Good afternoon Everyone, My question is about the thickness of this 1863 penny, I've tried to get info. online with no luck, was there a specific reason they minted them thicker then others or was it an error? Thank you in advance!
The 1863 cent was made of 88% copper, 12 % nickel and weighed 4.67 grams, but had to have the .75 in diameter, so the were thicker than the new composition in 1864 of 95% copper, 5% tin or zinc which weighed 3.11 , and had to keep the same diameter.
They were made from a different alloy, copper nickel..They stopped CN and switched bronze sometime in 1864.....
Copper/nickel vs bronze. You should notice this thickness in IHC till partway thru 1864 when they made the switch.
This was during a transition period at the mint. When the old large cent went by the boards, the mint wanted to issue something that looked like it was worth a cent, even then it wouldn't have metaled for a cent's worth of metal. Therefore the Flying Eagle and Indian cents from 1859 to the middle of 1864 were struck on thicker, copper-nickel planchets. It is my understanding that the acceptance of the thinner, lighter copper and bronze Civil War tokens showed the mint that the people would accept the lighter coins. The copper-nickel alloy was a bear to strike because it is harder than bronze. Therefore the mint made the change in 1864. 1864 Copper-nickel cent 1864 Bronze Cent
No. I would be very leery of that one. In 1890 the thick, copper-nickel planchets had been obsolete for 26 years.
