Steel 1920 Wheat Penny?

H

hav2fish

Jr. Member
Sep 14, 2006
31
2
Wondering if any one can give me any info on a penny I found in w/ my great grandfathers WW1 memorobelia. It is a 1920 Wheat Back that is silver in color. The composistion is not really similar to the steel pennies I have from WW11. To be honest, although I don't know that they did this, it almost seems to be actual silver. The coin itself is in good shape (relatively little wear) Some kind of error? I can't find any info on this one. Any help is appreciated. I'd take a picture but my camera is non functioning.
 

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one possibility would be a penny struck on a dime planchet, if this was the case it would be of considerable value, I would recommend getting it into a holder, not touching it with bare hands and taking it to a coin dealer to find out if it is an off-metal strike, and if it is sending it away to be certified and slabbed..........or mail it to me ;D
 

although Doubtfull, an easy check for Steel is
a Magnet.

as Fred Said.
Could be silver.

But more then likely, I'd say
Plated.

Good Luck !

Jeff
 

I've heard of kids rubbing mercury on pennies in science class. Turns them nice and shiney silver.

John
 

Mercury, especially organomercury compounds, can also be readily absorbed through direct contact with bare, or in some cases (such as dimethyl mercury) insufficiently protected, skin.
Mercury exposure in young children can have severe neurological consequences. It's a poison. If you know the name of that science class teacher, report him or her to the police.
 

Mackaydon said:
Mercury, especially organomercury compounds, can also be readily absorbed through direct contact with bare, or in some cases (such as dimethyl mercury) insufficiently protected, skin.
Mercury exposure in young children can have severe neurological consequences. It's a poison. If you know the name of that science class teacher, report him or her to the police.
Click to expand...

My 4th grade teacher let us touch mercury during science class one day. I remember it because I thought it was so neat to be able to touch liquid metal. We washed our hands afterwards, and as far as I know no poisoning symptoms occurred. ;)

John
 

Does the coin show any signs of wear?? A nice shiny circulated example would seem strange to me.
I agree with getting the coin authenticated. There are coin dealers that sell authentic examples of this type of error. I think I am allowed to do this.....here is a link if anyone would like to see a few OFF METAL coins.
http://www.fredweinberg.com/

Hope this helps, VPR
 

mercury is indeed bad stuff -- in the old days careless folks often "played" with it -- hell as a kid I did not knowing any better ---the old thermometers was the main culprit --- crack one heat it a bit and out came "the liquid silver" as we kids called it back then ------ if you have a break in the skin or handle it ---it can absorb via the skin and has nasty long term effects esp on young kids --do not let them handle it!!
 

Liquid metallic mercury is virtually harmless, despite all the scares put out. You can swallow it... people did it all the time.

Its the vapors and the mercury salts that'll get ya.

I stuck my finger in a jar in school when I was young, too.

Still use mercury to this day, no problem. You just have to be aware of the proper handling and storage. Its surprising how much people shun mercury, but think nothing of pouring bleach in their laundry!

You can screw up a lot easier with chlorine than you can with merc.
 

Thanks for the replies. Have to buy a new camera before I can post pics and with back to school here that purchase is on hold. Talked to two dealers; one told me to scratch the coin to see if it was copper underneath, which sounded like a bad idea because of damage the coin would suffer; the other one looked at the coin and gave it the old magnet test and said in her opinion it was layered. The magnet did not stick. What gives me doubt is that the coin is the correct size. To have been struck on a different blank wouldn't the size difference be noticable? What gives me hope is the wear the coin has and some previous scratches, as though someone tested it before. My great grandad was a banker in Waco, Texas so it could be a novelty he recieved or he could have recognized it for the rarity it was. I need to weigh it against a copper penny. For now I'll keep a little hope about it.
 

magnet test failed ; definately Not steel & If on a dime it wouldn't have the rim.
it would be too small.

Sorry, I'm convinced it's plated.
 

I know this is an old forum, but I also have a silver tone 1920 penny. Did you ever find anything out about it?
 

Know this is an old post but, I also have a silver tone 1920 penny. Did you ever find anything out about it?
 

Remember the "Mad Hatter" in Alice in Wonderland? Hatters used mercury to make felt for hats - and many suffered severe brain damage.

San Francisco Bay is full of mercury from 19th Century gold mining - makes it dangerous to eat fish and crabs caught there.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo
 

Actually, that has been proven wrong. If a person has introduced mercury into their system, doctors will proscribed selenium. Best way to introduce selenium into the body, eat fish! Selenium in fish makes the mercury inert and passes it through the system. The mercury scare is used to stop mining in California.
 

It is NOT a steel penny. It is plated or coated. If you had posted a few pics, it would be easier to tell. Mercury coating can be either shiny or dull, depending on environmental exposure after coating. The most common and likely would be zinc plating. This used to be done in grade school through high school when I was a kid. Chemically plating cents, years ago when it was common in schools, taught many principles of both metallurgy and inorganic chemistry.

Time for more coffee.
 

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