any thoughts on this this penny? I found it in a roll of all brand new 2000 pennies years ago. it is not painted it has even tarnished a little bit. it appears to be minted without the copper. is there a name for this?
now that you ask it is a little bit lop sided. the tails side has the full rim around it but on the heads side it is a bit thinner and missing the rim on about 1/3 where he is facing. from the side it is almost the same size as another penny but tapers somewhat to a rounded edge. i do not have a precise scale but it seems a bit heavier than another penny even though it is slim on one side.
The AM is not wide. it is definately missing some mass and lop sided, maybe made from another coin or..?
like non cents said , could be a unplated cent. this is what our new cent coins look like without the super thin copper coating.
Looks like someones science experiment escaped into the wild imo. http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/a/goldsilverpenny.htm
there are some unplated cent coins that were actually made this way by the mint. there are also lots more out there that was done like you said. a real one would need to be authenticated by a error expert. the acid treated ones I have seen usually have a satin looking finish.
I hope these pictures are better. It came out of a brand new roll of all matching 2000 pennies from Wells Fargo. If it is unplated does anyone have a guess what it would cost to have PCGS grade it?
Here is a thread on another forum that shows a PCGS coin as such. I still have doubts as I can see copper color remains on the eyebrow and within hair lines, but can't magnify the PCGS image enough to see if that is normal. http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=106845