zincoln face weighs 0.041g

So I was bored this weekend.
One of my hobbies is in the area of micro "stuff" .. soldering, metal & wood working.

So .. yup. .. I peeled a zincoln but an easier way then the one pic below (which is another post).

The two faces weigh 0.082g


one side was 0.041

 

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Did you use a chemical method, or just mechanical? Does the shell come loose from the zinc once you get it started mechanically?

 

I did both methods.

mechanically peeling a surface was difficult (scrap some zinc from the side to expose the backside , then .0015" wedges to start separating it, continued scraping, etc) and with my muscular/nerve thing I didn't have the control nor stamina (I'm limited to like 30 seconds to 3 minutes) and I would rip it from some nerve jerks.

So the 2nd time after peeling the rim a bit I just dumped it in muriatic acid (outside) and then it was simple to get the two faces in the above post.

 

Ooh, and environmental damage can make zincolns light. From washer/dryer, to just lost zinc. I had some cents that gave off dust (badly corroded and white all over) and were about 20% light.

I made this too ... 1.6ish grams light.

 

That's interesting, but my next question to you would be, "How much does Lincoln's beard weigh?" ~ Chris

 

lol
just a hair's breadth

 

Looks like you left something behind. At 2.5% copper, the copper part of a zincoln should weigh 0.0625 grams. Cool, nonetheless!

 

it was way too fragile/thin to try to scrap off the zinc gunk remnants.

just finger rubbing pressure makes the copper rip and shred.

 

Yeah, I was dredging up old quantitative-analysis technique memories for this. Difficulty: I never actually took the lab for that, so I've never actually done the stuff.

If I were going to do this, I'd probably go after the zinc with alkali, probably just sodium hydroxide (lye) solution. That seems least likely to attack the copper, and most likely to clean off all the residue. Maybe?

 

Yeah, I had spare muriatic acid from cleaning concrete from several years ago.
And after reading years ago about how zinc loves muriatic acid ... well, that always stuck to the back of my mind.

 

That it does, and muriatic acid is more likely to attack any metal impurities in the zinc as well. It can attack copper too, though, if there's enough oxygen or other trouble-makers present.

Oh, and I'd forgotten (but Wikipedia hadn't) -- the copper shell is only 1.7% of the cent by weight; the other 0.8% is copper alloyed with the zinc. So, the copper skin should weigh less than 2.5% of the full struck weight.

 

Ironically, the two "faces" weighed the same but were not complete faces.
I am missing the lip that curves up to the rim, and the top of the rim.
I only have maybe 80% of the peeled outer edge face too.
So mine is not the complete weight, plus other impurities and such.

I'm sure I could improve my technique for more accuracy .. but ... not any time soon.

I do have a few examples of a nearly complete outer shell and minimal innards ... but you can't touch with your fingers otherwise you crush them. tweezers only ....

 

Yeah, I guess if I wanted to do a real quantitative analysis, I'd dissolve everything (copper and zinc), then precipitate the copper back out as something insoluble and weigh that (after drying it). It's going to be nearly impossible to get that residue off the copper skin without shredding it and taking pieces of it along.

 

Yup, go right ahead.
I left my beakers back in my chemistry classes.

You're welcomed to improve my above incomplete dismantling of a zincoln.
but by dissolving all of it .. you don't have the pieces to then ask about it being a rare Mint error; how much it's worth; how much to get it slabbed and where to sell it OR make a much needed YouTube video about.

 

I've made my position clear in earlier threads: every Zincoln is a mint error.

 

yeah but how much are they worth and where can I sell 'em ??

gotta love interpretive wording ...

 

I'm wondering how a Zincoln hull could be used by crafters. Is it thin and smooth enough that you could use a bunch of them to easily wrap around something, buff a little, varnish and sell for Obscene Profit™ (once one values their time at about 25c/hour)?

 

I would think too much time involved .
It is much easier to use some sample coins and create a reverse die and then stamp it on some softened copper sheet. If you wanted it round then you can cut or circular stamp them out.

 

Here is a zinc cent I have.
It is only the obverse thin copper-plating layer.
No idea How someone managed to do this, but it was so cool I paid $20 for it.