Ok, what's the deal on this guy. Has a frosty silvery unfinished type of coating. I figure it's not an error, but still very interesting. So please, feel free to educate me. I appreciate..
Are people really that bored? Who wakes up and. Says today I think I'll buff me some pennies lol crazy, I guess me because I'm about to try for the hell of it lol. Thanks for your Input and happy holidays!
Lol, good question. People spent a lot less time on the internet when this coin was minted way back in '97. Must have been boring back in those days
Copper plated Zinc planchet. The core/center is mostly Zinc. That would actually be the Zinc underneath the Copper coating Zinc is Silvery in color JIC.. @JCro57 Any thoughts?
It doesn’t look like zinc to me, note how some of the letters in IGWT still have their copper. I’m on the paint side, but barely. May be wrong.
I also noticed faint little diagonal lines on the obverse side which I have seen on other Lincoln cents that had their original color. Wonder what that's from?
I think paint may actually be the correct answer and those lines are caused by the brush used to apply the paint! JMO!!!
Being a '97 I would think zinc rot would have taken over a long time ago if it was in fact the zinc core showing. As for acid I think any used to remove the plating would have destroyed the zinc surface and details. That zinc crap rots in the open air, acid is a heck of a lot stronger than air, lol. I'm thinking it looks like paint too.
Nice Hypothesis, however I tend to disagree probably because I have the coin in hand and can actually inspect the coin more closely vs a image or picture. Paint will chip off if you pick at it long enough. This coin I tried taking my finger nail to see if it could be scratched away, but nothing. I tried running it under water with a very mild soap and still nothing. It's quite puzzling. Thanks for having a look and giving your input!
The life span of a nice smooth plating of a Lincoln cent made mostly of zinc that was found in circulation wouldn't be very long at all. The fact that it was minted in 1997 and it's 2021 what is that 14 15 years and survived a acid test and any other experiment and remains in this great condition is still a mystery to me.