Strange 1953 Lincoln Wheat Penny

Hello CoinTalk! I have trolled these forums for a couple of days and decided to finally make my first post. I didn't know if this is an error coin so I posted it here. About 8 months ago I was searching through some 1943 Steel Pennies and came across this 1953 Wheat Penny. At first sight, it looked like a high grade Steel Penny due to the color (I'm guessing that's why it was in my Steel Pennies). I looked at the 1953 date and I knew it wasn't a Steel Penny (the sound by dropping it and the feel were dead giveaways as well). I have never seen a Penny like this one before. The composition is definitely copper/zinc/tin (95/5) and it weighs in at 3.2g. I have no clue as to what caused this anomaly. I'm almost certain that the Penny isn't painted because I found a 1941 S Wheat Penny in the same group that was crudely painted silver and it was quite obvious. I have two scans of the coin @850dpi, but they really don't do the coin much justice. There is a high amount of detail on the coin and it is quite shiny but doesn't show up well in my scans (waves in the hair of Lincoln can still be easily seen and on the reverse the wheat leaves are highly detailed as well). I have my assumptions about the coin, but being pretty new to numismatics, I figured I would give CoinTalk a try. I'm hoping this is a mint mistake or some type of toning and not damaged or altered by another person, but it is what it is. Thank you in advance for any information you can provide!

 

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I may have been zinc plated, I have done that to pennies before. It may be missing its copper plating, but that is unlikely since it weighs the correct amount.

 

Lincoln cents weren't copper plated in 1953.. they were bronze (95% copper and 5% tin/zinc); this example has been electroplated with either nickel or zinc, as dicussed many times here on CT. Here's just one thread for reference:

http://www.cointalk.com/t32738/

And welcome to the forum!

 

PMD, not an error.

 

There have been many numerous kinds of plating done to cents, I recently purchased a 1906 IHC that is beautifully plated, I think in chrome. Interesting piece when you consider someone took the time and made the effort to complete the plating.

 

I have a 1935 wheat cent that I took into a coin dealer to ask about. It was a bright shiny silver penny. He tested it and it was plated in white gold. He said it was probably for someone's anniversary or birthday or something important. Not worth much, but really cool to say the least.

 

Thanks for the help everyone! Into the collection it goes...at least I know how it got that way. Sorry if the question has been answered before, I'll use the search function next time .

 

hey JPSTUNNA,
I FOUND ONE ALSO TODAY, BUT MINE IS A 1953D. ANYONE HAVE ANY WORD ON THIS?

 

I found a 1953-D it looks silver it's in mint condition but not sure if it's silver or not

 

Your Caps Lock is on.

 

I found a 1953-D it looks silver it's in mint condition but not sure if it's silver or not

 

I found a 1953-D it looks silver it's in mint condition but not sure if it's silver or not

 

The cause of yours is almost certainly the same as was given earlier on this thread; plating. However, if you'd like opinions on your very coin, it would be best to start a new thread, with photos.

 

I have found one as well. Looks beautiful. Just not sure what to think.

 

There may have been a time when some high school shop classes would teach about electro-plating. It would be natural to use a penny to see how it worked. This is pure speculation, of course.

 

I have one too. A 1953 d penny that is semi magnetic . I refuse to believe some school science class electroplated all these people's 1953 penny and then distributed all over the USA. I MEAN REALLY? I made a video on YouTube about it.
Google video "semi magnetic penny could be worth millions"

 

Yes, "really". Think about it... first, you seem to be under the impression one single science class is responsible, when the fact is this is a very common experiment done for many years by classes all over this country. Secondly, and I mean no disrespect, you "refuse to believe" a class responsible, but were willing to make a video openly claiming it "could be worth millions"? Does that really make any sense?

 

I love these silver penny threads. Just when you think they've come to an end, another pops up.

 

Plated - It's a Science Class experiment!

You mentioned in your video that it's not steel plated like the 1943... 1943 Cents are not steel plated, they are steel planchets!
It your 1953 Cent was steel it would not be semi attracted to a magnetic.. It would completely stick to a magnet!

 

Maybe 10 Trillion Dollars.. Zimbabwe!