Steve K. writes: Howdy, DOC..nice Site…you really DO know all about these coins! You made it into my favorites! At any rate, here’s my question….I have a 1998 dime. I received it from the bank, in change, and noticed it was not ‘plated’ on one side. in effect, it is copper on the reverse, but, looks like a normal dime on the obverse. Is it rare for our Clad coinage to miss being plated on one side?..This is the first one I have ever seen.
Dimes, quarters and half dollars are struck on blanks that are essentially a sandwich of copper nickel (the bread) with a pure copper center (the filling). Occasionally the “top piece of bread” doesn’t stick, falls off or came from strip improperly manufactured. Note that small, partial “laminations” do not add value to a coin but full side laminations do bring a premium in the coin market (search “lamination” in the CoinSite Search Engine for more information about this error).
Value Range for a full lamination on a copper-nickel dime: about $6.
