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koinpro
Pillar of the Community
United States
1781 Posts |
 Posted 05/18/2024 09:09 am
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This is what is often referred to under the slang term (one I really don't like but ...) "Zinc Rot". It occurs in two ways.
1). It is an area of the coin where the plating splits away from the zinc during or after the strike after which the elements took over and the zinc began to deteriorate. It's a form of environmental damage after the "rot" sets in. It is most common around the mintmark due to its geometry but can occur in other areas of the coin. This can occur on normally struck coins and on errors such as Double Strikes, Broadstrikes, Off Centers, etc., where the metal is stretched during the strike.
2). The other cause is a coin that was damaged after struck, such as being driven over by a car, where exposed areas are so affected.
Proper storage of copper plated cents can prevent this issue. I own hundreds of thousands of copper plated zinc cents going back as far as 1982 that are in proper storage and it has never occurred to a single one of my coins yet at least that I know of.
In your case it appears it is a circulation coin that got damaged one way or another and is not collectable in any case so no loss on your part. The bonus is you got an education.
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