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 Replies: 10 / Views: 1,532 |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
849 Posts |
As a kid I collected small Canadian Pennies. Now that has ended and I have most of them so got hooked on large cents when my dad gave me a few last month.
I have purchased a dozen since and marvel at the colour differences. Some are almost black, some brown like the old small cents and some have a tan/yellow/gold look to them.
Why the colour variations and are certain colours considered to be more valuable or is it just a personal like or dislike for certain shades and the colour does not matter in the grading?
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2781 Posts |
If you like the large cents google or ebay tokens from the first half of the 1800s ( just before the large cents) |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1374 Posts |
It all depends on what came into contact with the coin, and the length of time it was exposed to air, chemicals, or the environment. When I look my coins over, I can always tell if it was in a metalworker or machinist's pocket - it will have minuscule metal particles. If my coin has been in the pocket of a woodworker, I can see tiny pieces of sawdust. I imagine that when I find tiny flakes of foil, that it came from a child's pocket who prefers to chew gum.
The color of the planchet is most directly determined by the mix of the alloy. After that, it is determined by the chemicals it has come in contact with, time, and air.
Edited by Drsandman2
05/05/2013 03:16 am
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1005 Posts |
Hi punman. Great gift from your dad! I've also enjoyed collecting some large cents and with age the colours can be amazing. Love em all. The large cents interest me because they are the only type of Canadian circulation coin that I've never received in change or at the bank.  For some reason this is my favorite coloured large cent I have. I also wanted to mention that experimenting with various household chemicals on some low grade copper coins (small cents from pocket change will work) will help you recognize colours to avoid. |
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Valued Member
Canada
258 Posts |
I too, like you, developed a fascination for small cents because of a gift from my dad. He gave me a small lozenge tin that contained a handful of large cents (some pre-confederation) as well as a few tokens. They hold a place of honour in my collection.
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
849 Posts |
Drsandman2 - I understand the bit about exposure to air and substances - but if that were all there was to it, why do the small cents that I have from the 1920s and 1930s not show the same range of colour as my large cents?
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
849 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1554 Posts |
 When collecting copper, always remember," THE REDDER THE BEDDER". Glenn  |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1949 Posts |
Hi Punman, the coin in the ebay link looks cleaned to me... |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
2366 Posts |
Cleaning is the primary explanation for some of the stranger colours you see. Also keep in mind that back then the production technology was primitive so things like mixing alloys wasn't always 100% accurate. So different batches of metal could have somewhat different compositions, different impurities etc.
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Moderator
 Canada
10463 Posts |
 with kuh_85. If you are a member of the RCNA, check out the March 2012 issue of the CN Journal (p. 108-113), where we published the range of compositions on the 1858-1859 large cents (came from the same batch of planchets). Look for a forthcoming paper, whereby we compare toning and colour to composition. Generally speaking, the lighter coloured coins tend to be a bit copper-rich. "Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search." -- J. Robert OppenheimerContent of this post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses...0/deed.en_USMy eBay store
Edited by SPP-Ottawa
05/06/2013 10:17 am
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Replies: 10 / Views: 1,532 |
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Posted 05/05/2013 03:15 am
