Hi All! Found this recently, and have looked carefully to see signs of plating etc, but all looks (to my untrained eye) legit. I am aware there is reported to be a practice around the war periods of putting spent shell casings from the war effort into the furnace, hence the woodgrain patterning of unmixed metals on some pennies of the period, but I have never seen one this brassy. Pics have been taken next to a normal penny- the difference is considerable. I think the kings norton blanks of around the same period have a reddish chocolate colour, but this is much yellower than any other I have found. They both weigh approx the same (I say approx because my scales only go to one decimal place) and have the usual dimensions. In my infinite wisdom (and this is something I would never normally do) I turned the coin on its edge and made a scratch to see if it was plated, but the underneath was the same (slightly brighter after being unexposed). Please don't shout at me for this, I know I did wrong but I was thoroughly unconvinced before the primitive 'scratch test' and had to scratch my curiosity itch! I would really welcome any info anybody could provide on this, I have tried the usual searches online and found a nickel strike but no other info beside the 'shell casing' theory. I am sure this will turn out to be nothing, but I must put my mind at rest! If any other pics are required for a diagnosis please let me know. Best Wishes and thank you!
Could be an off-metal error? High ZN >15% could produce a brassy coloration from my research. I do not research contemporary counterfeit off-metals this late ... normally pre-1800 ... generally. John Lorenzo Numismatist United States
