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 Replies: 19 / Views: 3,275 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4846 Posts |
 replated |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
Not fake, just replated. Genuine steel cents are unplated on the edge which exposed the steel, causing premature rusting. The reason for this that the metal stock was plated and then the planchets were punched.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3640 Posts |
Yes, a reprocessed cent.
Bio, guess I learned something then.
I always thought that the plating took place after the blank
punch then lost it's coat some during upsetting then the punch.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4000 Posts |
Look at the orientaion of the "P" in EPLURIBUS. I don't ever recall seeing one like that.  |
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Valued Member
United States
314 Posts |
I would say original, but am interested to learn more about the "replating" comment. What did they replate them with as I have numerous LWC steelies that have this same shiny appearance? I've always felt it wasn't natural, but the thought of replating never entered my mind. Well, learned something new today and looking to learn more. Please advise and thanks. |
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Valued Member
United States
376 Posts |
I would like to learn more about the "replating" process also. I'd never heard of it before.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3640 Posts |
The process has been going on for some time now. They use zinc. to replate but have also used mercury in the past. Back when mercury was not harmful to you :) It was a way to take a rusted or lightly worn coin and try to make it appear as an unc. one. A money maker basically. You may find a lot of these in so called mint sets made up by different companies. Sold for a profit. Some even went as far to sand the outer edges down a little and let them oxidize so they looked legite. There are some pretty good ones out there so you have to look carefully at them and learn what to look for on a repro. Years back I saw many on ebay and they actually sold for big bucks. The Coin World has gotten smart now. I just found one in a bank roll the other day. Still a steelie but only worth the normal going rate. This particular one was a real winner. The outer edge was like new but had PM damage real bad. Deep gouges and gashes but no rust anywhere. Even on genuine unc. coins you can still find a hint of oxide on the edge. There are some though and they are scarce, that have none. A lot of legite coin dealers sell them as BU and do not even realize they may be repro's. Once the coin is in a flip it is hard to see the outer edge to examine it closely with a loupe. So it is a good idea to get to know what to look for on the obv./rev. fields and devices. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
I always thought that the plating took place after the blank
punch then lost it's coat some during upsetting then the punch. On the steel cents they plated the strip an then punched the blanks, on the current cents they punch the blanks, upset the rims, and then plate them. Other metals that have been use to replated the steel cents include nickel and chrome (talk about shiny) |
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Pillar of the Community
  United States
2448 Posts |
Thanks, I knew of the mercury plating but not re-plating with Zinc. I didn't think there was a mercury problem. I just looked at my lesser grade steelies and thought something wasn't right. I've looked for the article in the Washington Post and Baltimore Sun for that time frame but can't locate a thing. I'll try another search method and see if I can get the name. Allegedly, He'd been selling counterfeit LWC for decades and no one ever thought to look in to the coins because (and not my words so don't shoot the messenger) they were "Just Pennies".Here's a better photo of the "P". It does look askew but I can't really tell due to the condition of my other steel cents.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
573 Posts |
Is that a die crack on the reverse going up through 12 o'clock? I think that's the definitive answer as to whether this is fake or not. Who would fake a die crack?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3640 Posts |
I beleive the coin is a legit steelie just a repro.
Did anyone suggest just using a magnet ? If it sticks it's steel. Repro or not.
Even if there was a die crack present it would be raised so it would still show through a replating.
Sorry, when I state repro. I mean reprocessed (recoated) not reproduction. Thanks Condor/Bio for clearing up the process that Bio also had mentioned.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
62064 Posts |
The surfaces on a BU 43 should look like this:  No shiny and looking like plating over the coin. Reprocessed. Probably the coin reprocessed were rusty and cleaned with a buffing brush before plating. Distorting the natural surfaces that were there and covering it with a false coating. This coating enhances imperfections on the coin and makes it look like something is there, when it wasn't during the striking process. Kind of a PMD of a different type done to ruin the value of these coins. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3640 Posts |
Now thats a good shot of the coin. Be nice to find a few choice unc's
like that one. Good study pic. also. Look at the fields and devices
on this coin as well as the tone.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4000 Posts |
Am I the only one intrigued with the position of the "P"? Have I just not looked at enough steelies to determine that this is normal?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3640 Posts |
I am assuming you mean the P in "pluribus"
I looked at a bunch of both P and D mint coins
and they all look like that.
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Replies: 19 / Views: 3,275 |
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Posted 08/27/2010 4:52 pm
