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 Replies: 16 / Views: 1,392 |
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New Member
United States
20 Posts |
OK I have a question.... I am always seeing the Presidential dollar coins done in gold. I have about 150 of them and all of them are gold except ONE. I have a James Monroe done in a silver color. What could someone possibly tell me about this. Were some done in silver, is it an error or what THANKS |
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Moderator
 Australia
16810 Posts |
Presidential dollars are not, of course, actually made of gold and contain no actual gold at all. They are made of copper with a manganese brass alloy cladding. This alloy looks golden-coloured when mint-fresh, but is actually quite unstable long-term and can turn all sorts of different colours once exposed to the air and to circulation. "Silver" is one such colour. The Monroe dollar came out in 2008; that's plenty of time for a coin to acquire some odd toning and/or be exposed to odd environments. This is the most likely explanation for a coin. There are other explanations, such as someone deliberately plating a Presidential dollar with a silvery-coloured metal. Now, is it possible that your coin is actually a mint error? Maybe, sure, but the chances of that being true are actually quite low - much, much lower than 1 in 150. We'd really need to see some pictures. But there's one very quick test you can do to check if it's likely to be a mint error or not: weigh it. If it's more or less the correct weight for a Presidential dollar (8.10 grams) then it's likely not a mint error and is just an odd coloration it's picked up from the environment.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1259 Posts |
Sap..I like your observation and comment
Thanks for sharing.
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Moderator
United States
15402 Posts |
 to the CCF |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2146 Posts |
It could have been dipped in some solution to make the top layer change its color.
As Sap wrote, "We'd really need to see some pictures" to give you a more exact answer...
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Moderator
United States
187950 Posts |
to the Community! |
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Moderator
United States
95360 Posts |
to CCF. |
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New Member
 United States
20 Posts |
HI again. I saw the replies - MUCH appreciated. I am uploading a pic as requested. I understand about maybe the coin has "worn" and created the silver color, but as you can see it's a solid silver color and doesn't show areas worn worse than others. It is this same consistent color everywhere on both front and back. The back has fine details also, and it has the edge lettering. I'm not so good with photos but it has a lot of detail and shows very little wear. Not sure the pics show that? Let me know what you think?... or if I need to upload a better photo. THANKS AGAIN. Glad to be a member of CCF  |
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Moderator
United States
187950 Posts |
Thank you for adding the photo.  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
73900 Posts |
To CCF! Maybe plated?  Errers and Varietys.
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
21593 Posts |
It is not worn, it has been plated after it left the mint probably with nickel.
These were sold as "souvenirs" at a premium but in reality they are only worth face value.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1761 Posts |
@GaCoinNewbie - -  Plated or dipped. |
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New Member
United States
20 Posts |
that's a possibility I suppose.
I would think if you added another layer of "material" (say nickel) it would fill in some of the grooves and make it less detailed..?
I'm new so I don't know.
I had someone suggest maybe it was struck on a wrong planchet; like maybe a Susan B Anthony?
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Moderator
United States
187950 Posts |
Quote:
I would think if you added another layer of "material" (say nickel) it would fill in some of the grooves and make it less detailed..? You may be surprise how thin a layer of electroplating actually is. Quote:
I had someone suggest maybe it was struck on a wrong planchet; like maybe a Susan B Anthony? If that is the case, the copper core would still be visible on the edge. Plating should have covered it. Can you share an image of that? |
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Moderator
United States
95360 Posts |
Thank you for the image. But I'm in the plated group here, but do you have a weight for this coin? |
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New Member
United States
20 Posts |
yeah - the coin weighs 8.06 grams
don't have a pic handy, but the edge looks just like a regular gold colored dollar. Date, mint mark, etc
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Replies: 16 / Views: 1,392 |
Posted 09/11/2025 12:24 am
