| Author |
 Replies: 8 / Views: 3,274 |
|
|
Valued Member
United States
320 Posts |
I have a number of coins I am pretty sure are NOT silver, but would like to test somehow, just to make 100% sure. I don't mind at all destroying one or two of said coins in the process, this is a set of $5 coins which I stupidly purchased through a late night infomercial. I put them in the album, they were so pretty looking that I never turned them over to see that they were legal tender Liberian coins.  Current value is like 8 cents. BUT I bought them some time ago when silver was low... and I know it's a long shot, like 1000 to one, after all a disreputable infomercial coin vendor probably wouldnt do silver, but it'd be nice to know, just so I can toss em or give em away or whatever... |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1534 Posts |
Drop them and see if they give out the "silver" ring. Also, check the edge. If it is silver-plated the edge should be copper colored, like a clad dime or quarter. If the edge is silver colored then there's a good chance that it is silver.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1801 Posts |
Post pictures of the coins here and someone will probably know if they are silver or not. That way no coins get destroyed and we get to see them.
|
|
Valued Member
 United States
320 Posts |
My camera is unfortunately packed away at the moment in our hospital bag. (We're expecting, any day now). I think if I tried to get it out my wife would kill me. It took 47 websites, the opinions of 12 friends and about a month to get that danged bag full of everything we'll "need" for that 1-2 day period of time, but I'm not complaining!
Anyway...
This is the 2000 $5 presidential series, all the presidents were represented. All coins have an S mint mark but as far as I am aware are not US government issues. Each coin is silver on the edges, it looks like a silver coin. Each is about the size of a half, when dropped it sounds nice and different than a clad half, but I don't have any junker 90% halves I want to drop. I also tried the tissue paper test, but it's somewhere in between a silver and clad so I'm thinking it might be an alloy. I was hoping there was a chemical I could put on it & it would turn colors or something.
I thought bout taking it in to a "we buy gold and silver" place but I'm reasonably sure they'd laugh me out of the joint.
|
|
Valued Member
United States
110 Posts |
similar to Marshall Islands, Liberia generally makes their $5 coins Cupro-nickel, and the $20s are silver. The cat for about $5, but I have never personally met anyone actively searching for Liberian or Marshallese coins
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4212 Posts |
Roll one around your mouth, silver has a distinct taste & smell.
|
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
672 Posts |
Biokemist is right, if you can get a displacement and a weight, you should be able to get an idea if they are silver or not by weight to vol ratio...
|
|
Moderator
 Australia
16806 Posts |
Quote:
Liberia generally makes their $5 coins Cupro-nickel, and the $20s are silver. That's my reading of Krause, too. $5 coins are not made of silver after 1996. The Presidential series seems to catalogue slightly higher ($12) in my 2006 edition Krause. 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
|
| |
Replies: 8 / Views: 3,274 |
|
Posted 08/29/2010 8:30 pm
