Looks like a quarter but the weight is 5.2 g ? I'm stumped !?! Any suggestions are welcome. Kind regards , Chris
The pictures are too small but looks like it was dug out of the ground at some time as the ground acid would wear away at the metal and copper. Thus would weigh less than a more pristine copy. Remember coins are made of metal just like an old car body rusting away in a field. All more commonly generically known as Environmental Damage.
So spec on that quarter is 5.67 grams with a tolerance of 0.227gr. So 5.443gr is the low weight. Yours is below that so could be environmental damage...
Just Enviromental Damage. It is an old quarter exposed to the elements. I have seen thousands just like yours when in my Metal Detecting finds.
In the grass.. Fresh drops. Maybe there for a few days. For example. I can detect a certain grassy field and find nothing. A week later I go to the exact same area and find like $2.00 in Quarters, Nickels and Dimes and maybe also a ring. Happens a lot. Those coins would not suffer Environmental Damage in a short period of time. But coins that are buried for years get bad. Here are examples from my finds that were buried deep -
Actually.. I think it does. You need a few years for the Cupro-Nickel to tone to a darker color from what I have seen in my 10 years experience in Metal Detecting.
This is not a jab. I'm learning quickly to specifically state my comments. What I meant by the word long was, after a few years the corrosion really becomes apparent.
The solubility of metals increases as soil Ph decreases. So the eating away of the metal will vary from location to location. This excludes wear such as if it was found at a beach after long exposure. I believe copper gets affected greatly with Ph levels below 6. I'd have to try to find some info on cupronickel alloys but I would guess lower than copper.