Burned Halves

[CaptainRobin]

Hey Y'all... I don't post much any longer, but got $90 in customer deposits at a bank while I was on a road trip. Score was 20 40%ers, one '64. All had been in a fire and are seriously discolored. However, it's STILL SILVER!!!! I'll part with it for melt value, less the coin shop's discount. No photos... I'm not 'photo enabled'.

 

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[CurlysGold]

Nice!! That's a pretty sweet score. Was that your only stop or did you get skunked at some other banks? My old lady hates traveling with me. Whenever I pass a bank out in the country I have an incredible urge to stop and check for half dollars. 9 times out of 10 I scratch the itch...

 

[maverick]

Hey Captain, nice score there! 21 Silver outta 90 bucks is great! HH, Maverick.

 

[SilverForBrains]

Hey Y'all... I don't post much any longer, but got $90 in customer deposits at a bank while I was on a road trip. Score was 20 40%ers, one '64. All had been in a fire and are seriously discolored. However, it's STILL SILVER!!!! I'll part with it for melt value, less the coin shop's discount. No photos... I'm not 'photo enabled'.

wow I bet there's quite a story behind those halves! nice find!

 

[50cent]

wow I bet there's quite a story behind those halves! nice find!

Odds are more than likely, someone was putting a torch to them, trying to melt them down, so many 40%'s, they wanted to have more 90%'rs, and thought, "what the heck, I might as well make a 100%". Well, their torches eventually ran out of fuel, and they never could pour the pure Ag into the JFK mold to make a 2013 100%er. They were so ashamed of their attempt, they didn't want to even keep the Ag in their collection, and decided to hide them in rolls of coins and take them to the bank. A silver dealer or coin-shop would have put them on the spot, and of asked why they were burned, and the person probably wanted to avoid telling a lie. End of story.

 

[CaptainRobin]

Well, it wasn't my only stop, I'd traveled to pick up a family member for a visit and there was one small branch bank in a town I'd stopped by a couple of years ago where I was told they had $320 in the vault, but the vault teller wasn't there at that time. Of course they no longer had them. Anyhow, next lil' rural town down the road had the $90. Teller was HAPPY to get rid of them. Glad I got them. 50CENT, I ain't getting on you, but these appear to have been in a house fire... some ash and melted plastic on them. I STILL got 21 silvers.

 

[FloridaFinder]

Congrats!! I've always wondered if that scenario would happen, that's interesting that you found it. Keep it up!

HH

 

[Rascal]

Flamed halves have been common for me for approx. 3-4 months now. Some so damaged they actually began to bubble, many of the affected pieces are blackened and some actually charred. I'd wondered if I just happened upon a fairly local event, but the stories of these turning up across the country make me wonder.

Rascal

 

[CaptainRobin]

House fire Rascal... house fire. There were also clad halves that had been burned. Most folk that lose a home to fire sift through the ash and see what they can recover. Anyhow... the burned clad is dumped. The burned silver is in my stash until I get to my coin dealer.

 

[sagittarius98]

Odds are more than likely, someone was putting a torch to them, trying to melt them down, so many 40%'s, they wanted to have more 90%'rs, and thought, "what the heck, I might as well make a 100%". Well, their torches eventually ran out of fuel, and they never could pour the pure Ag into the JFK mold to make a 2013 100%er. They were so ashamed of their attempt, they didn't want to even keep the Ag in their collection, and decided to hide them in rolls of coins and take them to the bank. A silver dealer or coin-shop would have put them on the spot, and of asked why they were burned, and the person probably wanted to avoid telling a lie. End of story.

It's not illegal to melt silver.

 

[sagittarius98]

There were also clad halves that had been burned.

There is a member here who burns clad as a mark.

 

[50cent]

It's not illegal to melt silver.

The reason why I say they took them to a bank instead of a coin store/metal buyer, is because they failed a their attempt, and feared being ridiculed, and who knows, maybe they did think it was illegal. But it is illegal to mint your own 100% half dollar is it not?

 

[sagittarius98]

But it is illegal to mint your own 100% half dollar is it not?

Yes, unless it does not resemble a US half or has some features that can distinguish it from a legal tender half.