Specific Gravity Formula? - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 9 / Views: 1,545
Tlconner523 New Member United States 6 Posts	Posted 07/27/2021 8:32 pm Hey everyone I was hoping somebody knew the formula on how to calculate the specific gravity of a nickel that weighs 4.88 g? I have completed the specific gravity test and have the driveway and the weight of the coin suspended in water and it's coming out higher than a copper nickel alloy but less than the silver copper War Nickel specific gravity that I am comparing it to. However my dry weight of the coin is 4.88, does this make a difference? Report this Post to the Staff

halfamind Pillar of the Community United States 1498 Posts	Posted 07/27/2021 8:46 pm Water is the standard: 1 gram per cubic centimeter. Take your 4.88 g coin and divide by the displacement in cubic cm. Report this Post to the Staff
halfamind Pillar of the Community United States 1498 Posts	Posted 07/27/2021 8:53 pm However, given that both War Nickels and regular Jefferson nickels weigh 5 g, the SG test will not help determine composition. Regardless of composition, I deduce you have a nickel that has lost 0.12 g via circulation wear. Report this Post to the Staff
Tlconner523 New Member United States 6 Posts	Posted 07/27/2021 9:43 pm I will post the pictures because I'm coming out with a specific gravity 9.207. The weight of my 1946 nickel is 4.88g and when I suspended in the distilled water it weighs 0.53 g. Did I calculate the specific gravity correctly and if so would this fall under a silver War Nickel although the year is 1946? Report this Post to the Staff
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21788 Posts	Posted 07/27/2021 10:07 pm S.G. (density) = mass / (divided by the) volume. Whenever I was attempting to do a specific Gravity test I always found it to be rather fiddly to get very accurate measurements for the displacement volume, with all of those tiny attachment wires that do have tendency to give larger volume measurements for small objects, and then accurately measure the volume of the displacement water which includes all of the droplets sticking behind in the containment vessels. Where ever possible, when it comes to coins, I just cheat by looking up whatever published data I can find relating to a particular coin. Edited by sel_69l 07/27/2021 10:20 pm Report this Post to the Staff
halfamind Pillar of the Community United States 1498 Posts	Posted 07/27/2021 10:08 pm You just can't tell from a SG test. Both the War Nickel and regular issues weigh 5 grams new. Both have a specific gravity very close to 9. In the War Nickel, the 35% silver is counterbalanced, so to speak, by the less dense manganese. Report this Post to the Staff
halfamind Pillar of the Community United States 1498 Posts	Posted 07/27/2021 10:09 pm Given the 1946 date, it is almost certainly the 75 percent copper, 25 percent nickel composition. Report this Post to the Staff
halfamind Pillar of the Community United States 1498 Posts	Posted 07/27/2021 10:43 pm BTW, your SG (4.88 g / 0.53 cm cubed) = 9.2, which is pretty darn accurate for any U.S. nickel. Report this Post to the Staff
spru Bedrock of the Community United States 12477 Posts	Posted 07/28/2021 12:19 am Can you post full coin shots of both sides? I can't help with SG, but would like to see it better. In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020 In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020 In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024 Report this Post to the Staff
Oldfordman Pillar of the Community United States 2869 Posts	Posted 07/28/2021 1:10 pm I think it is not an error. Report this Post to the Staff
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