Ever since the new shield cents came out, I've noticed a big difference in quality. This comes from a guy who has seen hundreds of them roll searching, and looking at unc rolls as I put them in the cash register. I've noticed some of them are already toning, like a darker shade of the color present. Many of them have spots on them, like someone sprayed water on them and it dried. I'm not sure what change was done, but once I get a few of them I will show you what I mean.
I dug through my change and found a 2013 cent, and this is EXACTLY what I'm talking about. You can see the copper is already toning, and there are water spots on the coin. This is way out there comment...but I'm wondering if the Mint is lying, and cents are now made in China. I know this is out there, but there has been a serious lack in quality ever since the new shield cent came out.
America has lost pride in what we produce. We seem to care only about how many we can make in a day and if we make more than production what rules it all MORE MONEY.
its not just the new pennies, its also the America the beautiful quarters too, to me they went back to the 70s when they made theses quarters, at least for the obverse side, heres an example of what I'm talking about
Why care? These are made for business use. If the denomination is readily apparent, it's fine. The mint makes collector coins, too. You want perfect coins, buy those.
I love business coins, lots of DDOs & DDRs, and etc. and the whole kicker to whats being talked about are collector coins, and you ask why, the only place to get rolls of them, is from the mint, not in banks anymore !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Hundreds" would hardly be indicative of any sort of trend seeing that billions of them have been produced. No offense intended, but let us know when you have searched 10 million or more. Chris
I'm not sure what the mint charges for the new pennies, but what I've heard is 9 dollars, and 50 cents a roll, thats for a 50 cent roll
You can't buy rolls of cents from the US Mint. The only time in recent memory was in 2009 for the Abe commemorative cents and then in 2010 for the new shield design. The only cents you can buy at the mint are in proof and uncirculated sets. BTW you can get boxes of new cents at a bank. When you buy a box you don't know if you'll get circulated or circulated. I've also gotten rolls of new cents at the local convienence store. If you happen to stop in at the right time and you ask, they'll sell you a roll or two.
Agree with the OP. There is something about these recent shield cents that just look off, and I'm not referring to the design. I've had non coin collectors mention it to me as well.
I've seen hundreds or thousands like that too. I think the mint is doing it on purpose so that they can stop coin collectors from taking these cents out of circulation. Like in the 60s when they stopped putting mintmarks on the coins for a while. Anything to stop us hoarders from hoarding the supply.
You guys break me up they loose money making them and you want quality. Smart thing to do is not make them.
The spotting on the cents is more obvious on copper and has been occurring and more obvious on copper coated zinc cents since 1982. It is caused in the washing process. This is nothing new. Find nice examples without with some effort and if this bothers you put them into circulation. No, China isn't making them, but if they did they might be of better quality. From Wiki: Preparation of the modern planchet involves several steps. First, the metal (or metals in the case of clad or multilayered coins) is rolled out into a large roll or sheet of the correct thickness. This process is often done by third parties, not by the mint itself. These flat rolls or sheets of metal are then punched out into round blanks that are a little larger than the coin being struck. The blanks are then subjected to an annealing process that softens the metal through heating to approximately 750 degrees Celsius (1400 degrees Fahrenheit) and are then slowly air cooled. They are then washed to remove residue from the annealing process and dried. The blanks then go through an upsetting mill that raises the rim on the edge of the coin.
Sample size is significant. If you search Thousands and find Hundreds, there is a significant problem. It is not necessary to search Millions or Billions.
I've been seeing an alarming number of new pennies with vertegris forming for no apparent reason. I have a change bin on my dresser, and it seems like every new penny corrodes very quickly, while old pennies just develop a normal patina. These two pennies have been in the same bin under the same conditions. The new penny was new and shiny not very long ago.
