I read about red pennies all the time. I'm not positive I know what a red penny is. Could somebody post a picture of one (or a thousand) for me? I know what the green pennies are, but I'm unsure about red pennies. Thanks in advance.
The designation of a cent falls into three categories. Red RedBrown Brown Cents are red when the leave the mint. Over time, with interaction to the air and environment, the color will change to brown. Red: Red Brown brown probably Red probably red brown Red
Thanks, gbroke! What about the green tinted pennies? Mid '60s to early 1982 pennies tend to have a green tinge. Are these considered brown? They definitely have a green hue to them, and are quite beautiful. I haven't seen a green wheat penny. I did find an AU 1958 penny once, but it was red.
The green you are seeing is actually a bad thing. It is called verdigris. It's like cancer to a coin. Copper is very susceptible to it. If left unattended, it will eat away at the coin surface. There are ways to try and remove verdigris, such as acetone or a more specific product like Verdi-care. Old plastic used in holders contains PVC which is cause of Verdigris as well.
I think NGC and PCGS use different percentages for what Is full "red". PCGS Copper Coinage - BN - Brown – less then 5% original red color RB – Red and Brown – between 5% and 95% original red color RD - Red – more than 95% original red color NGC:
You guys may also find this article relevant: https://www.ngccoin.com/news/ViewArticle.aspx?IDArticle=3547&print=1
No, not verdigris. I know what verdigris is, and this is nothing like verdigris. What I call "green pennies" are regular copper pennies with a green tint to them and (usually) no visible corrosion. I suspect it has something to do with the type of copper they used in the production of the coins. I'd take some pictures but I don't think I have any with me at the moment. I don't collect post-1960 pennies other than oddities like late-'60s-early-'70s S mintmark pennies, which are worthless but I keep them anyway, so I don't have a lot of these pennies. They sure are pretty, however. Speaking of verdigris, I live near the Verdigris River. I always think of that river when I hear about the green corrosion.
Do you mean green like this? If so, this is toning that has occured to the coin and will produce various colors, including green.
Those are beautiful pennies, especially the wheats, but they aren't the same type that I'm talking about. Next time I see one, I'll take a photo if it and post it here.
I have cameras but I still haven't gotten the hang of taking pictures. I still have to learn more about lighting. I've taken some good pictures and some awful ones. I'd like to have a setup specifically made to take macro pictures but $$$ is tight.
I have a decent camera on my Android phone that I use to take pictures of coins I find at work. I also have a Canon Sure Shot SD1200IS point and shoot camera which takes great pictures as long as there is plenty of light, but the macro photos it takes are often blurry. I don't have any fancy equipment, but I have some mini tripods and a suction cup monopod which might help. Lighting is my biggest issue so far. I'll get better eventually, but I want to get better now.
