My daughter just got a "silver" penny in change a couple of days ago. I did a search on Google and found a post from three years ago asking about a "stee" penny. The penny my daughter has is non ferrous, does not have mercury on it, don't know if it might have been plated. Anyone have any information about a possible minting error?
This can be resolved This can be resolved. Non~ferrous means you tried a magnet on it, Yes? No mercury? How do you know that? Is it the same size as other cents coins? And now for the ringer....since you seem knowledgeable about facts & figures.....what does it weigh?
Yes, used magnet to know it is non ferrous. Yes, is same size of regular penny. Mercury has a particular feel, since it is liquid.
More than likely this is a result of a popular experiment in middle and high school labs. It appears in several lab manuals and you can see both gold and silver colored cents produced here http://www.metacafe.com/watch/428318/make_gold_and_silver_pennies/ or search google for a copy of the experiment. Most students only hang on to them for a few days and then put them into circulation. It is an interesting experiment and little to go bad for the teacher. Jim
Does it look like this? 1964 cents were still copper. And red cents can be turned silver through heating. (the picture is from my own heating experiment)
Also, it was stated that the coin is the same size as a cent. The picture will help but the likelihood is that the coin is simply another coin that has been plated after it left the Mint. They are out there by the millions with many having been sold on shopping networks. Thanks, Bill
Yuppers I realize now it probably isn't foil, because I did another test with a cent half exposed and it also turned silvery (although I won't completely rule out the possibility).
I also have a "silver" 1964 penny. It's not magnetic, it's the same size as a regular penny. On our food scale, it weighed the same as a regular penny, 3 grams. Our scale doesn't do lower than 1 gram increments, so it could be just over or just under 3 grams. I took a picture next to a regular penny, I hope this turns out ok.
In post #9, Desertgem explains about the science experiments that produces these silver and gold pennies. I've been giving away any I find. I've come across a few over the last year but most are in pretty rough shape.
I will dig through my stock, but it really looks like a plated coin. Back in the day when high schools still had auto and metal shops, guys would play with coins. They acid dipped cents to make them the size of a dime for use in vending machines, chrome plated them for the heck of it and so on. By that, I am guessing your coin has a post mint damage. We would even solder quarters to nails and drive them into the expansion joints in sidewalks with a plastic mallet to watch people try and pick the coin up. gary
It must be a coincidence that the OP's penny and mine are the same year. The chrome plated theory holds a lot of water. Unfortunately, my dad has been dead over 20 years, so I can't ask him, but he graduated High School in 1966, and the date of the coin is 1964, so it very well could have been a High School experiment. He was into cars, so an auto shop class at school seems likely. I'll have to try one of the experiments mentioned earlier. Would you suggest an older copper penny, or a newer zinc penny for that? I know this isn't chemistry experiment forum, but you guys seem to know what you are talking about :yes: