Indian Head Cent - Gold?

I'm not a drug dealer either but you can buy an accurate digital scale that weighs Troy ozs, grams etc. Here's the first one I came up with: http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-Coin-Sc...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item563a577f67

It'll tell you a lot about your coins that you dig. (That's a pun, too.)

Bruce

 

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The 1903 IHC Cleaned and More Pictures

Welp!.. My OCD got the best of me and I broke down and cleaned one of them and here are some pictures. I have included some shots of the heavy lip around the edges on both sides.

It's starting to resemble a recovered coin from a sunken ship. ( the back anyway ):goofer:

I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything but if you look at the 1906 Gold IHC on the Heritage Auction Website Unusual Items: 1906 Indian Cent. Struck in Gold : Coin Collecting News That 1906 Gold Coin has the exact same Lip around the edges.

:: auctioneer's voice :: "Do I hear 175,000? ":hammer:

 

Thanks, I'm checking it out as we have Pun!

 

The bidding ended on that one so I had to bid on a different one.

The seller lives 15 miles from me. I always rest easy when I can hunt them down.

 

Is it just me or don't you find it alittle unusual that there are three reported Gold Indian Head Cents in 1900 and One in 1905 and '06 and '07 but yet these were supposedly done intentionally? If done intentionally someone should have caught onto it and stopped it.

I think there are more out there to be found myself.

I could understand if it happened one year and someone put an end to it but it seems as though it is random.

 

Before and After of the 1903 Suspect

By the way, I just bought that digital scale for 20 bucks, thank you.

 

The second one isnt gold.
And sorry to bust your bubble neitheir is the first one with the green gunk.. I have one with the same color as yours but a 1902, and 1898. if your interested in a transaction PM me.

 

it's cool

it's cool bro.. no bubble to burst here, I don't take this that serious.

Not sure what green gunk you mean though.. there isn't anything green on any of them.
if you see anything green it's most likely a reflection from the LED lights on the USB cam.

Well, I'm sure you can't tell over this medium anyway if they are, I'll do more research.
I have a scale on it's way and I'll take them to a jeweler soon.

Peace and not interested in a transaction at this time.:bow:

 

Update

My Digital Scale arrived in the mail today and here's an update.

The 1896 IHC weighs 2.8 Grams ( doesn't measure grains )

The 1903 IHC weighs 3.1 Grams.

 

definitely not gold. a quarter eagle weighs 4.18 grams, even with some wear I wouldn't expect an IHC on a quarter eagle planchet to be much under 4 grams at the least.

 

If you want to put a note on your scale,
1 gram = 15.43grains

Normal average weight for a new cent is 3.11 grams.
Jim

 

I concur

I agree and it doesn't have alot of wear .

Still can't figure out why the metal detector keeps calling it a nickel though.

It recognizes other IHC as copper.

 

Thanks Jim

 

well some people -just - dont notice- i have one that weighs -odd- it has silver on rim and -u- can see it through the copper- the pawn man said some one put soder m.s. on it- my daughter coudnt believe how dishonest peopls are-

just cant believe people will do that- no one on here - i just venting- sorry

 

Only raw gold IHC I saw was soldered to a necklace

 

Oddly enough, there is a piece of testing equipment out there...actually, there are several, but for this purpose I'll describe the one I've used quite a bit.

There is an inspection product that is on the market called a "Niton".....It looks very similar to an old Star Trek "Phazer", but a little larger. This is used in a testing proceedure called "Positive Material Indentification"...or, PMI for short.
The older versions of this piece of equipment used two radioactive isotopes (generally Fe55/Cs137), that bombarded an article with gamma radiation. The return backscatter was broken it down into it's most basic forms, and the microprocessor recognized the material content and the total amount of percentage of material in any given article being tested.
So..you would take the piece being tested, place the tip of the "barrel" against that material, pull the trigger, and a few seconds later a complete list of what that test piece was made of..and the percentage of them.

It would show on the screen the percentages of Chromium, Nickel, Steel, Moly, Iconell,etc, etc, etc, then it would tell you what the material was trying to be.... different types of stainless steel, 9 chrome, 5 chrome, 1-1/2 chrome 1/4 moly, vanadium, tungsten, ...if it had mass, the Niton would tell you what it was.



Nowadays the Niton is used in conjunction with x-ray...yep, the little phazer now has one of the smallest x-ray tubes on the market. The basic process of inspection is the same..the technology is going forward.

So...what does all of this mean?...You can "teach" this equipment to recognize certain specific materials, and ignore all the others.
If you are simply looking for gold, and want your answer in about 3 seconds, you need this inspection tool.
Or, you could drag all your stuff to a jewelry shop and let the guy put acid on it.

I've done Industrial Nuclear Radiography for alot of years...instead of an x-ray tube or machine, we use radioactive isotopes (Iridium 192 and Cobalt60) to take x-rays of components, structures, and welds.

I also do Phased Array Ultrasonic testing (PAUT), Compressional/Longitudnal Ultrasonic testing for corrosion analysis (UT), Magnetic Particle Testing (MT..wet and dry), Penetrant testing (PT). Alternating Current Field Measurements (ACFM), and a few more methods of Non-Destructive Testing.
But we do these inspections while rapelling from ropes.
Yep, certified in inspection through the American Society for Non Destructive Testing (ASNT), and certified in industrial rapelling/high angle rescue through the International Rope Access Trade Association.
I've got my Level 2 certs in every one of those methods, and I only needed 40 more hours on the rops to get my Level 3....but I broke my back....thats a story for another day.

I'll try and post one or two pictures of the Niton..

 

So, what does one of these cost and where do you get them? ( answers to both questions are already making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up )

 

wow me too - cool!! make it so!! lol

 

The second one is definitely plated. It may be plated with gold. Gold sets up a different eddy current than the bronze of a cent so a plated cent will not register as a cent on a metal detector.

The first one is discolored. It's hard to say why but the weight rules out gold.

Have Fun,
Bill

 

Wouldn't the NITON give a false reading on a plated coin.

If you use it on a plated coin, it may give you a high percentage reading for gold if a coin is plated in that metal.

On paper, the numbers would indicate a gold composition but in reality the coin would be a valueless , plated Indian cent.

I can see the purpose on a coin that has not been tampered with, but a plated coin would not give a valid reading as a result.

Thanks,
Bill

PS: Still a fascinating device but limited in its ability to accurately identify the composition of a plated coin.