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 Replies: 20 / Views: 5,750 |
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Valued Member
United States
90 Posts |
Well, I work as a cashier at a grocery store, so I have a limited access to unusual coins that float through my till. Along with a wide assortment of foreign currency, as well as silver dimes and quarters, I occasionally come up with some coins which are... unique. I've been collecting coins for a long time, but most of my collections only value is to me, and not very valuable monetarily. But, here are a few things I have found, and was wondering if they may be worth anything. First up, is a 1972 D Lincoln Penny. By itself of course, that's not odd... but the unusual color of the coin struck me right off the bat. It looks more like brass than copper. I understand that in the 70's, the gov. toyed with changing the penny to cut it's production costs, and that some millions of aluminum penny's were minted but not released. I wonder, if this may be another possible change. Brass having less copper than pure copper... but that's just a guess, and would appreciate any other input. These pictures were taken using a scanner, the quality seems decent enough, but it lacks some of the luster you might see if you were holding it... the tone of the coin is obvious in the picture, but even more evident in-person.  Edited by Midnight Fenrir
10/02/2007 03:05 am
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Valued Member
 United States
90 Posts |
Next up, we have a Dime. For obvious reasons, I cannot tell you the date, or mint for it, as the coin has not been struck at all. It may look like just a disc of metal, but from the side, you can clearly see the copper center of the coin. It's size also lends to the fact that it is in-fact, a dime. There are some light scratches on the surface, but over all it's quite shiny and brilliant looking... If I had to guess, I'd say it was around 2000 vintage, but honestly, it's impossible to tell.  |
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Valued Member
United States
90 Posts |
And now, a 1978 D? nickel. The coin itself is a rather dark color, and the surface is quite badly scratched and damaged. The interesting part of course, lies on the reverse, with the Montecello estate. The metal of the coin itself is severely deformed, and is obviously not something stuck to the surface. blotting out from E Pluribus, all around the surface. You can see veins in the deformed metal near the bottom, and is really a rather interesting looking coin. Normally, I'd say that the coin looks like it has been melted, but the rest of the coin is perfectly formed, and doesn't seem to have been exposed to the rediculously high temperatures it would take to melt nickel.  |
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Valued Member
United States
90 Posts |
And last, at least for the time being, is a 2003 D Kennedy Half-dollar. The coin is in a plastic baggie, which has never been opened. Some sort of collector proof type deal. I really like the attributes of this coin... surrounding the head on the obverse, in the normally flat field, there is a slight deformation in the metal. If you turn the coin in your hand, the light reflects off these sections, making it shimmer... giving Kennedy a sort of ghostly quality. Okay, maybe I'm over-stating things... but then, the "Speared Bison" nickel didn't really look like a spear either. You can see the same marks on the reverse of the coin near the eagle, however due to the big label on the baggie, I can't get a clear image of the reverse. You can clearly see the fields on the immage in the left, but just to make sure, I highlighted them on the right. And I meant what I said, they really do shimmer when you hold the coin, it's something... quite unusual.  Edited by Midnight Fenrir
10/02/2007 03:03 am
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
Ok I am no expert by any means and I don't know anything about the cent at all, there are some experts on this forum that this is all they deal with so they can help you with it. The nickel looks like it was in a fire of some sorts to me (again no expert) the dime (if thats what it is, does it have a reeded edge) would be a blank planchet and would have a small premium over a regular clad dime, if its silver then the price would be accordingly. The half looks like it came from Littleton Coin Company by looking at the label (atleast from what I can see of it from the other side) I am not sure what that is that you are seeing but chances are its just a circulation piece that littleton sends out to people on their list of people that get coins each month from them (so this would have been the coin of the month from littleton)maybe someone else may know exactly what you are looking at with the ghostly images. Sorry I couldn't help you with everything and I am not 100% positive on what I am saying either, but this is just my opinion. We do have experts that collect errors that can probably give you a direct answer and correct me if I am wrong. I do want to welcome you to the forum and hope you stick around with us for awhile
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Valued Member
United States
159 Posts |
