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 Replies: 72 / Views: 21,299 |
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Valued Member
United States
230 Posts |
How do I know if it is real? How much is it possibly worth?
Thanks Rick
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Forum Dad
 United States
24157 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
533 Posts |
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How much is it possibly worth? I know that this might be a little cliche, but it would be priceless- especially if you wanted to sell it. |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
3831 Posts |
First weigh it and see if it is really under 1 gram or if it feels lighter than a regular cent. Then you might have something there. Best of luck.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
 I also see a weight of 0.937 g, and there is no way to hide the weight by plating the cent, unless I suppose it were reduced in acid and then plated--but that would be obvious too. Running a SG test might also confirm composition, as a bronze US cent is about 8.84, and Aluminum alloys are notably different at 2.7-2.8. Got pics? That would sure be fun to see.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5611 Posts |
KurtS, I see according to the 2008 Red Book, in 1974 more than one and a half million aluminum cents were made, also states "most were destroyed", also says that "other experimental" cents were struck in bronze plated steel. Question:Do you know the weight of an aluminum cent and the same for a bronze plated steel cent ( 1974 )? Thanks, Mike..  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
Mike, I don't know the weight of the bronze/steel cent, but I think I found a reliable figure for the Aluminum cent (above). |
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Moderator
United States
16679 Posts |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------  . Wish I could do that! swcoin.ecrater.com
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Valued Member
 United States
230 Posts |
Ill get pics asap, My sister is the one who found it and she lives about 40 miles away from me so I will have to go to her house to pick it up. she said it was silver and a 1974 I said its not silver but she argued with me but told me I can have it so...I will try to get it on Saturday I know you cant believe me until I have pics I don't know if I can believe my sister or what to expect but I heard that the government is legally able to confiscate it and I thought it had to be worth a lot LOL thought I should get some info on it befor I get it and say its junk and spend a multi thousand dollar coin or something
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
Most likely it's a plated coin, hence the importance of weighing it. If it weighs under a gram, that would be very interesting as few coining metals are that light. Your sister should be able to tell by feel--it will be that dramatic. Good luck!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
860 Posts |
Usually people could tell a much lighter cent ( such as aluminum) , but since she says silver, it is probably made as a chemistry experiment. It is in some high school chemistry lab manual and widely done. We will see many silver and gold colored cents from this exercise in the future. http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemi...verpenny.htmThere are also videos on the internet of the actual experiment. Jim |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7629 Posts |
I would think anyone would mention that it feels feather-light if it were really aluminum. These coins don't just pop-up in change.
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Valued Member
United States
230 Posts |
she said it felt like a fake plastic penny but it wasn't plastic it was a real coin and she didn't find it now back in 1980 when she was doing yard work. so I am unsure she said I couldn't tell anyone about the coin but to late and the reason she said it was silver was because she took it to the coin dealer back when she found it and she said he said it was silver and there were only a few in existence and she couldn't tell anyone cause of the feds
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Except that a lot of people have turned up pieces that they wondered if they were the aluminum cents and HAVE reported that they "feel a lot lighter than a regular penny" which when actually weighed on a scale have been the standard 3.1 grams. It's psychological, it's silver in color, they think it may be aluminum, and so when they hold it in their hand they BELIEVE it's lighter even when it isn't.
As for a weight on the bronze clad steel, I don't have an official weight, and I seriously doubt if an official weight exists, but I would think it would be fairly cose to th current zinc cent of 2.5 grams. My reasoning is that steel is fairly close in density to that of zinc.
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Forum Dad
United States
24157 Posts |
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but I heard that the government is legally able to confiscate it They didn't worry about this one....  There's one in the Smithsonian too. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5318 Posts |
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she said it felt like a fake plastic penny but it wasn't plastic it was a real coin Well, I'll take her observation at face value--although that's a huge longshot. I do think if someone held an aluminum cent, they might think it's play money. So I'm sure you'll get it weighed--that will pretty much eliminate a plated coin. |
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Replies: 72 / Views: 21,299 |
Posted 01/06/2009 2:47 pm
