So I have this 1967 half dollar that is much thinner than the rest of my half dollars. It is 40% silver only weighing 10.7. I saw somewhere that this could possibly mean it was struck on a 25 cent stock. Can anyone verify this info to be true. In your opinion is my 1967 half dollar possibly struck on the wrong planchet?
Yes, comparing it to a quarter would be helpful. I doubt it's struck on quarter stock. Quarters of this period were copper-nickel clad, but this is clearly the silver-clad composition that was only used for half dollars (except the 40% bicentennial coins). This one may just be rolled a bit thin, but make sure to calibrate your scale and compare it to other coins to make sure you're getting an accurate reading.
It's also worth noting that the apparent difference in thickness in the picture is a bit misleading since the '76 is well struck with full rims.
I guess my wording was wrong. So the half dollar is the same size as the regular half dollars except for it is much thinner. From my understanding, they used long metal stocks, and some half dollars were printed onto the 25 cent stock. So it's technically not a wrong planchet error. That's just my understanding of it. I may be misunderstanding something.
Quote: I guess my wording was wrong. So the half dollar is the same size as the regular half dollars except for it is much thinner. From my understanding, they used long metal stocks, and some half dollars were printed onto the 25 cent stock. So it's technically not a wrong planchet error. That's just my understanding of it. I may be misunderstanding something.
That's correct, and I figured that's what you meant. I still don't think it's possible, though, since this alloy wasn't used for any other coins.
According to my calculations, a clad half dollar should be about 25.7% thicker than a clad quarter. If a half dollar were struck on clad quarter stock, the standard weight would be about 9.02 g.
This 1971-D quarter was struck off-center on a quarter-sized silver-clad planchet with a large straight clip. According to NGC, it weighs 2.4 grams. The composition is said by NGC to be 80% silver and 20% copper. It is assumed that this is just a measurement of the surface composition. This ratio of metal is found only in the clad layers of half dollars minted between 1965 and 1970. However it also appears in the clad layers of half dollar-size Panama 1/2 balboas produced by the San Francisco Mint between 1967 and 1975.
The planchet is indeed silver-clad, with clad layers composed of 80% silver and 20% copper. A darker core is visible which is presumably composed of 79% copper and 21% silver. As in typical silver-clad half dollars, the exposed core appears gray.
The planchet upon which this coin is struck is no thicker than a quarter; therefore this is not simply obsolete half dollar stock. It would appear that a coil of silver-clad strip intended for 1970-D half dollars was mistakenly rolled to quarter thickness, labeled quarter stock, and then stored away with normal copper-nickel clad quarter strip. Then, in 1971, the off-metal strip was retrieved from storage, sent through a blanking press punching out quarter blanks, and the rest is history. The presence of the straight clip indicates that this planchet is probably derived from the leading end of the strip. Since this is a unique specimen, I suspect someone quickly realized the mistake and stopped the blanking press before the strip could progress very far.
While it's possible that contemporarily 1/2 balboa strip was reduced to quarter dollar thickness, I view this as less likely since the 1/2 balboa coins were struck in San Francisco and because this coin was struck only one year after cessation of silver-clad half dollar production. In 1970, only the Denver Mint was producing half dollars, and these were restricted to mint sets.
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Posted 04/17/2021 6:15 pm
