(1964-65) Blank Pattern - RB-5350, INCO

Coin Details

Description

Experimental quarter-sized blank RB-5350, marking a potential boundary within the RB-53xx composition study. The round-number designation may indicate a distinct composition variant that served as a reference point within the series, allowing INCO's researchers to compare other nearby compositions against this benchmark formulation. The International Nickel Company's experimental program operated under significant time pressure — the Treasury needed a recommendation before the silver crisis caused widespread disruption to coinage circulation. INCO responded by running multiple experimental tracks simultaneously, with the blank planchet testing proceeding in parallel with struck-coin testing using dies for all three silver denominations. This parallel approach meant that by the time a composition reached the blank-testing stage, preliminary struck-coin results from related formulations were often already available, allowing researchers to correlate blank properties with striking performance and accelerate the overall evaluation timeline.

Rarity Notes

R-7 to R-8. Limited production for evaluation purposes, with many specimens consumed in metallurgical analysis.

Cross References

RB-5350 (Robinson-Breen catalog). INCO experimental blank planchet series, quarter-sized, 1964-65.