Luster Of Constitutional Silver Vs. Silver Bullion (99.9%)

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 988
NumisEd Pillar of the Community United States 5177 Posts	Posted 02/28/2022 8:03 pm Looking at Mint State 2021 Barber and Peace dollars, and comparing them to their constitutional silver dollar cousins, it is quite apparent that the luster of the former is very different (less appealing IMO) than of the originals. Since the composition of modern Barber and Peace dollars is 99.9% silver versus 90% silver for the classical versions, I wonder if it is related to the difference in absorption and refractive indices. According to physics textbooks, the refractive index of an alloy is the root of the sum of the RMS value of each individual elements' refractive index. Since the refractive index of copper is much larger than that of silver, the reflected light from constitutional silver coins is more "fanned out" than that of pure silver coins. Perhaps this fact contributes to a more lustrous appearance. What do you think? Report this Post to the Staff

hfjacinto Pillar of the Community United States 7273 Posts	Posted 02/28/2022 8:43 pm I disagree, the 2021 peace and Morgan's just had an ugly finish, but a 1998 ASE has a lot of luster. The US mint changed the finish sometime in the 1990's. The mint needs to go back to shiny coins. I can try and post pictures tomorrow showing the difference.. My Slabbed Dansco 7070 with Gold Page My Slabbed IHC Set My Slabbed 20th Century Type Set Edited by hfjacinto 02/28/2022 8:44 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Conder101 Bedrock of the Community United States 17884 Posts	Posted 03/01/2022 05:25 am I think the first thing you need to do is define what you mean by luster. The way light reflects and scatters off the surfaces has a very great deal to do with how "smooth" that surface is and whether there is any pattern to the surface irregularities. Silver is the most reflective of all the metals so a .999 fine silver coin will reflect more of the light that hits it than a .900 fine coin, but the surfaces will affect how much of that light reaches the eye and how much is scattered. Edited by Conder101 03/01/2022 05:28 am Report this Post to the Staff
jacrispies Pillar of the Community United States 3848 Posts	Posted 03/01/2022 1:19 pm It was the processing of the dies that made the different finish. Modern commemorative business strike silver dollars are made of 90% silver, but resemble the 2021 Morgan and Peace dollars more than the classics. Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: http://goccf.com/t/434955 Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. Report this Post to the Staff
Conder101 Bedrock of the Community United States 17884 Posts	Posted 03/02/2022 6:08 pm Quote: Modern commemorative business strike silver dollars are made of 90% Since I believe 2019 the modern commemoratives are also .999 fine. Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 187999 Posts	Posted 03/03/2022 11:20 am Quote: Since I believe 2019 the modern commemoratives are also .999 fine. I was thinking 2020, but after looking at the 2019 Apollo and American Legion I see they are 99.9% as well. Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
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