Lincolns silver on one side?

[Fast Ed]

Sorry I don't pictures but I've been hunting an old farmers field lately and many pennies are coming up silver colored on the up facing side. I was guessing they got that way from whatever fertilizer they were using years ago?

Any ideas....Thanks folks

 

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[Charlie P. (NY)]

Back in the 70's in high school Photo Shop we put cents in the developer tray and the silver halides bonded to the copper. But what you are finding does sound like some kind of reaction.

You're lucky. Locally the post '82 cents dissolve in our lawn fertilizer used in parks.

 

[lab rat]

Mercury also adheres to copper. For a very short time mercury based insecticides were used, but they were banned because of the potential health hazards to humans. Strange the pennies are only coated on one side. Were they all at the same depth? How deep?

 

[Fast Ed]

Found as many wheats as lincolns but the wheats were found deeper on average 5" whereas the silver sided Lincolns were all found in 2 - 3" depth. None of the wheats were silvered? Maybe the farmer started using the mercury based fertilizers in latter years. I'll have to take them out of their vinegar bath today and let you know the years.....

Mercury also adheres to copper. For a very short time mercury based insecticides were used, but they were banned because of the potential health hazards to humans. Strange the pennies are only coated on one side. Were they all at the same depth? How deep?

 

[lab rat]

I hope it isn't mercury-- if you're soaking the pennies in vinegar you'll make mercury acetate-- highly soluble, highly toxic, and highly nasty, to say nothing of potential birth defects (especially for brain development) for any parents exposed. You don't want this to get on your skin, in the groundwater, in the sewer system, or anywhere else on planet earth! If you add plenty of zinc (so the vinegar is neutralized, plus more) to the solution the mercury should fall out as native metal. Metallic mercury isn't nearly as problematic as mercury salts or organometallic compounds. I'm hoping it isn't mercury (it doesn't take much to cause developmental problems in infants), but I'd add zinc to the mix just to be on the safe side. Then take the waste to... somewhere. Sorry about the bad news! You can research mercury on the web. Years ago there was a National Geographic issue which had a lot of good info in it, but I don't remember which issue or year that was.

 

[Fast Ed]

Thanks Lab Rat, I sincerely appreciate your concern. I've been handling this mix for a few weeks now and although I'm beyond child making age I am concerned for my own health. Can you tell me what symptoms I would experience should I be exposed to mercury acetate? Thanks

I hope it isn't mercury-- if you're soaking the pennies in vinegar you'll make mercury acetate-- highly soluble, highly toxic, and highly nasty, to say nothing of potential birth defects (especially for brain development) for any parents exposed. You don't want this to get on your skin, in the groundwater, in the sewer system, or anywhere else on planet earth! If you add plenty of zinc (so the vinegar is neutralized, plus more) to the solution the mercury should fall out as native metal. Metallic mercury isn't nearly as problematic as mercury salts or organometallic compounds. I'm hoping it isn't mercury (it doesn't take much to cause developmental problems in infants), but I'd add zinc to the mix just to be on the safe side. Then take the waste to... somewhere. Sorry about the bad news! You can research mercury on the web. Years ago there was a National Geographic issue which had a lot of good info in it, but I don't remember which issue or year that was.

 

[lab rat]

If you're beyond child-making age I wouldn't worry. The only symptoms you should expect from mercury exposure would be dizziness, sleeplessness, nervous jitters, but these all could be caused by other things as well, and it would take a great deal of exposure over time to get these symptoms in any noticeable way. Metallic mercury can leach out of your system over time, but mercury salts (ie acetate) would be much more difficult to get rid of. Parents who are exposed to organometallic mercury prior to conception might not even show any symptoms at all, though their offspring could still show very serious developmental problems. This is where the biggest concern is.

I hope I didn't sound too alarmist in my last note! But I think it is important for people to understand that digging up who-knows-what from who-knows-where is not without some risk of exposure to some hazardous chemicals. I remind myself of that every time I hunt in the bay, where testing by government agencies has shown high concentrations of cadmium and other nasties in the water.

 

[Fast Ed]

Thank You! I used to teach Hazmat in the Fire Service so I'm aware of the potential harm. I just never thought my new hobby would expose me to hazmat but heck back in the day people buried all kinds of bad stuff unfortunately....

If you're beyond child-making age I wouldn't worry. The only symptoms you should expect from mercury exposure would be dizziness, sleeplessness, nervous jitters, but these all could be caused by other things as well, and it would take a great deal of exposure over time to get these symptoms in any noticeable way. Metallic mercury can leach out of your system over time, but mercury salts (ie acetate) would be much more difficult to get rid of. Parents who are exposed to organometallic mercury prior to conception might not even show any symptoms at all, though their offspring could still show very serious developmental problems. This is where the biggest concern is.

I hope I didn't sound too alarmist in my last note! But I think it is important for people to understand that digging up who-knows-what from who-knows-where is not without some risk of exposure to some hazardous chemicals. I remind myself of that every time I hunt in the bay, where testing by government agencies has shown high concentrations of cadmium and other nasties in the water.

 

[ivan salis]

steel "wheat" cents 1943 were zinc coated * the down side might have had the zinc eaten off -- leaving one zinc coated side only

modern post 1983 Lincoln cents have a zinc core and a thin copper flash coat --if the copper coating gets eaten away the underlaying zinc is silverfish or whitish colored.

 

[Fast Ed]

Most of the silvered are from early 70's through 80's......

steel "wheat" cents 1943 were zinc coated * the down side might have had the zinc eaten off -- leaving one zinc coated side only

modern post 1983 Lincoln cents have a zinc core and a thin copper flash coat --if the copper coating gets eaten away the underlaying zinc is silverfish or whitish colored.

 

[lab rat]

Re: Ivan Salis' post: The 1943 cents were steel, and coated with zinc to prevent them from rusting. The newer 1983+ copper plated zinc acts like a battery in harsh environments, but the zinc will corrode before the copper will. (Search 'reactivity series'.) Beach pennies tend to show 'bubbling' where the zinc has expanded with oxidation under the copper. The 'silvered' pennies don't match either case by description.