WOW, I can't wait to see what the pro's have to say about this one. Looks pretty nice though!! :thumb:
The copper layer was almost certainly removed my acid, probably in some sort of science experiment. The way the surface is scarred is indicative of this.
Real zinc cents without their copper layer are very similar in appearance to '43 steel cents. Normally the best way to tell if the copper layer has been stripped off is to examine the coin for remenants of the copper having been there. A real missing layer coin would not have even a speck of copper on it anywhere. The edge, the details in the memorial buildind and lincoln's clothes and hair are where the acid would leave behind spots of copper. A quick soak in nitric acid or some other chemicals causes this. That being said the rough looking surface and haziness and cloudiness of the coin itself compared to pics on the following link I would say no it's an altered coin made to look like a missing layer. Value 1 cent. http://askaboutcoins.com/2009/04/un-plated-lincoln-cent/
A bath in Hcl (hydrochloric acid or muriatic acid) can cause the copper layer to be dissolved, leaving the zinc core.
Hum, I'm off to buy a bucket of acid and get my ebay listings ready. "rare hoard of zinc pennies found!!" Joking...though it wouldn't make me the worst seller on there!!!
That wouldn't make you the worst seller on ebay. It wouldn't even put you in the top 100. I'm sure you'd certainly find plenty of buyers, though.
You've actually got that exactly backward. HCl will gobble zinc, but without adding some other things to the mix, it won't do much to copper. http://www2.uni-siegen.de/~pci/versuche/english/v44-24-1.html
We won't be able to help much without clear photos, but it's most likely that the copper plating got scraped off around your coin's rim, exposing the nickel underneath. That wouldn't add any value. You'll probably get more responses if you start a new thread. Welcome to CoinTalk!
