1950 S Wheat Penny that is Silver?

hello coin aficionado's!

I am a total noob to the coin collecting world. My husband and I recently came across a small coin collection that was in an old jewelry box from a local estate. There were some interesting silver coins and a few error coins. One threw me for a loop- it's a 1950 S Wheat Penny that looks a little off center, and it is silver in color. Not copper looking at all. It was next to some oxidized copper coins so it has some green stuff on it. I have done some research and can't find anything like it on-line. I read somewhere on a board that this is can be a rare error, but I cannot find the link to that info now. I'm willing to get it authenticated if you experts think it might be something. I would appreciate any help!

Here are a few pics:

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Just a damaged and possibally harshly cleaned wheat cent

 

The first picture looks different in color then the other two. The last two do look silver in color, did you weigh it? Also you can have it tested for silver, but i dont know of any silver pennies.

 

It's very silver in color, my yellow lighting in my house makes it look coppery in the first pic but it's the same color as a dime, nickel, quarter. Just included that pic since it was a better close up. Not sure if it's silver or just clad. I don't have a scale that can weigh it, what should it weigh? I could take it to my jeweler.

 

Wouldn't it be neat if it was silver, but the top picture looks way unusual.

 

Here they are unedited in daylight by my window

 

i think the others guys would have the proper weight for 1950 penny. it should be 95% copper 5% tin and zinc and should weigh 3.11 grams if i did it rt.

 

ok cool ty! I will take it to get weighed.

 

I am going to guess someone was playing with mercury. Used to do that when I was growing up in the 50's - before it "became" so dangerous.

 

lol now it looks more to be like a steel cent, better let other experts here chime in.

 

that's what I read too, but I read something that if the coin was off center it may be an error. It seems to my untrained eye that the coin is off center, the edge near 1950 seems thicker than the edge by the L for Liberty.

 

wht if it could have been on the wrong planchet? Mercury could do that though.

 

You know more than me! Thank you for the weight, I will let you know what it weighs in at

 

in the very top photo there is open damage on the rim, do you have a gd magnifier to see wht color it is on the inside of that? You might be able to still see copper if there is any.

 

Here is what a minimally off center coin looks like;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1995-Lincol...59?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item20df9044e3

 

I looked at it through my loop, good idea. Looks dark, doesn't look copper but more black. Would copper under mercury turn dark?

 

Not sure on that, it didn't look like copper on any of the edge inside could be a plus though. If the weight is around 2.7g it could possibly be a steel cent.

 

hope others will reply with better answers though

 

Thanks for the info!

 

I looked up some dirt on the coin, one saying if it was struck on a silver dime blank which would be an off planchet error, if this were the case it would weigh in the same as a silver dime. Also during this time they struck world coin blanks for other countries and like I thought the weight is crucial. If it is a world coin one it still is a keeper.