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 Replies: 19 / Views: 10,886 |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
I know that there are a lot of posts by newer collectors/roll hunters asking about errors that are actually zinc rot. Sometimes the following comments suggest to "spend it while you can." I got my second common (or not so common) coin haul from a Coinstar today and I think I know why they were rejected. Don't worry! I only handled them by the edges.  Seriously though, these are in very advanced stages of zinc rot if there's anyone wondering about what can happen. These are garbage now. Note: this only happens to late 1982-present copper-plated zinc cents.     In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3463 Posts |
This is a great example of why I say that nice looking, uncirculated, well protected Zinc cents may be highly sought after in the future. Even common dates may be hard to come by because they may have all rotted away! It is a bad combination of metals that should never have become a part of US coinage. Tiny holes, that are invisible to the naked eye, can allow moisture to enter between the layers and it's all down hill from there. It happens even faster on cents that exhibit split plating issues or become deeply scratched in circulation. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
959 Posts |
 Yep.....I have several just like yours. |
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Rest in Peace
10197 Posts |
Yep, my one and only coinstar find was not quite that bad!
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
They were actually set on the small counter of the Coinstar machine and I picked them up specifically to post for educational purposes. I bet the original owner had no idea these would end up on the internet!
In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1185 Posts |
I agree with cwb. While they did make BILLIONS, mint state nice example will be hard to find in the future. Let's even say they will only be worth a few bucks each.. that's still 200-300x premium over face value!
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Valued Member
United States
87 Posts |
How can you prevent this... Most of my Lincolns are from circulation and have been exposed to some elements...
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Valued Member
United States
295 Posts |
What's ironic about these cents...they would actually corrode less if they weren't copper plated. The Cu/Zn combination produces galvanic corrosion with moisture. It's basically a battery, with electron flow from the zinc to the copper.
Edited by Thulium
02/25/2017 01:50 am
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Valued Member
Canada
458 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12477 Posts |
While not being a chemist or metallurgist of any fashion, I think you're right Tm. The zinc-plated steel cents seem to hold up much better, even if ugly, over the 7+ decades of life than a damaged Zincoln in less than two!
In a lot of instances, zinc is used as a corrosion inhibitor, but with steel and not copper. Makes sense!
In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Pillar of the Community
Russian Federation
5172 Posts |
Zinc does corrode very easily, and many 1940s European zinc coins I've seen were in only slightly better condition than this.
OTOH, I can't recall having ever seen zinc notgeld, or WWI zinc coins for that matter, anywhere near that bad, and my 1950s zinc coin from Peru is in such good condition that I thought it was aluminium until I checked the catalogue (should probably take a photo, it's a beautiful tiny piece of zinc-that-doesn't-look-like-zinc).
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4211 Posts |
Wow....thanks for sharing these pictures.
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Valued Member
United States
314 Posts |
I happen to believe that it is a shame that our great nation is distributing such poor examples of a coin that bears such a wonderful, time-tested bust of Lincoln. It needs to be fixed.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1963 Posts |
 And today, many cents have marks that look like water spots. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1748 Posts |
Time to retire the cent. Start rounding to nearest five cents.
Then time to get ready for the elimination of the nickel and the quarter.
All we need are a 10c, new smaller 50c, $1 and $2 coin after the 5c is gone.
Edited by DoubleEagle20
02/26/2017 8:41 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3463 Posts |
Quote:
How can you prevent this The best option would be to store them in air tight, non PVC holders. A dry place, not a basement or anywhere that would expose them to moisture, or humidity. Check on them once in a while to make sure they look okay. |
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Replies: 19 / Views: 10,886 |
Posted 02/24/2017 10:44 pm
