1974 Aluminum Lincoln Memorial Cent - Don't Freak Out.

Hello all,

I have collected coins for a few years and know the basics, but something struck me the other day. I came across some pennies that obviously didn't look like normal uncirculated pennies (I had uncirculated pennies next to these "other" pennies). I even had a 1974 penny to compare these to. At first I brushed them off, and the next day I came back to them.

In the late 70s my grandmother had bought a bag that included the following: 1) Magnifying glass with a 1964 dime, quarter, and nickel. 2) A letter opener with uncirculated 1964 pennies(marked Made in USA). 3) A paperweight with three 1974 pennies. I noticed the dramatic difference in detail in the hair, face, and color.So, I began looking into these three coins and finding what they could be. I'm not one to believe in finding rare items, and just put them aside. I found some steel pennies, 70-80 wheat pennies, and War Nickels and was running late so I dropped them into the bag. The next night I came back to the bag to analyze the coins, but the 1974 pennies kept coming to mind.

I noticed the deposit bag had a name on the bag so I googled the bank and famous people to live in this city. Surprisingly, a US senator who began his senate term in 1969 and was in office beyond 1974 lived in this town. Now this town isn't very big (less than 3,000 people) and it is a very small bank. What a coincidence I thought, so I found Mary Brooks and noticed she was a Republican and this same senator is a Republican. I had a friend who knows absolutely nothing about coins and could careless about anything(that's why I chose him) and he noticed(as did i) 2 of the coins looked similar, but one looked different(all same color). I have came across information that said the coins were different prototypes.

This senator was a delegate at the national convention, big supporter of Nixon, and was involved in many key bills during the time period. I tried placing a time of production on the bag, but was unable to find much on it. The bag is hand stitched and resembles other bank deposit bags from the 50s and 60s.

I really don't know what to think. They were purchased in Bellevue, Nebraska (where Offutt air force base is). The bank and senator are on the East Coast. The senator does have pictures online with generals and fighter pilots. The senator was forced to resign for illegal activity, so I believe he had the personality to keep the coins.

I'm reluctant to post all of this, but I really don't know what to believe.

1) They are definitely not copper! In strong light, they are so shiny and beautiful.

2) Would a senator buy a letter opener, magnifying glass, and paperweight?

3) Why would someone place rare pennies in a paperweight?

4) Any ideas?