Can anyone tell me what am I looking at? The reverse looks normal, but the obverse...maybe a Partial dime planchet?Weighs 2.898 g...
Classroom science lab experiments. They chemically plated Copper Cents with other metals such as Mercury. We have seen dozens of examples over the years here on CoinTalk and it's a know procedure among coin collectors. Goes back decades.
Hahahahaha- still don’t know what “plated” means but thanks for extinguishing my dream of a good find I love me a good reality check!
Take a copper cent and put another metal coating over it. Kind of like whatvthe US Mint is currently doing with all Cents today. They are zinc but have a thin copper coating. The value only difference is, when the Mint does it, it's acceptable but after it leaves the Mint, it's damaged. That's the basics of plating.
This may be a silly question but the math isn’t adding up in my head...if this penny had another coating over it, shouldn’t it weigh more than 3.11g - not less? - Confused...
Coins could have a +/- varience in weight. It could of been struck weighing a bit less than usual and even with the plating it could be less than 3.11 grams. Any other questions?
Edit, @paddyman98 as usual beat me to it. The plating weighs very little; even if you weighed the same cent before and after plating, you'd probably need a more sensitive scale to tell the difference. Tolerance on bronze cents was I believe 0.13g, meaning they could weigh 2.98-3.24g as struck.
Welcome to CT @Brooke Elash. Always nice to have new people asking questions and posting photos. As mentioned, it appears that the "shiny" area on your cent was added for unknown reasons and not an error of any type. We call that PMD, or post mint damage and it doesn't add additional value (NAV, no added value) but a cool discovery none the less. You might try to soak it in acetone (pure finger nail polish remover without added ingredients) to see if the plating lifts off, otherwise, hang on to it as an oddity. Good luck on future finds. Post and asking questions is how most of us have learned the hobby.
You are basically correct. Read Paddyman's comment again and look at your coin. Most of the plating has come off. Therefore the weight would be decreased. Given the tolerance, well, just think about it but you're learning.
