Odd cent, is it real?

[goldgrubber]

I got this cent in change the other day. It looked oblong to me although the color is what made me take notice. To me it looks to be a zinc cent. It weighs the same as a normal cent, 2.5 grams. It's the right width, 19 mm. The height though is close to 21 mm. The edge is slightly cupped, and the thickness is the same as the other cent in the picture. I didn't see any copper showing on the outside of the coin. Any ideas? Thanks for looking.

 

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[steelheadwill]

Looks like Abe just lost his plating, natural electrolysis? I find odd color shifts in salt mud finds, especially if 2 metals are close.
Guess it could have missed plating stage at the mint too
From Pennytrader:
The only zinc colored penny minted for circulation was the 1943 zinc plated steel penny. However some pennies after 1982 have an improperly plated planchet and will be zinc colored or something between zinc and copper in color. These are mint mistake cents and are worth a bit more than the copper plated cents. Other pennies have had their copper plating removed by acid or have been contaminated by mercury or solder.

 

[MZKITY62]

I have one like this too! This is the only other one I have seen like mine. It is bigger than a normal cent. A normal cent will fit inside it. It is almost an older silvery color with the blackish color too. That is wild. I can't figure it out. I think mine is a 1995 though. If you find out anything on it. Let me know.

 

[cheese]

I have made zinc cents this way by putting them on a fire. (was standing around a fire in the winter talking with friends and messing around & tossed a penny on a log in the fire)

 

[ivan salis]

its a modern zinc cent ---- the zinc inner body minus its copper outer coating

 

[jeff of pa]

It's the right width, 19 mm. The height though is close to 21 mm. The edge is slightly cupped, and the thickness is the same as the other cent in the picture.

I have made zinc cents this way by putting them on a fire.

Because it dosn't seem like it was crushed,
I'm going to guess burned also

 

[Relichunter1]

This picture puts our state of economy real well. I would rather have the copper penny . Good Hunting.

 

[goldgrubber]

Thanks guys.

 

[TxTim]

I have made zinc cents this way by putting them on a fire. (was standing around a fire in the winter talking with friends and messing around & tossed a penny on a log in the fire)

10-4

 

[MKnTenn]

Looks like it's missing it's copper coating from the mint, but I don't know how it is larger unless it was put in a fire but it seems like fire would melt some of the details. I had a cent I got graded once that had only half of it's copper coating, ANA graded it "MS63 partial plating".

 

[goldgrubber]

Yeah, I kind of thought that about the fire also. It just seems unusual that it's still perfectly flat and oval shaped top to bottom without loosing any width or detail.

 

[aka da Prof]

hmm, my wood stove is cranking right now as I read this, now to find a penny and see what happens--I'll get back to ya--

 

[aka da Prof]

well, experiment #1---results--'64 not fired, '76 turned gray, '86 melted but left a core, '96 all slag, '06 evaporated!
But this reminds me of a coin I dug twenty years ago-a con vexed slightly larger standing lib quarter, cracked in two and slightly burnt. some one suggested it was used as packing for a home made firework. I'll try to find and post
p.s.- I've never posted a photo before, so let's see if it worked--da Prof

 

[aka da Prof]

well, o.k.- how do I shrink the pic so it fits?? ( I use a Mac)

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

http://www.science-house.org/learn/CountertopChem/exp25.html






I also found this which is false lol:
http://realcent.forumco.com/topic~TOPIC_ID~11348.asp

One key thing I learned was that if the uncoated coin is bright and shiny, it is likely a true mint error that can be worth some 'bucks'.

However, if the uncoated coin has a dull look to the surface it probably has been chemically treated to remove the copper coating.

I'm no expert, but I think this is accurate information.

 

[goldgrubber]

Thanks, the spots on the back may be a clue to the color. Still not sure why it's oblong.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Thanks, the spots on the back may be a clue to the color. Still not sure why it's oblong.

I left a few zinc cents on my dash in the hot sun and they turned all sorts of oblong shapes. I was really surprised. Just a possibility.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

well, o.k.- how do I shrink the pic so it fits?? ( I use a Mac)

you have to save the image as a jpg file and move the image to paint or Irfanview to resize.

Great test farkoff. Those zincolns are crap. It seems to show that the newer ones are different than the older zincolns. I can see how these would easily become oblong shape on the dash.


'64 not fired, '76 turned gray, '86 melted but left a core, '96 all slag, '06 evaporated! [size=14pt]quote farkoff.[/size]

 

[aka da Prof]

thanks for the tip, Big 'C'--oh, that buff nickel had just come out of one of the beaches on Seneca Lake, N.Y. that morn- as is! and a few wheaties shiny bright, but no jewelry. the worst thing I found that morn was that my waders leak! all the way up to my pockets!! brrrrrr!! gettin' back to the van was a real slog!