whats up with them?

[Master Jmd 89]

I have just noticed that my 1943 halfcrown and my 1944 florin are whiter then the other's...why is this...i tryed to clean the half crown with silver polish (sorry ), and nothing seemed to shine apart from the letters...why?

[Geoff T 3]

This may depend on the condition of the coins to start with. If they had seen a lot of circulation, for example, they would have lost most of their lustre.

Another factor is related to the alloys used in silver coinage 1920-1945. Because these are only 50% silver, the composition of the other 50% did change as the Mint experimented with new alloys. That could be a reason why yours look the way they do.

Whatever the condition, silver polish is a complete no-no

[Master Jmd 89]

This may depend on the condition of the coins to start with. If they had seen a lot of circulation, for example, they would have lost most of their lustre.

i have got atleast 3 of each of the 2 coins, but i would say that theese are the best conditioned ones...

Another factor is related to the alloys used in silver coinage 1920-1945. Because these are only 50% silver, the composition of the other 50% did change as the Mint experimented with new alloys. That could be a reason why yours look the way they do.

could be, but i would find it very strange that my others are normal looking...

Whatever the condition, silver polish is a complete no-no  

i said sorry

[Emperor Oli 0]

You don't have to apologise, it's your property for God's sake, but it's the cardinal rule of coin collecting that one shouldn't clean them.