What the...? Odd CRH finds -- can you help?

[TroutBumDave]

Howdy fella's --

I've been coin roll hunting for a bit now and I've found three coins that I'd like to share with you, and hopefully get some feedback on.

First is this nickel. I know it's hammered, but why isn't it silver? I've seen pennies that have been coated in other things, but never a nickel. Thoughts?





This is a '43 steel penny; nothing fancy about it until you look at the back. Again, thoughts?







Now this is the cool one... I can't find any info on this 1964 penny, how it got like this, or if it's worth a darn -- but I bet you guys can.


Nothing neat on the front, but it feels odd to the touch (which is why I took a closer look at it)



Closer look:



Another angle:



Is this PMD, DD, or... Nothing?


Anyhow, thank you all for your input!

 

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[l.cutler]

OK, the nickel has just been on the ground for a while, they always end up looking like that. The 1964 d has been squeezed with pliers, hit with something, in a vice, damage of some sort. The 1943 s looks like it may have been plated at one time to resemble a copper cent, with the plating now worn off and a little rusty.

 

[huntsman53]

The Jefferson Nickel was in a fire, the 1943-S Lincoln Cent appears to have been subjected to acid (but) and as previously stated, the 1964-D Lincoln Cent was squeezed between two Lincoln Cents in an apparent attempt to create a fake Error Coin.

Now the (but): The Copper appearance on the 1943-S Lincoln Cent where the Zinc coating is missing, is likely a result of what the coin was subjected to. However, it would be prudent to check to see if it sticks to a magnet! Although it is unlikely that a Copper planchet was inadvertently coated with Zinc then struck into a coin, weirder things have happened and since it is a possibility, it is always good to check. In fact, I check every 1943-P, D, S Lincoln Cent that I get with a magnet. Oh and by the way, an well aged and circulated 1943 Zinc coated Steel Cent can get this same look by scrubbing it hard with a Copper brush (i.e. the one's similar to a Steel Brush).


Frank

 

[ivan salis]

a real copper 1943 cent would be highly valuable * since all 1943 cents were supposed to be made from steel cores with a zinc over plating --that said some 1943 copper cents were struck in error --they are extremely rare and highly valuable if real -- so folks might try to make a "fake" one by plating a 1943 steel cent with copper to con a person ..

 

[Chizzy]

Does this look similar to your 1964.........?
Here's one of mine............

Apologies for the poor quality..........I've been told by the knowledgeable folks here that this is due to "squeezing coins" together..........

Some people have too much time on their hands............

 

[TroutBumDave]

Small update:

First of all, thank you all for your input, I really appreciate it.

As for the coins, I took them into my LCS and asked him to take a look. After reading everyone's replies, I was not expecting much, and frankly, was a little embarassed to be even asking... But sometimes you just gotta know, right? Luckily, the owner was extremely cool and ended up talking with me for almost 90 minutes.

The nickel: he said it was interesting, and that it could have been improperly annealed. He looked at it under a loop for some time and said if he were a betting man though, he'd say it was treated with something due to the fact that he could see a small sliver of silver on the rim. At any rate, he said that even if it was a mint error, it would only be worth ten bucks max, so we moved on.

He spent a considerable amount of time on the 1943s cent. He said in thirty years he'd never seen one like it. He said they get copper plated steel cents all the time from people who think they've won the jackpot, but never has he seen, what he thinks is, a steel cent, coated with copper, then coated back with steel. (Or something along those lines) He wasn't sure if that's what happened, but just threw it out there. It does stick to a magnet, so that should be the dagger, however, it weighs more than it should. I can't remember the weight, but it was something like .1 heavier, which he said is possible, but uncommon. Long story short, he is heading to the Coin World Fair in Chicago in two weeks and asked if he could take it, along with the '64 cent (he'd never seen that one either -- but I think you guys are spot on with the pliers thing) with him to the show to have them looked at by some pros.

It will most likely be nothing and I'll just have a few neat looking coins in my collection, but wow, what if...?



*side story*
My seven year old daughter is my coin hunting/metal detecting buddy and she has really taken to the hobby way more than I would have expected. I took her with me to this same coin shop for the first time about a month ago where she blew the sox off the people who work there with her nerd-knowledge. If I go to the shop without her, the ladies there actually get bummed and tell me that I'm in trouble. Anyhow, I took her with me yesterday evening because the owner who looked at my coins had heard about her (from the staff) and he wanted to meet her. He spent another hour with her, talking coins, and treated her with so much respect and kindness it was mind boggling. He asked her which coins were her favorite, which ones she still needed, etc. He pulled out a V nickel and explained why it didn't have the word "cent" on it, pulled out a blank penny planchet and explained how that happened, and also pulled out a double struck cent, which we'd never seen before. He told her that all three of the coins were hers to keep. It was only a few bucks worth of coins, but it was an amazingly cool gesture, and man, you should've seen the grin on my girls face -- priceless! To top it off, he asked one of the ladies working there to grab him a 2015 Redbook. He said that he just got the 2016's and had to do something with the extra stock (with a quick wink). He set it in front of her and explained that he was giving it to her, but the deal was that she had to read the intro and promise to come back and talk to him about it.

What a stud! I don't know if we're allowed to name drop, but if you ever find yourself in St. George, UT, go visit Troy at Allgood Coins -- you'll be happy that you did.

(Thanks for letting me over-blab!)

 

[WhiteTornado]

Sounds like great times with the dealer and introducing your daughter to the hobby. Good luck with the coins he took with him; hope they are indeed pleasant surprises. Stranger things have happened.

 

[lastleg]

I have trouble looking at coin sideways. I have to clear my desk and lay on a hard surface.

Maybe taking the picture sideways would alleviate the problem

 

[david680]

Always good to have dealers take the time to encourage youngsters with a interest in coins.