Missing Link? One Unusual 1974 Lincoln Cent Error!

Hi, New member here. I'm a long time amateur coin collector, like "rank" amateur! I find them and keep them and that has been about it.
I found this coin in my pocket 10-15 years ago and took it home and put it away with other coins and forgot about it. The other night I was watching Pawn Stars and something jogged my memory about this coin. Sure enough, it was right where I left it years ago.
The coin in question is a 1974 Philadelphia Lincoln penny. It caught my eye immediately when I pulled it from my pocket with other change. It is a copper penny on the obverse and would draw no attention to itself. However, the reverse is gold colored bronze clad. To complicate things, the cladding is open for about 1/3 of the diameter centered on the upper and middle part of the memorial. The underlying copper has been struck by the die exactly as intended and the full reverse face is complete and nice. The cladding is definitely raised and very small traces of bronze can be seen around the opening on the copper. The rim or edge of the coin clearly shows the bronze against the copper. It appears to have very small stress cracks at a couple of spots. I think the cladding had a hole in it pior to being struck, it's the only way I can explain the fine die strike. I took it to the local jeweler and it weighed 3.2 gram. The coin is circulated, but probably not much and still retains a small amount of lustre (red state?) of the copper and the bronze is still shiny. It is non-magnetic. I'm trying to upload photos now, bare with me.

 

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A fast way to insert a photo is to copy and paste right into your comments.

 

I could take a wild guess but will wait for photos.

 

I'm on my smart phone and photos are right below this post

 

IMHO it has been plated. That's considered Post Mint Damage. (PMD).

 

Dried adhesive.

Not an error.

 

Copper Cents do NOT have a clad layer.
There is no cladding.

 

Elmer's finest . . .

Dries translucent. Must have been glued to a kids school project display or similar . . . .

Z

 

This coin appears to the naked eye and my magnifier, to have a bronze cladding on
the reverse. What is being seen is a hole in the cladding and it has been lifted and it's thickness is evident. There is a microscopic amount of green verdigris around the perimeter and what appears to be a very small amount of bronze on the copper where the two metals were married(?). The die strike appears to be perfect across the entire reverse. Nothing has been glued that can be seen and there is no electroplating. Certainly could be a hoax meant to deceive, but it would have been done by someone with a high degree of skill and tooling only to end up in my pocket change! Like I said, it's unusual and my curiosity is piqued. I'm going to walk it in to an expert who can do an in person evaluation/inspection. It needs to go under the microscope! When it happens, I will try and follow up. Thank you for your appraisals.

 

An angled view of the reverse like you show for the obverse with much better focus might help.

From what you've presented, it looks like glue.

Z

 

Please do so ASAP..

Remember.. Copper Cents are not clad. There is no cladding.

 

I'm seeing a damaged coin.

 

Looks like it was glued down to something for a while. maybe a floor, tricking people that try to pick it up and one lucky goose finally had the finger strength, or brought a screwdriver and won the game! 1974 cents were brass. it is an alloy of 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc, they were made like this from 1962-1982. There is no plating or cladding at all. there were experimental pieces in completely different metals that are sketchy to own, I think there's a Bronze-clad Steel Cent, and an aluminum cent of the experiments with new metals from 1974. Either way, These pictures isn't that.

 

Old adhesive, it may even cone off by lightly rubbing your finger over it.

 

Could have been glued to something and came off--welcome

 

Welcome to CT @Rob Robert. When posting photos, here is the advice I always give.
You should always post in focus FULL IMAGE photos (after you upload your photo, two buttons appear: Thumbnail and Full Image, click Full Image and your photo appears full size on your post and is easily enlarged by clicking on it. Always show both the obverse and reverse, even if your question is just about one side. Members can often give more valuable information having both sides to evaluate. Crop out superfluous background so just the coin shows, and post photos with correct orientation so members don't have to turn their computer in some awkward fashion to view it properly. Add close ups of areas you have questions about and make your questions as definitive as possible so we know what you are asking for. And try to have the best lighting possible to show the most favorable photo of the coin. Hope this helps in the future. Good luck.

 

Very interesting

 

Welcome to CT better luck next time. PMD not a keeper.