I have only been collecting a few years and am learning as I go along. So I am going through a bunch of old wheat pennies and one in particular was just standing out. It is a darker color then the rest of my wheat pennies. Almost burgundy looking. I was just curious if this is dipped in something or maybe not even a genuine wheat penny. It looks good but like I said its color is vastly different from the rest. Again I am learning as I go along so if this is supposed to be obvious please don't make fun as it is not obvious to me why the color is so different. I apologize if this seems silly but I really want to know if this is supposed to be a play coin or a show off coin (like the 100 dollar bills that are coated with "24k" gold worth has much as the paper it is printed on) It looks really cool and almost fancy, which is why I suspect it is coated with some material just for looks. I have attached a few pictures. Thanks in advance This is a 1944 S wheat penny
Your coin just has 74 years worth of circulation wear. Copper turns all kinds of colors. Yours is nothing out of the norm.
Welcome to CT. The Frog is correct that copper can tone in MANY different ways and I have seen "art" works made of cents that have toned differently.
So this coloring is just due to age and environment? It wasn't dipped in something to make it look pretty. I know its not some rare coin worth a bunch of money, never really thought that was thinking more in the lines of it being painted or dipped for looks like the 100 dollar bill that is "dipped" in "24k" gold. That so called bill is worth absolute nothing but people still buy it because it looks shiny and cool, neat little stocking stuffier if you will. So I was assuming this penny was something along those lines, if that makes sense. It seems like its in too good of shape for the age not to be decorated of some kind. But again I have only been collecting for a few years a really don't know squat about whats what so I very much appreciate being able to ask about these things and being able to learn in this type of way. Thank you to everyone and anyone who adds to this thread. I have much to learn
I can only add that the comments above are correct, environmental. On the other hand, if you find one that is gold in color it might likely be a plated "special" from Littleton Coin Co.
If these were real $100 bills that were gold plated, I would be buying them by the truckload: https://www.ebay.com/itm/24K-99-9-G...307467?hash=item33efe8400b:g:iGEAAOSwNlFbURw2. I've never seen or heard of real $100 bills being plated in gold...link? And BTW, you 1944-S wheat cent is just 'toned' from the environment it was in. This is one I like:
An honest circulated coin which, while not worth much, can hold a very special place in your collection. Cherish the find...........and welcome to the 'mix'.
Wow I like that one too that looks super cool. Sorry if I was not clear enough these gold plated "bank notes" claim to be authentic (lol) however most know they are not. It is not a real 100 dollar bill but it is really plated with 24k. Think of it like this, you will find the same amount of gold at the bottom of a cheap bottle of tequila or on a cake as decoration. These bills sell for around $1-3 I actually have a few and have attached a few pics for reference. They are not hard to find. Just remember these are just for fun and looks nothing more. I really like the look of that penny in multi colors like that, never seen one quite like it.
Are you referring to a gold plated penny? I have a few gold plated quarters but I don't think they are uncommon or special. Or are they? I thought again they were plated just for looks but didn't change the the value. Is this wrong?
The gold plated quarters are a TV and direct mail hawkers dream. They have a miniscule amount of plating and sold for a lot of money. But they are actually ruined coins that are really only worth face value. There are others that are plated with silver, platinum and rhodium. Strictly a novelty item. But if you like them, then that's all that matters. The gold bills are actually gold but it is gold foil and terribly thin. Also a novelty item that sold for a lot of money.
And sometimes the "gold penny" can refer to a high school chemistry experiment where a penny is plated with zinc (a silver penny if you stop there) and then heated to make a thin brass coating which looks "gold".
@Kentucky I'm getting forgetful but wasn't 1992 the year they made the "Yellowjacket" cents? Improper alloy that made them look like gold or gold plated?
