1967 Penny-- Is this an error coin or just PMD

Here is a 1967 Penny I found. I don't have the diameter of the coin but it is smaller than every penny I have ever held.





Here it is on the left next to a 1967 dime and another 1967 penny.





Here is the other 1967 penny....





And here is the 1967 dime.....







Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

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The first 1967 has an altered edge. It was damaged after I left the US Mint and it's not a mint error of any kind unfortunately.

The Dime and the other 1967 Cents have circulation wear and tear

 

How did it get so small?

 

Hmm? It went in the pool.
Seriously, it was mangled and misshapen.

 

It was probably shaved down to fit a 10 cent machine.

 

Only the bored person who did it would know that. Back then they made Cents smaller to use them as Dimes in phone booths. Have you ever heard the saying.. drop a dime?

It's still not a mint error.

 

The first cent is altered, so damaged after leaving the mint. The dime and the other cent are worn from circulation.

 

What Pickin and Grinin said is correct.
Back in the day when a dime was still money, and mechanical machines
did not really sense anything but roughly the correct size of the metal slug inserted into it, pennies were filed down to the size of dimes.
They fit pop machines, parking meters, pay phones, toll booths, juke boxes, pinball machines and other devices that accepted dimes.

 

10-4. Thank you all for the comments. I have no clue about most of this stuff so when I find something different I come to you strangers for advice and it is much appreciated.

And @paddyman98 yes I have heard of drop a dime, but generally that makes me think of a touch pass or a back of the end zone over the shoulder pass that only your receiver can catch. But also things can change at the drop of a dime. lol.

 

Okay

1960s and 1970s
The phrase "drop a dime" originated in the 1960s and 1970s when payphones were common in the United States. It refers to making a phone call, particularly to report criminal activity anonymously, as it cost ten cents (a dime) to use a payphone. The expression has evolved to mean snitching or informing on someone, often used in a negative context, such as reporting illegal activities to authorities. Today, it retains its meaning in various contexts, but its usage has declined as payphones have become less common.

 

Thanks for taking me back in time @paddyman98. That sure brings back a lot of memories. Silver dimes were still in use.

 

Exactly what @Pickin and Grinin said, Need a cold soda? The machines of that time were very tolerant. Blanks and file downs were common.

 

We all work together as a team right, I just happened to be at the right fingers at the right time, I remember the days.

 

I personally think it would be kinda neat to own one of those shaved down pennies.

 

Honestly, I think it spent too much time in the pool.

 

Its for sale... lol

 

Ahh ok. Now I remember hearing that. I'm almost a little too young for that. Born in '76, but yes I do recall the meaning for drop a dime. I never knew the whole story. Thanks for that history lesson. I do remember paying 10¢ to make a phone call. And the song that stated: "here's a quarter call someone who cares".

On a lighter note, right before pay phones became extinct, I was in my college days, and was at a frat party. I had partaken in some mind altering substances and somehow ended up outside and was running from the Ho Chi Minh. I was in the rice paddies freaking out. Found a payphone and decided I should get some help and called 911. They answered and I realized what I did so I hid in the pay phone half booth until I heard the cop car sirens and then decided it be best if I got out of there. So I ran jumped in a ditch and waited till the sirens were gone and then somehow found my way back to the party and caught up with my friends. Told them the story and they figured it be best to get me back to house so I could continue my journey where it was safer. LOL.

Hopefully that last bit doesn't offend anybody. Was just a story that came to mind that I thought would be comical to share. If you take offense to it, then please accept my apology for sharing it. But, I will never apologize for being me. And I would think most would get a little chuckle out of it, at the least.

 

back in the old days when you feed a machine (phone, etc) the receptor had slots in it. Those slots were organized to take the widest and longest first. The dime being the smallest was easy to shave down a penny to make those machines think it was a dime simply because it was accepted into the slot.
.
I have an old money sorting "toy" which is slot based, similar to the insides of all those 50+ yr old devices.

 

You're mixing up your idioms. "At the drop of a hat" means you're willing to do something without hesitation, immediately without a second thought, etc. Originating in the early 19th century with signaling the start of a race or fight by literally dropping a hat, here https://grammarist.com/idiom/at-the-drop-of-a-hat/. "Turn on a dime" means to abruptly change directions, originating with vehicles and maneuverability, https://www.myenglishpages.com/idiom/turn-on-a-dime-meaning-and-examples/. To "drop a dime (on)" as mentioned means to rat somebody out. Changing "at the drop of a dime" has never been an expression that I've heard, and I have no idea why it would be used in football! I guess people start mixing up the idioms and then that becomes a new idiom, or something.

I remember the different sized slots and how easy it was to use slugs instead, because all you needed was something round that fit in the slot. But as kids wanting to call mom and tell her we were ready to get picked up, it was simpler to make a collect call, and when the operator got mom on the phone to ask if she'd accept the call, just quickly talk over the operator and say "mom pick us up!" and hang up. (I'm pretty sure operators got sick of this strategy)

 

In football these days they use "dime" when the QB throws a precise pass that hits the receiver right in the hands. "his best pass of the day, a dime deep to Chase, should have been a touchdown but was dropped."