2002 D cent wrong metal? missing copper layer?

PM Mike D. and see if he has time to do an examination of the coin. Wait to send it to a grading service (they are expensive) and you need to know if it is real or not...

Some of the pictures make the coin look very convincing, some don't, but the weight makes no sense though - nevertheless it has to be seen by someone qualified in person.

 

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I agree you never know $5-10 buck could turn in $100.00 or more.

 

100 bucks, WOW. Look out for the counterfeiters.

 

That would be a 1st only cents I ever heard of being counterfeited were Key date Wheat
But hex someone in the UK counterfeited a 1 pound coin. so maybe no coin is safe from counterfeiters:kewl:

 

These are counterfeited all the time, whether it be on purpose by someone trying to a make a buck, or accident with someone finding the product of a high school experiment. There are even fakes in slabs I am sorry to say.

BTW I am in the market for a real unplated that has been authenticated by Mike D. and not yet slabbed...

 

I'd be willing to look at it under a microscope and weigh it. Contact me at mdia1@aol.com if you wish to pursue this.

 

I have sent the coin off to Mike to be examined. Hope he has good news for me.

 

Be sure to report back to this thread on the outcome. Thanks

 

Upon examination the coin turned out to be fake. It's plated, probably "wash plated". A normal cent was immersed in a solution saturated with silver ions. Clues are as follows: 1) the coin weighs 2.51 grams -- too heavy; 2) the color is unnatural, with a slight coppery tint; 3) a little bit of rub on the front corner of Lincoln's coat reveals underlying copper. Sorry it didn't turn out to be a winner.

 

I remember doing that in high school chemistry... except our batteries were so bad you could wipe off most of the plating with a paper towel. Interesting thread.

 

Mike,
Thank you for looking at my coin, too bad it was nothing

 

Not a good clue since a regular cent is supposed to weigh 2.50 grams +/- .11 grams. With that much of a tolerance allowance even an unplated blank could easily weigh 2.51 grams. I admit that it would be close to the high end but not that unlikely.

 

Most unplated planchets (and unplated cents) weigh between 2.42 and 2.48 grams, with the average around 2.45 grams. So although 2.51 might not seem that much higher, and certainly falls within acceptable tolerances, it is still rather high. Alone, it would not be a deal-breaker, but combined with the other evidence I cited, it simply adds another nail to the coffin.

 

I'll buy that, it would be at the high end of the weight range. The copper plating weighs about .05 grams so since a regular cent averages around 2.5 grams you would expect the areage non-plated blank to weigh around 2.45 grams.

 

i just found a 1974 penny that looks almost the same

 

I'd bet its that high school experiment. I've got several like that. They are all slightly different shades of gold/silver/sicklynastycolor but i made every one of them.

 

I too heard it was a common high school experiment (though not one I have done). There's a youtube video floating around that details (and shows) the whole process of plating a Lincoln cent in a silver metal then an additional step to make it look golden... headaches for error collectors...

 

Don't worry. None of mine are in circulation. I figured i'd hang onto them as "oddities"

 

It's funny how everyone claims it was plated or a chemical alteration. Did people just decide to alter/plate 2002 D pennies for some reason? I have the same thing.

 

I don't have a camera to take as good of a picture, but mine is in even better condition than this. It's shiny like a proof coin.