1996 one sided penny

A--------men!

 

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Post Mint Damage, but thats just my 2 cents *Holds for applause*

 

i do have access to micrometers and as i stated in original post, i have looked at this coin w/12x magnification loupe. that is why i am almost positive it hasnt been machined. what should its thickness be?

i ask you to keep an open mind also. it seems that if it got graded as a genuine error that you would still doubt it. the reason i keep asking is because my theoretical question hasnt been answered. IF this turns out to be real, is it a high dollar coin?

i trust your answers for the most part because its not like if its fake you have a shot at the coin. i have heard of this happening tho. people in person will down grade coins because they hope its owner will say they can have it or buy it cheap when a dealer says "oh its common, its only worth 50 cents'' no one has yet said if it is real it is 1 of a kind or fairly common. ive only heard that its not possible. i take it that if proven legit it will be a scarce coin. i have learned never say never. i've heard people say a penny w/dime reverse isnt possible, but i see graded examples of them.

 

i most definitly plan to see this thru and will post the outcome here. there is a coin shop about an hour away. is that the best way to submit a coin to a grading service? how do you make sure that it doesnt get lost in transit? i mean, if it was a high priced coin from the get go you wouldnt just hand it over without some kind of peace of mind. what would that peace of mind be? how do i protect myself from something happening?thanks for the replies. :hail:

 

It is something called 'insurance'.

 

The standard weight for a zinc penny is 2.5 grams. Yours is .16 grams underweight. In all likelihood, it's been shaved.

 

so, do I insure it for $100 or $100,000? that has been my point all along.

because many people would assume i did this to the penny, i have been hesitant to say this, but i'm a lifelong welder/fitter turned machinist who is 1 1/2 years away from earning my BS in physics, so i know a little about metalurgy. when i look at the blank side of this penny w/12x loupe i can see the grain in the coin and it appears unadulterated.

i guess, as to not offend anyone i will let sleeping dogs lie, as i think i will use this website quite often. i contacted PCGS on facebook, asking for their help. i posted a link to this thread on their wall. so hopefully they will comment back and we all will know the real deal.

 

Go for a million!

 

Don't take it personally, but if you send this off for certification, you're an idiot. But hey, it's your money you're wasting.

 

Now days, three different vendors supply the cent planchets to the US Mints. These cent planchets must be within the allowable variances set by the mint. Since the end of 1982, the zinc cores are stamped out by a blanking press, then the blanks are feed through an upset mill. This produces the curved edge on the zinc core, which is now called a Type II planchet. The curved edge helps increase die life and improves the affect of the dies striking the planchets. Also, the curved edge assist the metal flow into the dies. After going through the Upset Mill, the outer plating of copper is applied to the zinc core and becomes a planchet. The completed cent planchets are now ready to be shipped to the mint for production runs.

The 2.5% copper jacket by weight is thicker near the rims to allow for wear and thousands of an inch thick in the design area. I have seen struck cents where the copper jacket is completly missing, but the design elements are fully struck into the upset zinc core.

If two coins enter the striking chamber together, the bottom coin will receive the tails design while the top coin receives the heads side, with nothing in between the two coins. But what happens during the striking process every time, is the metal flows and deforms around the edges, squished together like two jelly donuts.

The cent depicted does not have this deformation so we can conclude that two coins were not together while being struck. l'm also not saying that only one side was plated during the mfg of this coin, but is improbable because you have a complete heads with the copper jacket intact with a blank reverse missing the copper jacket and the upset from the mill....case closed, post mint damage. Value, 1¢

 

I don't know offhand, but if you take 4 or 5 normal pennies and measure their thickness to get an average, and then compare that average with the thickness of yours, it should be the same. If yours is thinner (plus the fact that it's lighter and the copper coating is missing) it points to the possibility that it is an altered coin. I"n not trying to discourage your idea of having it certified; just send it to a grader with maybe $100 insurance and see what happens. It's difficult to determine the value of an error coin, there are many factors involved such as it rarity and desirability. Remember, opinions are like A** H***s - everyone has one, and they all stink. Your opinion is the only one that counts in this matter.

 

By that line of reasoning, there's no point in sending the coin to a 3rd party grader, because their opinion will stink just like everyone else's.

 

Obvious PMD.

 

I can understand the OP's position... I've had coins in the past that I swore were mint errors... only to find out later they were PMD. Coins seem to be fair game for all types of wacky experiments and attempts to emulate mint produced errors. There are many ways to remove material from the surface without damaging or leaving tool marks, and I've seen it done on more than one occassion. My recommendation is to drive the hour to the coin shop and get an opinion from the dealer. Ask him a value... what he would sell it for. If he believes it to me a genuine mint error, let him submit it, and insure for that amount. This should give you peace of mind, as you seem to be worrying needlessly over this coin. Dealers have submitted items of immeasurably more value than what you have (even if genuine). As stated before, you might be wasting your money, but at least you'll have peace of mind.

 

Google error coins to see what are legitimate errors. One of the leading experts is Ken Potter. His site is a great resource for errors. Also, Die Variety News has a lot of current error finds. You'll get a good cross section of Mint errors. With experience, you'll be able to look at a coin like the one you posted and immediately be able to see why it couldn't be made this way at the mint.

http://koinpro.tripod.com/

http://www.dvnmagazine.com/

This link will explain the coin making process. It is a little dated but still applies:

http://books.google.com/books?id=Ry...coin&f=false

 

But at least it will be an "official" opinion made by someone with the coin in-hand, rather than a bunch of wild guesses made from a distance here. You opined that it had been shaved. What evidence beyond a wild guess do you have for that statement.

Can you explain what event(s) would produce the "damage" shown?

 

The heads side of the coin looks fairly beaten up. It's hard to tell on this monitor, it looks like it has a few little dents and gouges. The tails side however looks a little discoloured in places but doesn't appear to have as many dents and dings. If the coin were a mint error, wouldn't it recive about the same number of dents on both sides as it passed through circulation? I'm not trying to be mean or rude or anything it's just a question.

 

lol

 

Given the coin, I would say Value is 1/2 cent.

 

They can not comment without seeing the coin in hand so don't expect an answer on Facebook. The coin may be a genuine cent but the it is damage. If you send it in you will get it back in a genuine holder damaged/altered whatever they decide is the best code.

If you want another expert opinion, seek out Fred Weinberg. He is the master and will tell you what others here have been saying.