Hey guys I came across this 1947 penny and was wondering if this is suppose to looking like this? Actually the first 1947 penny I've come across, so any info would be awesome. Also is this environmental damage on this 1949 penny
They can age in all kinds of ways. It depends on their environment. They rarely flat-out dissolve the way Zincolns do.
Once any coin is minted and released, it is subjected to all types of environmental things that can affect the surface, plus you have people "messing" with coins for whatever reason. Maybe this will help some.
Dr. William Sheldon, who wrote the classic book on early American large cents, built a collection of the various colors copper could take. He called it “autumn leaves.” The coins ranged from a really nice, nearly mint state early large cent to many colors of copper corrosion. He gave the set away to an interested collector many years ago. Since then it has changed hands a few times. The last I knew a dealer had who wanted a number in the six figures. It was so overpriced that I didn’t even file it in my brain.
You can search for colors of copper in exposure to chemicals such as this on the internet and think of it as basic colors and then what various mixes would show. Jim
One addition: that "black" CuO, like black silver sulfide (Ag2S), can make all the colors of the rainbow as a very thin film on a metal surface. Same for the sulfides (CuS and Cu2S).