pure zinc indian head cent?

[mmmikey64]

Has there been any pure zinc indian head cents out there? I definitely have a candidate; this indian is of a silver metal and goes clunk when ring tested. any tips would be greatly appreciated

 

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[tamrock]

First lets start with a picture. Also what year was it minted?

 

[mmmikey64]

Ok; picture coming ASAP. It is a 1905

 

[galenrog]

The 1905 cent was made of a .950 copper alloy. The remaining .050 consisting of tin and zinc. While the specific percentages of either zinc or tin frequently varied, the combined total rarely exceeded .070.

What can make a copper cent appear white? There are dozens, if not hundreds of environmental conditions that can affect the surface of the coin, giving it an abnormal appearance. A trick we used in grade school was to coat coins in mercury, giving the coin a silvery appearance. Over time the mercury would alloy (is this the right term?) itself with the copper, lessening the silvery appearance and becoming more white, somewhat similar to zinc.

Deliberately plating is also a possibility.

The most likely possibility is an old (references go back to Roman era) chemistry experiment demonstrating simple plating techniques using zinc sulfate or zinc chloride. Do a general Internet search on how to turn a penny white (or red, or gold). There will be dozens of links on how to do it, including YouTube videos.

 

[Ant]

A mercury amalgam alloy.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

No.

But in Photo Shop in high school we used to drop cents in the developer and they would get a silver coating.

Cents have been abused since there were cents.

 

[mmmikey64]

pictures

 

[Ant]

I'do the honors:

 

[mmmikey64]

Besides the fact that there are scice experiments done and mercury dipping; which this coin is not; this coin thuds when dropped on surface. I believe it could be zinc with tin. If you look closely, there are rust spots; possibly from the tin.

 

[mmmikey64]

Could this be tin? There is rust on it

 

[Ant]

All copper thuds, it doesn't ring like silver or tink like gold.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Looks like a dug IHC. The minerals in the soil react with the copper and zinc. Sometimes adding and sometimes removing depending which is more noble vs. the surrounding soil.



Then factor in nitrates and phosphorus from lawn fertilizers.

 

[mmmikey64]

I doubt a copper penny would sound like a zinc penny. its the difference of say an 81' to an 84'

 

[mmmikey64]

I like the example of the dug indian; although, there are factors to consider like color and the fact that a dug indian would not change its composition even in the dirt with any chemicals; there still would be a remainder of the metal to make a copper sound when dropped on a hard surface. I appreciate the tip. This coin is actually whole with no part if the coin missing with more of a surface staining or tin rust or even zinc tarnished

 

[mmmikey64]

copper has a nice ring to it actually; not as sharp as a silver coin but still a good sound

 

[Ant]

IMO it looks like a pitted coin with the pits filled and the raised sopts burnished giving giving the raised spots a shiny appearance. Please post a pic farther away, not a macro, thanks.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

There was never more than 5% zinc used in any IHC planchets.

No idea what a sound test should produce as you're the first person I've heard of trying it. Folks messed with silver and gold coins but cents usually cost more than 1¢ to fake so no one bothered.

 

[mmmikey64]

Well, over the years of coin collecting sir, we have come across multiple errors of metal composition even in the indian head cents. I am just trying to get some history. I believe one responder did in fact say that the indian heads rarely exceed .070 in tin and zinc but RARELY. I dont know why but some of the forum posters here think that the information made by the creator should be attacked in a way or doubted. Ive been collecting for some time now and I just cant get an appreciation of my intellect on these forums. Im done with Treasurenet thats for sure. One tip, dont let the new numismatic discoveries pass you by otherwise you have a better chance dealing with common coins. By the way, I did find a new discovery in my Lincoln cents hunt and its a blessing indeed.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Good for you.

 

[Ant]

When I compair siver and gold coins to copper the copper makes a thud, nut like a lead slug, people detect frequencies differently though.