I'm brand new to collecting and not sure where to go with this one. I've found some pennies that have a bubbly surface usually on both the obverse and reverse. Whats the deal with these? It's amusing to see lincoln with measles or "liberty" with an extra dot over the I...but how does this happen and are they worth anything? Thanks!
I've come across quite a few of these already of various years, typically around that time. I don't think it's really worth anything though, but I would wait for another member to chime in as I'm still fairly new
I also have seen a number of cents like these. And they do seem to be close to that year. However, I've always assumed PMD. Any other opinions?
In 1982 they switched to copper coated zinc for the pennies about mid-year. For the first several years, they hada a devil of a time getting the coppe to stick to the zinc core. Where it did not stick, it blistered. Although they have made significant improvement, even today on 69 proof coins you can see some minor blistering.
back to the op it sounds like they may be worth one cent at least you know it is a zinc 82, next question..large or small? i vote large
It looks like some sort of die deterioration. Either that or the coin has been chemically rinsed. -Brian
The 1982 cents were pure copper plated on pure zinc and as Rim Cents said they had problems with the copper bonding. One of the problems is that zinc is very reactive and quickly forms an oxide layer. The copper plating can bridge over that layer but doesn't bond with it. In 1983 they changed the core composition slightly by adding a little copper to it. This improved the bonding but they have still had some problems with it ever since.
Nice. You guys are all helpful. I might start setting them aside. It would be amusing to have a collection of "toad-cents."
