ALUMINUM PENNY 1974 vs. NON-COPPER PENNY 1972-Denver Mint

You're asking questions that can't be answered by anyone here. You said it's magnetic, which would make it different from any other non-1943 cent. You said a dealer has looked at it and considers it to be authentic. It has been suggested that you send it to a grader to be properly graded. I think that any further speculation is pointless until you do get it authenticated.

Personal opinion 1 - I think it's a normal cent plated with a magnetic material. The scratch may have been a surface scratch only, not deep enough to go through the coating.

Personal opinion 2 - You say you're a "true coin fan" with a collection yet you didn't know what a Red Book is? I wonder if we're being had here.

Take it to a dealer and ask if he could send it out for you, or at least lead you through the process. When you get the results, let us know.

 

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Davidh-Look at the photos...no, I would never make a joke of a coin that interests me. Not to mention the man at the coin shop wanted to buy it or sell it for me...so I believe there is something there. However, to have it authenticated the cost to find what elements are in it are 250.00 for the metal test, and grading, unreal....
so, do you think I would go the distance with a 500.00 start on a penny? Come on, I am new to this. And I do have the "Red Book"-I just didn't know you called it that. dummy, yes I am. But this is all new to me. Please bare with me and if you are into coins, as I believe you are, should this coin be special, what elements would it contain to be valuable? Really valuable? From what the coin dealer told me (who is registered) that we need to know what elements make up this coin. What are your thoughts on paying the extra 250.00 for that test. Do you believe it could make all the difference in what we have. I hope you read the true story behind this penny...Its in CoinTalk. Thanks David. Nan

 

What are you asking of us here? You've given us a picture and a little background history but now what? To reiterate, "I think that any further speculation is pointless until you do get it authenticated."

 

Should I pay the extra money to have the elements the coin is made from? That's a lot of money, and extra $250 or something like that....I am sending it.

 

Either do the metal test or send it to be graded. We can't help you until you do that. From what your telling us it may have some value but we won't konw unless you get it graded or do a metal test.

 

Ok, I understand. But here is the real question...

The cost is so high to send to (around 500.00) to have the metal test, and the grading, etc., we are afraid of disappointment....however, David at South County Coins was eager to sell it...and he did say it is a viable coin, and to send it in...just putting out 500.00 for a silver penny and not knowing the following:
1.) Since its silver and magnetic, and very unusual, and untouched since 72 or 73 by my husband as a child, what kind of money are we talking? 100,000 or 3 Cents...

2.) This is a huge financial roll of the dice, but, I cant find any info.,, anywhere else.

3.) Is there a less expensive way to do this done less expensive other then PCG AND NGC?

I NEED HELP...MAKING UP MY MIND....

 

Please be honest. Nan

 

I don't know who is quoting you prices for the composition testing, but if you can find a jeweler or a "We buy gold" place that has a XRF gun they would probably do it for under $10. Or if you send it to the TPG's as a mint error and as an off metal planchet they will likely run the test themselves. The total cost for testing, grading, shipping and handling will be around $65. they may not give you a complete composition breakdown but they will be able to tell if it is an off-metal planchet or not.

 

Well, we sent it in to the big company of gradings...but we did go to a coin dealer, certified, and he could not tell us the metal components. However, he wanted to sell it for us. He was extremely interested. It was then we knew we had a unique coin. I wish I knew all of this, prior, but, now its up to the grading company. We may be out money, but then again, who knows what this unique coin is...we will find out in the next 2 months or so. It takes longer for the metal testing.
May I ask this question....Lets say the coin went thru on the wrong planchet, what makes a coin like this valuable to a collector? The fact of how rare it is? The color and the fact that it is magnetic? Please reply.

 

http://coinquest.com/cgi-bin/cq/coins?main_coin=7726
This is a quick read on mint-made errors. Your coin MAY be worth from a few hundred to a few thousand, depending on exactly what it is and, more importantly, how much someone is willing to pay. I doubt you'll be able to retire on it. Too bad about the scratch.

 

Thank you David, I read this information. I guess we will wait and see what made that penny the color it is. Gee, my hopes sure plummeted when I read that. However, what if we are the only ones who have a penny like that, even with the scratch? Is being a one of a kind considered in the valuation?

 

This is true, but the problem is, what foreign planchet could it be? I have a reference that was done by Tim Ziebarth in 2006 showing all countries the US struck coins for. It includes the years spanned, country, mint locations, ect. The only coin listed that could have been struck in Denver in 1972, and is "close" to the same diameter planchet as a Lincoln cent, is a Liberia 5 cent. However, it was made of copper-nickel. So, it wouldn't be magnetic. It weighed 4.1 grams and had a 20 mm diameter. Would a 20 mm planchet fit into a Lincoln striking chamber without having to be forced? Without a correct weight, I still think its plated.

