I have a 1998 one cent canadian coin. It is nickel not copper, I cannot find any info about this error. I had it checked by a coin dealer and it is infact nickel. Can anyone help me please?
I'm not much of an expert on Canadian coinage, much less Canadian error coins, but I believe their minting tecniques are very similar to those of the US Mint. I believe we can rule out the possibility of this being a cent that has been struck on a nickel planchet. It is my understanding that a larger planchet cannot fit into the striking chamber of a smaller coin, so this would not be a what you have. You say that the person who examined it is sure that it is solid nickel, and not nickel-plated. Can you tell us what type of tests he performed on the coin in order to come to that conclusion? I'm not trying to be pickey here, but just looking at it isn't enough. You have to understand that plating coins is a VERY common practice, and one of the most often asked questions we get is about "silver" pennies. I'm not familiar with pattern coins, or die trials, from the Canadian Royal Mint, but the possibility of one ending up in the hands of a novice seems rather remote. Not impossible, but highly improbable. Another possibility, is that the coin was struck on a foreign planchet, made of nickel, and of equal, or slightly smaller, size. I have no idea which one that could be. I don't suppose you have any way to weigh your coin, do you? Say, to within 1/100th of a gram?
Are you absolutley sure it is nickel. From 1997 to 2002 The Canadian mint started to use zinc, platted with copper. It could be a zinc planchet that did not get its copper platting.
If it slams into a magnet, then it's either pure nickel or steel composition. Copper-plated steel wasn't used in cents until 2000, although some "patterns" with a "P" mark were produced in 1999. If it's undersized and lighter than a normal cent, then it could be struck on a dime planchet. According to the Royal Canadian Mint website "The ten cent coin was made of nickel from 1968 until 2000, when its composition was changed to nickel plated steel (92% steel, 5.5% copper, 2.5% nickel)." It could be struck on a foreign planchet. You really have to get the weight and compare it to a normal dime and nickel from the same time period.
I'm Reasonably Certain That The Coin You're Describing, Is A Phony Error, As In Zinc Plated!! I Had A Gentleman From Alberta, Send #6 Of These 1998 Supposed Off Metal Coins, Asking $50 Apiece For Them, However The Weight Of These Coins, Was Correct For Pennies, & Nothing Else! There Was Even A Test Scratch On One Of Them, Where You Could See The Copper!! I Would Be More Than Happy To Authenticate Your Coin For You!!!! The Magnet Test That Mike Diamond Suggested Is An Excellant Way To Start!!! Good Luck, & Happy Hunting
