I've had this coin for a few years now, I believe it may be brass. I know there is no such thing ( on record).i've compared it to a 83 & 85D brass pennies and they look identical. Local coin shop is no help (they refuse to deal in error coins) what do you guys think
There are several chemistry sites that explains how to turn copper cents into "silver" [zinc plated] cents and then the "silver cents" into "gold " cents [brass plated] http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/a/goldsilverpenny.htm "Heating the penny fuses the zinc and copper to form an alloy called brass. Brass is a homogeneous metal that varies from 60-82% Cu and from 18-40% Zn." I know some error sites sell "Brass cents", but the only way I know of telling if mint made or high school chem lab made, would be very expensive or damage the coin. The number of intentionally made "brass" cents far outnumber the possible mint made ones.
It probably is brass via the color. As "desertgem" advised, I would stay away from investing in these. I used to search for them, but after making them myself, I realized that I could easily be taken for a ride.
The tolerance in weight allowed by the mint is much larger than a weight addition by plating. Also the ones being sold by Potter are 'brass plated' also, so they would not be distinguishable.
The price of copper has risen and fallen over time. History records times when copper prices threatened production of the copper cent, as the cost of the metal approached and even exceeded the face value of the coin being struck. In 1943 all copper that could be obtained was needed for the war effort resulting in the 1943 zinc-plated steel cents, then the 1944 and 1945 cents made from recycled gun shell casings more in keeping with the traditional bronze cent composition. The next minor change came in September of 1962 when a shortage of tin (used in the French bronze alloy at 2.5% of the composition) became expensive, so it was dropped and Lincoln cents became brass, with a blend of 95% copper and 5% zinc. In 1974 there was another price increase in copper, at a time when the West Point Mint began coining cents (without mintmarks, mintages lumped in with Philadelphia). An experiment was launched to strike the 1974 Lincoln cents on aluminum planchets. A total of 1,579,324 aluminum cents were struck with all but a few apparently destroyed. At least one resides in the Smithsonian in the National Numismatic Collection. Other 1974 aluminum survivors are reported, but are still subject to seizure as having escaped the mint without authorization.
There is at least one 1974 Aluminum Cent out there- Originally in an ICG holder, it was submitted to PCGS and I helped bless it - it's in an MS-62 holder now.
There's no proof that this actually happened. In 44 and 45 over 3.5 Billion cents were produced. You really think there were that many spent shell casings at domestic ranges, that were collected and melted, formed into sheets and produced 3.5 billion cents? That's 350 million ounces of copper. That's almost 22 million pounds of copper. It's unlikely.
You should site where you are cutting and pasting this from so people don’t think you are writing this and passing others work off as your own. https://www.sixbid.com/en/wag-online-auktionen-ohg/2305/category/1944690/lot
Scroll down and read Coppercoins reply http://www.lincolncentforum.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-33374.html
Alloy: A mixture of two or more metals. Until mid 1982, Lincoln cent planchets were made from copper alloyed with tin and/or zinc. From 1909 to 1942 and again from 1947 to 1962, planchets were 95% copper and 5% zinc and tin. From 1944 to 1946, the mint reportedly made planchets from melted-down world war II shell casings, which lacked tin, thus were 95% copper and 5% zinc plus possibly some other elements. From 1962 to 1982, planchets were 95% copper and 5% zinc. 1943 were zinc-plated steel. Planchets made from mid 1982 on are copper-plated zinc and do not contain alloys; however, due to occasional mint error, zinc planchets are sometimes inadvertently left in the plating bath and mix with the copper, which can result in what is sometimes referred to as a “brass plated cent.”Casings in production was most likely what was re-used not a bunch of GI's picking up Brass on Normandy or in cities in Italy Hopefully I don't have anything erroneous in there.
I don't see any reply from the screen name you cited. Maybe you could copy and paste his reply. There's also the time spent collecting, shipping, melting and producing all these coins in the same time period. It could not have been in the same time frame.
In Roger Burdette's book on the experimental wartime cents and five cent pieces he provides evidence that the shell cases were used and in the footnotes gives the location of where the supporting documents are located in the National Archives. We need some clarification on the OP. If he referring to a brass plated 1983 D cent that would weigh around 2.5 grams, or a brass 1983 D cent that would weigh around 3.1grams? Until we know which they are referring to any comments are kind of meaningless speculation.
My experience with brass coins pennies expecially they weigh anywhere from 2.98 to 3.0 nothing over nothing under also they'll have a different tone to him I have three of them right now and I've lost the 63 brass and a 73 brass so I know a little bit about him they are valuable have a graded
Start your own separate unique thread. Pictures or they don't exist. Are you using a gram scale? If not your weights might be incorrect.
