Coin and Paper Money Collecting/susan b anthony dollar

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Expert: - 8/28/2007


Question
hi i have a Susan B Anthony Dollar and the front or top half is silver and the back half is copper i ave never seen another one and i nave looked in coin books and could not find any info on it its date is 1979

Answer
Hi Carrie,

You have what's known as an unfinished planchet error.

These coins are made of a sandwich metal -- that is, a sandwich of bright copper/nickel alloy surrounding a copper core.  The coin blanks are cut out of long strips.  Sometimes these strips do not get completely coated with the outer copper/nickel layer -- either on one side or both -- which results in the coin blank being copper colored on one side or both.  So, like in your case, the coin gets stamped and ends up with one (or both) sides copper colored.

This error on state quarters is very popular and sought after -- selling in the $300 to $400 range for a certified coin.  However the popularity of the SBA dollars is much less, so the value of this error is also -- I would estimate in the $50 to $100 range.

I hope this helps,

Dan

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Dan Moore

Expertise

My strong familiarity with all U.S. Mint coins, extensive reference library, and close relationships with many other dealers allows me to identify just about any coin made in the USA. I receive regular updates to all the current price guides -- both wholesale & retail -- to provide accurate values. So, with a good description or pictures, I should be able to identify and value any U.S. coin you have.

Experience

I've been a coin dealer since the 1980's and a coin collector since the 1960's. I specialize in U.S. Silver Coins and have an active online website -- The Working Man's Rare Coins -- http://www.workingmancoins.com -- offering information and inventory in U.S. coins.

Organizations I belong to :
American Numismatic Association Member #187770
Michigan State Numismatic Society Member #8255
Florida United Numismatics Member #19710
Monroe Coin Club Treasurer
Lincoln Coin Club Board Member
WINS Member #14
CoinMasters Member #1814

Frequently Asked Questions :
I have created a Frequently Asked Questions page on my website, where you may be able to get an immediate answer to your question. You can find the page here :
http://www.workingmancoins.com/FAQ/index.htm


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