 

Well, it weighs the weight of a penny...3.11. The coin store weighed it...and verified it is a true penny. It is magnetic. The diameter seemed to be the same as a penny, however, the rim was wider. When I placed 3 of them side by side, and looking at them from the side, the one we have is thicker. At least the rim felt and looked wider than a normal penny...even tho the weight is correct.
I did what you did in looking to see what they were making at the Denver Mint in 72 and the closest I could find were the Mint sets for 72 with 40 percent silver (for collectors). Who knows? I don't, but I trust PCG will know. I asked them for a metal list/test of what elements made up this unusual penny.
I don't think it's plated. Truly. I watched on U-Tube how they do that, and only people with devious minds and chemist types would do that. My husband was a kid in grade school when he put his penny away with all his other "kid cool stuff" in his milk box. I originally put a photo of the Milk Box instead of our dog as our picture, but took it down. He kept an army man, marbles, rocks, etc...little boy stuff. Believe me, he was no chemist. If it was plated, the man at the coin shop, certified by PCG would have known that. He did some tests and looked at it with a machine type thing. He however asked if we would be willing to sell it and that he would represent us. That makes me think it is not plated. Why would he be so interested?

 

As a follow up, when my husband was little and scratched the surface (bored in class) good job there!, anyway, wouldn't the rarity of this override the scratch?
Plus, at least he did not scratch the writing or the face. Thank goodness. It's funny, but when I looked at it in the sun, where the scratch is, it was very shiny silver. Anyway, would the rareness of the coin override the devalue of the scratch? That is a difficult question...but I do wonder.

 

Do you have a picture of the reverse of the coin and also one of the coin showing that it's actually attracted to a magnet?

 

I turned a penny "silver" and one "gold" in 9th grade physical science.

 

It's extremely easy to do I've done tons of them with my kids. OP's coins looks like what happens when you plate one with the zinc but never heat it to turn it gold and leave it sitting around; not saying it is one of those though. Which is why I'd like to see photo proof that the coin actually is magnetic as that would at least rule out the simple science plating experiment. It still could be plated though with something magnetic I suppose.

 

PCG=PCGS
Magic Milk Carton=Holy Grail

 

The picture looks interesting but the backstory and repetition of things (the milk carton, misspelling after misspelling of the TPGs after people have spelled it correctly, 250-500 fees etc) is rather bizarre. I'm very skeptical of all this. Why would you even contemplate or be told by a dealer to pay 250 (or is it 500?) dollars to have a test of its composition? Send it in as an error and you will find out what its primary metal is. And if a dealer sends it for you, it won't cost anywhere near the prices you're throwing out there. If this is true, sorry for being so critical, and please update us.

 

Ok, let me try. In my mind, it seemed important to those on Coin talk to find out what the coin was made of. Thus, I sent it in the PCG. My thinking was if we know all the elements in this coin, then, and only truly then, can the coin be determined what it is...is it a trial, error, pattern? They were working on the new coins at that time...who knows? Not us. My husband and I talked and thought that we must know all the elements this coin is made of. That is why we sent it in.
Next, the dealer. After his interest in getting involved in a sale of a penny which he could tell us little more than the weight, and authenticate that it is a true penny...we felt safer sending it in to the grading company ourselves.
So, now that it is there, they will let us know everything. Yes, it is costly, but at least we will know what we have.
My father, who passed away collected coins, not neatly, or labeled, but in a bag. It was only recently I began to catalogue his coins. My dad was a cop all my life, eventually a U.S. Marshal when he passed away. He instilled in me how many people were criminals, and be careful...etc. So, my trust in people is minimal, at best. When you grow up with a police officer teaching you to be good and honest and true, (like dad), questioning other peoples motives has become a part of my life.
Yes, you have been critical, as others are. I cant blame you. But, I assure you all I say is true. It is the only way I know how to be, an honest person. Maybe I misspell at times, and my computer jumps constantly while typing (time for a new computer), but, eventually I hope to be as educated as 1/3 of the people on Coin Talk. This takes time, so forgive my errors with terms, etc...I will learn. I appreciate the criticism actually, it helps me learn. At times I feel like a 10 year old, but my knowledge on coins is so limited. Actually, all I have done is marked dads coins when I placed them in holders, and worked on my husbands penny. I am a beginner.
Fees: When I called the grading company, (to make sure I filled my first form out correctly), they have a test they do on the metal composition, its called XRF-Metal Composition, and you place it under "other."
With there being a magnetic property, paying additional funds seemed logical to us to find out what all the elements are in the coin.
In a few weeks I will release the findings to you, and all who have any interest. I hope this helps.