-ply facial, and 1-ply "other"
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5240 Posts |
If it rings like your other silver dime then there is a 99.9% probability it is silver.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
 The thin planchet theory makes the most sense.  to the CCF! Edited by Coinfrog
01/05/2019 3:48 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5838 Posts |
It's a possibility that corrosion may have eaten away tiny bit of the surface, and lessen the weight.
Edit: On second thought, I agree also with thin planchet theory.
Edited by macmercury
01/05/2019 4:03 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21788 Posts |
Could be a planchet intended for another country.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3668 Posts |
A specific gravity test would be conclusive. I posted the steps on another thread a while back. A silver coin should have a specific gravity very close to 10.34 and a clad coin should have a specific gravity very close to 8.92. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
8715 Posts |
The specific gravity test mentioned by fortcollins should definitely determine whether this is silver or clad. to the CCF! |
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New Member
United States
8 Posts |
Thanks for all of your careful inputs. I don't currently have at hand a scale accurate enough for a specific gravity test. I'll have to give that some thought.
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Replies: 19 / Views: 11,805 |
Posted 01/05/2019 2:09 pm