The 1972 cent looks like it might just be the way it toned or oxidized. It is possible that the copper did get contaminated with tin or zinc (I forget which one) to make a brass alloy. The blank dime planchet is probably the only true mint error in the group. The Kennedy half looks to me as though the shiny areas of the coin are the only parts that haven't oxidized. The Jefferson nickel is certainly strange looking, but the bubbling near the lower edge makes me think someone might have been playing with an arc welder. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
717 Posts |
The dime is a blank planchet and is worth about a dollar to a few dollars to someone that's interested in those kinds of errors. I think they're really neat. The nickel looks like it was subjected to some localized intentional damage by either acid or fire (Bunsen burner?). 2003 D Kennedy Half-dollar shows signs of what's called " Struck Through Grease" error. Zero to minimal premium. I discovered about 200 " Struck Through Grease" errors on Presidential dollar coins. Zero to minimal premium.. They were worth a significantly higher premium when combined with another error, such as Washington Smooth Edge (Missing Lettering) Presidential dollar coins. These were called "Double Mint Errors." |
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Valued Member
United States
90 Posts |
Ah, thank you all for your responses. I really don't think the penny is simply how it toned out... in-hand, it's quite distinct from other cents from the time. I don't know if you've ever seen a Canadian $2 piece, but the penny looks exactly like the center piece of that. The scanner does a poor job of capturing it's luster, even around the edges where it is worn, it is still that bright brassy color. Heh, thanks for the info on the dime. Guess it will just remain an oddity in my collection. :) As for the nickel, I hadn't thought of an arc-welder... I suppose that might be capable of producing the appearance it has. But, it was just something that caught my eye so a snagged it... it only cost me $.05 so, no harm done " Struck Through Grease"? I take it the name is fairly self-explainitory as to how it comes about? Edited by Midnight Fenrir
10/02/2007 1:22 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1984 Posts |
Quote:
doesn't seem to have been exposed to the rediculously high temperatures it would take to melt nickel. We call them nickels, but they are 75% copper. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
I have a few of these cents that look obviously brass in color .(I have not seen anything to indicate that they have any premium value) The blank dime planchet is a mint error and should have no reeding as it was never struck . (small premium value of perhaps a couple of dollars) the nickel looks like it has had solder dripped on it ,,I have a quarter with the same effect . (Damage) The Kennedy half could be displaying some struck through oil characteristics ,, there would be no added value for such a struck through. Welcome to the forum ,, and thanks for sharing your coin finds with us ! Metalman |
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Valued Member
United States
90 Posts |
Really? I thought nickels were made of... nickel Huh, the more you know.
But, it's definitely not solder, I have a penny that has solder on it, and this is distinctly different. But, as someone else had mentioned, it's probably just be metal from a welding rod of an arc welder...
Thanks for all the welcomes :) I'll probably be sticking around for awhile, I'm always finding something new here and there, and like learning more of what's out there.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
Im a welder and I can guarantee you that it is not from a welder !
Metalman
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Pillar of the Community
United States
717 Posts |
Quote:" Struck Through Grease" error... They were worth a significantly higher premium when combined with another error, such as Washington Smooth Edge (Missing Lettering) Presidential dollar coins. These were called "Double Mint Errors."  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3507 Posts |
Penny, was spray painted at some point and the spray wore off. "Dime" is a blank planchet. Nickel is either fire damaged or had foreign material stuck to it, or has been buried and corroded then subsequently unearthed by a metal detectorist. Half was Struck Through Grease. Thanks, Bill |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2177 Posts |
I would think that weighing the coin would be the best way to truly figuring out what it is.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7123 Posts |
Weight would tell us if the coin has had metal added to it ,but not what the metal is ,or how it got there .
I have dug hundreds of nickels with my metal detector ,,and have never seen one that showed any type of eruption or added metal .many were denegrated and corroded but not with huge lumps on them.
as for the cent being painted ? thats possible I suppose,But I know that the brass colored ones I have have not been painted . I'm looking at an 80-D sitting in front of me on my desk ,, I will try and get photo's of it tomorrow.
Metalman
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Replies: 20 / Views: 5,750 |
Posted 10/02/2007 02:56 am
