Hi Group, I learned about the tissue test for silver here, but how do you tell the difference between the 40% and the (99.9%?) silver. It would be difficult to weight since they are in their slabs from the mint
There are no 90% silver Eisenhower dollars (besides the 1990 comems). All the 40% Ikes are S mint. You can tell them from the clad by looking at the sides
40% Silver coins have sides that are Silver, the Coper Nickel clad coins have a copper colored strip around the edge.
The Kennedy's are easier. Any 1964 coin is 90% silver. Any 1965 to 1970 coin is 40% silver Any 1971 and up is a Copper Nickey clad coin, with a couple exceptions. There are two 1976 S minted 40% coins, One uncirc and one proof. Check the sides for these.
90% silver: 1964, also from 1992 to present San Francisco minted some proofs in 90% silver for the sake of the silver proof sets. 40% silver: 1965-1970, also in 1975-1976 San Francsico minted both business strikes and proofs in 40% silver for the sake of the 3 piece Bicentennial uncirculated/proof sets (the standard 6 piece proof sets for 1975 and 1976 contain clad proofs). Copper-nickel clad: anything else. Looking at the edge is the easiest way to tell. The 90% silver will have a solid silver edge; the 40% silver will have a dark stripe in the middle of the edge (usually looks a dark grey; the core is only 20% silver compared to the 80% silver outer layers, the extra copper makes it appear dark grey or blackish). The copper-nickel clad will have a copper colored stripe in the middle of the edge. Eisenhower dollars were never 90% silver (some are 40% silver though... as above it's easy to tell by looking at the edge.). Well technically there is one... in 1990 a silver dollar was minted commemorating the 100th anniversary of Eisenhower's birth. Not usually what one means by an Eisenhower silver dollar lol... but it does have Eisenhower on it, is made of silver, and has a face value of one dollar, so technically, it is an "Eisenhower silver dollar" lol... For that matter there will be another new Eisenhower dollar eventually (not silver though)... when the presidential dollar series gets to him, some time in 2015.
The tissue test is a simple test for determining the difference between silver proof coins and clad proof coins (generally statehood quarters, but it works with any 90% proof coins). If you place a single sheet of tissue paper over top of the coin, if the coin looks white through the tissue, it's silver, if not, it's clad. When you see a clad vs. a silver proof side-by-side, you appreciate the HUGE difference between them. Try this at home, kids!!
i have a question. can you do this tissue test with any grade silver coin? or does it have to be a nice coin?
I don't know, I use it to certify that the silver proof sets that I buy are not clad coins in a silver holder. I think it would work best with real shiny or high grade coins only.
You learn something everyday! All coins make a different noise. You can even pick out a wheat penny by sound if you tune your ears in for it! You can even pick one out by color too...
