Strange Penny?

rayrayvegas

rayrayvegas

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Jan 2, 2013
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Going thru my box of go thru finds I came across this penny, I almost dismissed it until I grouped it with the other penny finds, I have no idea when or where I found it for I always add up all my clad change at the end of the month. Definetly not toy money, not magnetic, size of a nickel, very very detailed, matches all markings on a penny exactly, even the small Lincoln can be seen in the monument as the designers initials. I am stumped? Has anyone ever came across this before.

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Very interesting thread and find. Looking forward to learning more.
 

It would seem to me that if all of the details are x% porportionally larger than a regular cent, that this coin could not have possibly been created at the mint as an error. I hope I am reading the thread correctly--the bust of Lincoln is just a little bigger than on a cent? Right?

Please weigh it and a zinc cent and compare the weights. Digital calipers for the diameter would help too if you have them. If the details are all bigger I would have to guess some sort of novelty coin. But that's just my guess at this point.
 

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Erik in NJ said:
It would seem to me that if all of the details are x% porportionally larger than a regular cent, that this coin could not have possibly been created at the mint as an error. I hope I am reading the thread correctly--the bust of Lincoln is just a little bigger than on a cent? Right?

Please weigh it and a zinc cent and compare the weights. Digital calipers for the diameter would help too if you have them. If the details are all bigger I would have to guess some sort of novelty coin. But that's just my guess at this point.
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That is correct Eric, hardly noticeable, very miniscule but correct to a nickel dimensions, dont have neither a scale or calipers, hopefully Argentium does. I know its hard unless your holding this but I cant see unless you have a perfect coin minting machine to press this detail, just cant see someone going thru that much effort for a novelty. This coin has mint standards.
 

Erik , I really don't want to appear to be highjacking RayRay's thread here - but the problem I have with the novelty coin theory , is that
It just isn't large enough for that - these are in every way exactly like a zincoln - but they are the size of a nickel !
 

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I hear you--I hope it's some sort of cool error.....interesting coin for sure! I'l let the experts weigh in.
 

Argentium said:
Erik , I really don't want to appear to be highjacking RayRay's thread here - but the problem I have with the novelty coin theory , is that
It just isn't large enough for that - these are in every way exactly like a zincoln - but they are the size of a nickel !
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Yes, there is a very small difference between a cent and a nickel.....are you sure the bust of Lincoln is bigger on your coin?
 

Argentium said:
huntsman53 , As strange as it may seem, please believe me - the oversize is across every feature on these - the profile of Lincoln, the letters, the date, the Lincoln memorial on the reverse - everything - this is the reason I'm completely stumped on these finds - it would be so easy to otherwise attribute this to a broadstrike error (previously mentioned )
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While I cannot comment on your' Lincoln Cents, the O.P.'s coin has nearly perfect rims on the Obverse and Reverse. Therefore, the O.P.'s coin was not broadstruck! For a coin to be broadstruck (i.e. a broadstrike), the coin has to be struck without collar or without a full collar (i.e. partial) in place to form the rim. Thus without a collar or without a full collar, the pressure placed upon the planchet during the minting process, actually squeezes the metal outward beyond where the collar should have been and there is no rim formed.


Frank
 

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Frank , both of mine have perfect rims too - however if you look at them edge on, they look squished -like a U shaped trench between the
outer edges (obverse /reverse ) and yes , very definitely ,the Lincoln profile is larger as well - no doubt about it !!!

RayRay - I just put a millimeter gauge on both of mine - they are about 1.7 mm larger than a standard zincoln.
(diameter) and they weigh just a hair under 2.5 grams .
 

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Argentium said:
Frank , both of mine have perfect rims too - however if you look at them edge on, they look squished -like a U shaped trench between the
outer edges (obverse /reverse ) and yes , very definitely ,the Lincoln profile is larger as well - no doubt about it !!!

RayRay - I just put a millimeter gauge on both of mine - they are about 1.7 mm larger than a standard zincoln.
(diameter) and they weigh just a hair under 2.5 grams .
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Thanks for the info Argentium. Posting a photo of the rim, yours like this?

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I found this snippet of a conversation when i googled "oversized cent"...

--- In [email protected], "Kevin L.

Stewart" <Grimaldon@y...> wrote:

> Mike,


> Would this likely have been hammered/pressed through leather to keep the details intact?



That's the prevailing theory. It seems reasonable, and I'm sure close to the truth.



> I'd guess that the reason they strip off the plating is that it would make the fake obvious. Likely the thiness of the plating would cause it to split in places.



I hadn't thought of that. Makes sense.



Ironically, they'd probably be able to fool more people if they left that intact.
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I'm not sure what this means exactly and I only found what I posted above.
 

Rayray , that is exactly the edge that both of mine have - and to Doubter in MD - the hammered thru leather idea in no way accounts
for a proportionate expansion of all the details , letters, and devices on the the coin - I'm a metalsmith (silver /copper mostly ) and I do
a lot of hammering - no way man !
 

I was initially thinking some kind of magic trick coin, but enlarging a penny to the size of a nickel is pretty anticlimactic... plus, it would definitely be illegal to reproduce currency that can almost pass as real.
 

A detecting buddy of mine recently found a nickel the size of a quarter. Hope someone has some info on these oversized coins.
 

It has just been subjected to heat. Zinc has a fairly low melting point, when heated it will begin to melt and "spread out". This also explains the color of the coin. I have done it myself several times.
 

rayrayvegas said:
Thanks, glad that it was proved hammerd leather doesent work...I sure hope we have more comments, this is really driving me nuts.
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I don't know that it proved anything. One person tried it a couple of times with poor results.

There are multiple threads on coin talk about enlarged coins. Most cite the hammered leather technique as the means to achieve this. They call nickels enlarged to the size of a quarter "Texas nickels". (Everything is bigger in Texas!)

At any rate, regardless of the method, I saw enough examples of other enlarged pennies online to lead me to believe these coins were somehow "manipulated" after they were minted.
 

If these pennies were enlarged after minting or were stuck in a nickel collar they would be thinner, the planchets for pennies are all the same so these would have to be thinner to be wider, has anyone checked to see if they are thinner than a normal penny?
 

Hmmm. After looking at your photos, are you sure that you don't have a nickel the size of a penny? :laughing7:
 

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