Bicentennial Half Dollar On A Half Dollar Blank Punched From Quarter Stock!

"Is it possible for the coin to have been suspended in
the acid..."

So what should I look for on the coins surface that would indicate such a suspension, there would have to be some kind of residual mark.

"Your math here is slightly wrong, but that doesn't
matter..."

YES, it does matter, please show me YOUR formula and or logic for deriving the rate of deterioration from the coin. A blanket comment on my math with ABSOLUTELY nothing of substance to show that I'm wrong is... well, just blowing smoke. And a rather generic way to discredit someone.

I actually showed a .75mm deterioration for each side of the coin, hence 1.5mm for left to right and 1.5mm for top and bottom. I have the actual diameter of the coin, so I HAVE a known reference to start from. The size of the coin is so small that the surface contact area for the sides vs the top or bottom would be insignificant.

"Removing 1mm of metal from the face of the coin is a
lot more than removing 1mm from the edge..."

Yes I agree, but isn't the edge just a smaller version of the face, exposed to PROPORTIONATELY the SAME amount of acid per mm^2?


"But none of that matters, as Conder pointed out
before, the diameter has shrunk but the reeding is
still present. A coin struck on an undersized blank
WILL NOT have reeding as the blank cannot reach the
collar..."

Fair enough, but we are talking about a coin that is ONLY 1.5 to 2mm smaller than the collar for a half dollar. It is not grossly undersized like an actual quarter planchet would be at 6.4mm smaller. Doesn't the reeding get pressed into the sides, I guess we would have to know how deep the reeding on a half dollar actually goes to say that. Surely the pressure needed to imprint the reeding has to have an allowance for many things, and 1mm doesn't seam like that much.

"That previous post of mine was to show that a weight
reduction of 23% would not completely remove the
copper-nickel layer..."

Yes, I know why you used the weight example, but it actually is a good solid number to base things off. Knowing the weight of the clad portion of the coin allows us to determine the thickness of the clad layers. Which, as you have read, is a strong part of my argument on the rate of deterioration. The clad layers being no more than .4mm and the diameter being reduced by .75mm (1.5mm total) shows me that there is a strong reason to doubt the acid argument. Even if the rate of deterioration is different for the top and bottom vs the sides, there would be a tell tale lip of copper on the outside rim. As in the case of all solid metal coins, the rim is deteriorated by a greater amount, hence the lettering on the surface of these coins are worn near the edges.

Good points, but not sufficient in my mind. I do think it will take a lesson or twelve in chemistry for me to grasp something more than what I have described here - and that's not going to happen anytime soon. But the collar and the reeding is still insufficient for me, maybe not for everyone else, but for me.

Anyway I do not want to go back and forth, it looks like I will need to do some more research to quench my thirst here. I will try to find out what the actual depth of reeding is.

But thanks for your replies.

Anacs is offering a special, 10 US coins for $109... free return shipping... ends in a few days! At least I will get 9 other coins graded that have hope! LOL

Could be an expensive lesson. Go for it!

Dennis To CCF. Dennis They say sometimes ya have to think out side the BOX. This is Not one of them times. Your coin is nothing but a Damaged coin save your time and money and stay in the BOX on this one. Happy Hunting