Any ideas on this Half Dollar?

[Spartcom5]

Okay guys earlier i got this bicentennial half dollar searching rolls. When I opened a roll the edge immediately stood out to me as being a 40% but when I pulled it out it ended up being a 1976 bicentennial S mint mark. I looked it up and still have no idea if its silver or not any ideas on what it's worth? My local coin shop said face value but they've lied before.

 

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[GlenDronach]

There were clad and 40% silver bicentennial proofs, so you're probably right! I'm surprised they didn't offer you at least a buck if they're worth over 2 in melt.

 

[Darth Walker]

It is 40%. I found one long ago. Congrats.

 

[Spartcom5]

Huh. The coin guy told me no silver at all. And told me 50 cents. I saw somewhere thy made these in nickel clad with no silver at all. I'm confused really whats it worth anyone?

 

[Zero]

I found one recently as well. There is a slight weight difference if you have a good gram scale. The silver one weighs 0.1 grams more.

Congrats...I have only found one in two years of CRH.

 

[Spartcom5]

I found one recently as well. There is a slight weight difference if you have a good gram scale. The silver one weighs 0.1 grams more.

Congrats...I have only found one in two years of CRH.

If I don't have a scale how can I tell? I tried the tissue paper test where you see if its white and it is very slightly but not as much as another 40%. Looking back through the roll I found a proof 1971 half as well in the same roll. S mint mark. Are these worth anything?

 

[Zero]

The weight is the only sure way to tell but if you have a good ear, then you can drop it and compare it to another 40%. It's most likely a 40% if it has a silver edge unless someone plated it.

 

[Spartcom5]

The weight is the only sure way to tell but if you have a good ear, then you can drop it and compare it to another 40%. It's most likely a 40% if it has a silver edge unless someone plated it.

I found a 1971 S proof half as well worth anything? This is confusing lol and on the edge of the 1976 it isn't straight silver it looks like the edge of a 40%

 

[Zero]

The clad 71s is only worth 50 cents but they are fun to collect.

 

[Spartcom5]

The clad 71s is only worth 50 cents but they are fun to collect.

I thought proofs are a little more valuable no?

 

[Zero]

Well, clad proofs are more rare than the regular business strikes and are more collectable. So, they might be worth a little more to the right buyer...maybe...someday.

 

[Spartcom5]

1971 proof, 1976 proof (possibly silver?) both from one roll. Almost rolled them back up until I looked at them closer, the 1971 was really shiny lol

 

[GlenDronach]

Personally the metal looks whiter on the 76 proof which is a good hint it's silver (but it can also be environmental damage or the angle of the picture).

 

[conpewter]

I also have a 1976s silver half. They are hard to find, but pretty cool
99.999 percent of your 1976 halves will be copper/nickle.

Interestingly enough, if it is a 1976s and it is a business strike (not proof) it is silver

Year 1976	Mint S	Business 0	Proof 7,059,099
1976 (silver clad)	S	11,000,000
1976 (silver clad)	S		4,000,000

Kennedy half dollar mintage figures - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Spartcom5]

Yea thanks dude I'm pretty sure it is silver by the way. I'm new to coin roll hunting and coins in general, are proofs worth anything like the 1971 S I found?

 

[Liu21]

get some tooth paste, and start rubbing it. if the tooth paste turns black, you got silver.

 

[conpewter]

clad half proofs are not really worth anything over face value in the condition we find them in. I do have a set of them about half done (kennedy proofs) from circulation but it is more of a thing for fun.

Kennedy Half Dollars - US Coin Prices and Values

 

[norcalsteve]

Here are the two 76s proof halves I have found recently. (1) clad (1) silver. The silver one is on the left. Harder to tell the difference in the pic. In person real easy to tell the difference. Looking at the rims makes it really easy.











Im also putting together a set of proofs just for the fun of it. Been finding alot lately. Including my first pre 71 s proof. A 1968s proof.

 

[Avago]

I dug into my archives and found this pic. It's a 40% 1976-S silver proof in between two clad proofs I found last year.



Also, the sound check is always my go-to check for silver. If you're good you can hear the difference between clad, 40% and 90%. Your coin shop guy was either ill-informed or trying to screw you out of a couple bucks. What makes it confusing is that they issued both clad and 40% silver proofs with the "S" mint mark in 1976.

If it looks like silver, it's probably silver. But not always. As others have said, the clad proofs pulled from circulation are impaired and aren't worth face value to numismatics (but could be worth more than face to some noob on eBay if you put together a nice shiny listing)

 

[TheMastermind]

Take a picture of the edge and post it.