1969 Kennedy Half Dollar Planchet Error??

Hello, I recently found this 1969 half dollar in a coin collection I inherited from my grandmother. I am still fairly new to coin collecting, so please don’t be rude if I am wrong! I am wondering if this could be on the wrong planchet? I have quite a few other Kennedy half dollars and this one is the only one I have that doesn’t have the bronze ring around the edge. I tried to look online for information on that year but couldn’t find anything. I did weigh it and it weighed 12g and all the others I have weighed 11g. Could it be silver?

 

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Kennedy halves from 1965-1970 are 40% silver.

 

I know that, but this one doesn’t have the bronze ring around the rim like all the others, and I have read that that is one of the easiest ways to tell if it is 90% silver, and by weight. So I am wondering if by chance this could be struck on 90% silver instead of 40%?

 

No, you don’t see the copper in those edges, they’re white.

 

The 1964 90% silver Kennedy half should weigh 12.50 grams while the 40% silver half should weigh 11.50 grams. There's no copper core in the 40% halves so there wouldn't be a "bronze ring around the edge". You can only see the copper core on the copper nickel clad half dollars and the weight should be 11.34 grams. They started minting 90% silver half dollars again in 1992 to be included in the Silver Proof Sets. The 1776-1976 Bicentennial sets also contained a Kennedy silver half but I don't know if they were 40% or 90% silver.

 

Scales which weight to 2 decimals in grams are more helpful.

Half (Thickness is of the coil strip prior to blanking and upsetting)

Kennedy half dollar coins dated 1965-1969 contain 40% silver

Half clad layer (80% +/- 0.6% Ag and 20% +/- 0.6% Cu)

Thickness = .254 mm +/- 0.0254 mm (254µm) per side +/- .0508 mm (50.8 µm)

Half Copper Core (21.5 +/- 0.6% Ag and 78.5 +/- 0.6% Cu)

Thickness = 1.1684 mm (1168.4 µm) +/- 0.0508 mm (50.8 µm)

Clad = (8x10.5)+(2x8.96)/10 = 10.192 g/cm³ 0.010192 g/mm³

Half Diameter = 30.61 mm

Area = 735.52 mm² Vol Clad Layer = 186.82 mm³

Weight Clad layer = 1.904 g (Periodic Table)

Half Total thickness = 2.15 mm . (I think the reason this dimension is not quite as thick as the coin is after minting is that the blanks have not yet been cut or passed through the upsetting mill.)

It is to be noted that the amount of silver could vary from between 75% to 85% in the outer layers and from between 20% to 25% in the inner layer.

Weight = 11.50 g


Half Dollar: Weight/Tolerance

11.500 g +/- 0.400 g = silver clad

 

If a clad strip has a dull punch during blanking, the cladding can be pulled over the edge of the blank leaving no exposed copper core.

 

Oh really? If this is true then what is your point?

 

My point is:
1) 40% Silver DOES have a copper core composed of about 4/5 copper --- it was stated earlier in this thread that
[QUOTE="...There's no copper core in the 40% halves."[/QUOTE]

Therefore the reason that a core is not visible is not because it doesn't exist, as stated earlier in this thread.

The information I provided earlier in this thread documents this. My source for that information is:

United States Patent Office 3,466,157

Patented Sept. 9, 1969

COMPOSITE METAL CONTAINING COPPER FOR CONAGE PURPOSES

Philip B. Neisser, Alexandria, Va., and Morris V. Boley, Bethesda, Md., assignors to the United States of America

as represented by the Department of the Treasury Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 502,738 Int, C. B23p 3/20

U.S. C, 29-199 13 Claims

Filed Oct. 22, 1965

2) That the core of a clad coin frequently does not appear on the edge because of the action of a dull blanking punch. My source for that information

“The edge of any clad planchet will show asymmetrical exposure of the copper core caused by smearing of the bottom clad layer as the blank is pushed through the coin metal strip by the blanking punch.” – Mike Diamond (CW 6/10/2019 pg. 42). Now if the blanking punch is somewhat dull, no copper core will be left exposed on the edge of the coin.

also a source:
Ken Potter “The amount of copper that shows [on the edge of a clad coin] is dependent upon how much of the outer cladding is pulled over the copper core when the planchet is sheared out of the strip. A dull punch and/or button (the hole) will pull more than a sharp punch. Sometimes the shear pulls more than other times and almost completely covers the copper core.”

 

Check out this thread, it answers a lot of questions:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/kennedy-clads-minting-process.48458/

Here’s a preview of what’s in there:

 

Neat thread - thanks!

Do you have a link for the source of this photo - wasn't in the thread either.

 

I think he told me once it’s the machine at the Denver Mint. That’s all I got on it.

 

Edge view discussion of 40% Silver Clad:

https://forums.collectors.com/discu...-copper-band-on-the-edge-of-40-kennedy-halves


Photos and discussion of edge 40% Silver Clad:

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/c...-1968-half-dollar-copper-edge-pics-added.html

Here is one photo from the link above:

 

40% silver does not have a copper core. It is alloyed and the resulting color is
silver. Even though there is more copper in the alloy then silver, the whiter metal is the dominant color in the mixture. Same reason nickels are lighter in color even though they have 75% copper.

 

90% silver Halves have a pure silver color on the edge, like the surfaces
40% silver Halves have a 'pinkish' tint on the edge.
Clad Halves have a solid strong copper band in the center of the edge.

That's why the edge of your 40% 69-D doesn't look like the edge of a
clad half.

 

I have given extensive documentation that the 40% is clad. It is composed of a core which is an alloy and clad layers which are also an alloy - each with different compositions. I have given the details previously in this thread which also include photos and discussion of the copper core which is alloyed with about 1/5 silver content. In addition, to the several references I have given, here is one more...the 40% is referred to as "Type 2, Silver Clad (1965-970)"

https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/category/kennedy-half-dollar-1964-date/125

 

they were 40%

 

I'm not talking about the layers of a clad coin.
I am saying the inner core of a 40% half is not copper. It is an alloy of copper and silver, and the color is not copper colored because of that mixture.

All you have to do is take a 40% half, and chop it in half with the right tool
and look at the inside.

 

I have weighed it along with all the others that I have, and it is the only one that weighs 12g and the rest were 11g. My scale doesn’t give 12.50g or 11.50g. I think I will try to find a coin dealer close to me to see if they have a better scale and see what they think about it.

 

You must use a more precise scale.
One that at least has tenths, if not hundredths.
Something like this: