Looks like a wood grain on surface of the coin.. post pic...cant believe I said that.. (improper alloy mix)...….. or Oxidization... maybe
Just search "woody" or "woody cent" on this site. As noted above, I believe generally an improperly mixed alloy gives the coin this appearance.
You find the "wood" effect on nickels all of the time. Doesn't really increase the value, just a cool factor.
For every collector who likes "woody surfaces," there are guys like me who avoid them. I think that the busy toning, or alloy mix interferes with the enjoyment of the design.
Amen. I can't understand why anyone likes this. If I have two of a certain coin and one is a woody, that one is going to be the one to go every time.
As I posted before, I don't buy "Woody Toned" coins, but here is one courtesy of Heritage Auctions. This piece is more to my liking.