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 Replies: 9 / Views: 1,820 |
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Valued Member
United States
183 Posts |
  Sorry about the image, photo shop gave up on it
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10635 Posts |
Not sure there is a question here. This is a very well worn cent that has suffered extreme environmental conditions and will never be worth anything, although it will pass itself off as a penny upon close examination. It's low weight is within range of "normal" considering the wear and tear it has seen in it's life. Spend it (if you can). Might be better suited to end it's life in a fancy fountain somewhere as a wish.
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Valued Member
 United States
183 Posts |
LOL thanks for making me laugh
Appreciate your Thanks
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Agree, corrosion has eaten away at the weight of this coin.
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Valued Member
United States
117 Posts |
Does anyone know if there are any studies on the corrosion on coins. I have observed so many different alloy mixes and how they corrode. However my observations are only ancedotal.. I do know that corrosion will not alter the weight of a coin unless it is removed. For the coins weight to be normal we have to assume one half of a gram in weight removed by cleaning? I too will occasionally clean similar wheats enough to see the date. I weigh before and after and have not seen more than a few one hundreths of a gram weight loss. My conclusion is this coin was under weight when it was minted.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
62064 Posts |
Well if anything is put into acid, it will not be the winner. The acid always wins. So we already know how that research would come out.
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Valued Member
United States
117 Posts |
I will test that hypothesis that acid will reduce the gram weight of a coin by 15% (coin going from 3.11 to 2.65) testing a pre-82 copper based coin with a pre test weight of 3.11. I think it will be more like 1%
Specifically I am talking about a solution which take surface corrosion off of the coin.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10635 Posts |
Quote:
My conclusion is this coin was under weight when it was minted. I don't think this conclusion is correct. How do you know if all surfaces of this coin are still intact(without "cleaning")? We have no clue how long this cent was subject to harsh conditions. Copper doesn't easily corrode, however soils containing large quantities of organic matter (particularly soils containing organic acids) can be very corrosive to copper cents. As coop suggests, acid always wins, therefore your concluding this coin began underweight when minted is false. You do not have enough facts to reach your conclusion. |
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Valued Member
United States
117 Posts |
You are correct in that we do not have enough data for this specific coin. My point is that corrosion does not change the weight. It can add to the weight. It is removing the oxidation that changes the weight. I am saying that it will typically only change the weight by 1 to 2% by cleaning. Also let me state clearly that removing any amount of a coins metal by cleaning lowers its value.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10635 Posts |
If a copper cent has been buried in soil that has been fertilized (not uncommon), nitric acid is produced. Nitric acid serves as an oxidizing agent to copper. Over the span of over 70 years, it is impossible to tell the amount of actual wear vs acidic oxidization the coin may have received, but an overall final weight of 2.7 grams does not seem unreasonable for a coin in this poor condition. A pre-82 U.S. copper cent Weight Tolerance range can be +/- .31 grams (1%), so a .1 loss due to oxidation isn't crazy. To quote coop (again), Quote:
"The acid always wins."  |
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Replies: 9 / Views: 1,820 |
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Posted 03/26/2020 05:02 am
