Found this a few months ago, and thought everyone would enjoy it: I've done a lot of research, and the only other one, that I could find, that was similar, was a 1995, that is missing all of the plating, but the areas around the letters/date, and Abe are very similar. Thoughts/Opinions welcomed.
This is what happened. Someone purposely removed some of the copper layer exposing the Zinc layer below. True story. Believe it or not. WELCOME to CoinTalk BTW!!
With all due respect, this definitely wasn't done post-mint. Most likely the metal was somehow contaminated, and the plating didn't adhere to the struck areas? I've seen a few like this before, but with different patterns. Here is the other one I was able to find, and the pattern is very similar, as compared to mine: The only difference is, the other one is missing all of it's plating. Been doing this for over 30 years, and this is definitely a first, lol! Thanks for the welcome, btw!
Well. I'm 57 and I say and I'm 1000% sure that everyone here is on board with my assessment of this coin. Copper is softer than Zinc. It's all PMD. Like the coin that I have in hand.
Fair enough. Found this on CoinFacts, and if you look at the discoloration around the details, again similar pattern. Btw, I'm not trying to come across as being argumentative. I just find this type of stuff extremely interesting, and really look forward to being a quality contributer. Thanks for the info.
The coinfacts Cent shown was caused by natural toning and looks nothing like your Cent. Your Cent looks like it was spray painted and it came off.
Looks like the coin was painted and polished off. Cleaned coins look like this leaving the dirty areas that can't be cleaned remaining along the devices like this.
It definitely wasn't painted, or cleaned. As I said before, I've seen other ones like this, just with different patterns, and nothings as severe. If you look at the really close-up pics, you'll notice that there are no defined lines between the copper, and the zinc, which means that it's not layered. If it was panted/flaked, there would be noticable lines in the magnified images.
Doesn't look like that in-person. Just for the fun of it, I put it under a blacklight, and if it was painted, it would glow:
That's silver spray paint. I have seen how the paint adheres in between the columns of the Lincoln Memorial many times before. You can show all the pictures, filters and different lighting effects you want. But unfortunately that's no mint error of any kind. And you are not going to convince anyone on this forum that it is an error Welcome to Cointalk Mr. Ed - Collecting, studying and attributing mint errors since 1986.
I vote, not an error as well. Notice that all the lettering has copper plating. The only way that could've happen is if there were perfectly shaped copper plated letters and numbers in the unplated areas before the coin was struck. If you really want to be sure, soak your coin in 100% acetone. Acetone will not damage copper or zinc, but it is well known for dissolving paint. Welcome to CoinTalk!
Thanks for the welcome! I will definitely try that. Also, I found a local PCGS-authorized dealer, who specializes in error coins, and I'm going to contact him on Monday, just to get a professional opinion. Not getting my hopes extremely high, but a man can dream, lol! I'll be sure to post updates.
Immediately thought spray paint. A dip in acetone would lift the paint and if it were zinc, not harm it.
Back a few years ago (maybe 10-20) some people would air-blast coins with talc to remove surface grunge/marks. It was like sand-blast, but talc was used and, supposedly, did no damage or evidence of cleaning. Would that stuff come off with a soft Q-tip?
As said above the heavy edge looks to be the silver color. Which says that the silver color was added. If it was some kind of partial plating the heavy edge would be the copper plating. It is an altered cent IMO.
A soak in acetone will lift the paint without a Q-tip. Maybe a stubborn spot would need a mechanical assist, but probably not.
Those are great photos and I can't see it any other way than that the silver is on top of the copper and not under it. I can see edges where the silver is separating away from the copper. I bet if you scraped it with your fingernail you would see bits come off.