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 Replies: 11 / Views: 2,060 |
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Valued Member
United States
102 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
11951 Posts |
My guess ... this is a plated 1918 Lincoln Cent. Couple things to check magnet - I think it will not stick to the magnet. weight - Copper cent weighs 3.1 grams. It should be close to that weight. Not sure what wear and the plating will do to the weight |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7613 Posts |
Mercury coated. We were notorious for doing this to coins back in the 1950's!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1291 Posts |
My dad occasionally brought home mercury from the refinery he worked at. This was in the early '60s. He'd bring me a vial of it and I would rub it onto pennies and nickels...with my fingers!! You don't have to tell me how awful that is. I know NOW. Trust me, I know. Back then it was pretty common. (The other fun thing he'd bring home was dry ice. Sometimes I'm amazed that I survived "the good old days"!)
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Valued Member
 United States
102 Posts |
Thanks for the input guys. Problem solved. Mercury it is, thanks!
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
How did you determine it was mercury and not another metal?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4211 Posts |
 My dad worked at Union Carbide in Oak Ridge TN throughout the 60' and 70's and I have seen a few like this in my youth. Nice find! |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12813 Posts |
Fun coin! If that is indeed mercury, how does that work? Doe the mercury somehow bond to the copper just by rubbing it on? Or does it have to be electroplated like zinc? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7613 Posts |
How did it work? You would put the beads of liquid Mercury (from the old thermometer we "accidentally" busted) into the palm of your hand. You'd then take the coin you wanted to "improve" (for me it was Mercury dimes) and then rub the liquid Mercury on the coin. The metal was porous so the Mercury just soaked right in to the coin....as well as your skin, liver and lungs and no telling what else as it evaporated. We unknowingly did a lot of stupid stuff a long time ago. We are supposedly a little bit smarter this day and age. Sometimes I wonder! |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Good description. to the CCF, flip! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3755 Posts |
Ah yes, playing with mercury on the playground. I remember it well.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Mercury, being a liquid, starts to "dissolve" the metal and bonds with it forming an amalgam. If you had enough mercury you could actually completely dissolve the cent into the mercury. They used to use mercury's amalgam forming properties to gold and silver plate items back before electroplating. They would create an amalgam of silver or gold with an excess of mercury and then rub it on a metal object they wished to plate. A layer of the amalgam would bond with the metal of the object. Then they would heat the object to drive off the mercury leaving the gold or silver coating the object.
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Replies: 11 / Views: 2,060 |
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Posted 04/29/2016 11:34 pm
