Weird yellow penny

Hi, I found this forum, looking for info on a weird coin find:
I found a strange american penny today. It is yellow, very shiny and minty, which is odd since it's dated 1996. I mean, this thing is YELLOW as can be. Anyone ever seen anything like this?
Thank you.

 

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We would need a photo to tell you anything. However, it's probably either been colored or altered by somebody, or it's just natural toning.

 

I've never seen anything like it. Maybe someone's dipped it in something. I hope you don't go blind looking at the blurry pic!

 

Welcome to the forum faeylin.

 

Possibly brass-plated or gold-plated? A less blurry photo would help, but it's safe to say that your coin has most likely been altered after leaving the mint, making it worth, well, one cent.

Welcome to the board, though!

 

Thanks! I figure someone had to have messed with it, because how could it be so minty and shiny, being 10 years old! Oh well, I like it anyways, it's neat!
Thanks for all the help.

 

faeylin,

Welcome to the Coin Talk forums!

The coin appears to be a Proof Cent! Is it a 1996 Cent with an "S" Mintmark? If so, then this would explain why it is so shiny! Also, the yellowness may be a condition created from the environment that it was previously kept or an improper mix or the Copper coating. However, I have seen quite a few Proof Cents turn a yellowish color with time!


Frank

 

Coins can stay pretty shiny for over a hundred years if kept properly! 10 years isn't so long, in that respect. But I suggest also looking for an 'S' below to the date. If so, you do have a proof coin, and it would be worth more than a cent!

 

Darn, there's not an "S", there's a "D" underneath the date. Bah! Oh well. This thing is extremely yellow. It truly is the colour of yellow gold, it's THAT yellow, what a weird thing. I work at an office supply store, and spied it in the cash drawer immediately, it stood out that much. Well, I do have a miss-struck penny that's quite odd

 

Seems to be larger in diameter than the first one. The rim even seems larger than the first coin's rim. I'm betting altered also.

 

here's a better picture of it

 

take it to a local dealer for an opinion - that's my opinion. Good Luck

 

baked in tin-foil

 

faeylin
welcome to the forum, and good luck with your coin finds. Keep looking

 

While your coin could be a "brass plating" error, the color looks exaggerated. It's probably plated. Brassy plating errors occur when the plating solution is contaminated with too many zinc ions. At least that's the story we've inherited.

 

I don't know about the different colors, check out Lincoln's nose, it appears that the left pic is rounded off compared the right pic.

John

 

Looks like a brass plating error to me. Worth about $45!

 

I think it could be an "improved" error, someone has dipped a real error here.

 

I did read about plating errors and such, where some part of the mould or die they use contaminates the coins or something or other(i think that's what I read). I wish I could get a better picture for you; my digital camera is just a cheap one with no optical zoom. JeromeLS, what is an "improved error", that someone has dipped a real error?

 

Johndo, it's my poor quality scan. The yellow Lincoln's nose is actually the same as a regular Lincoln's nose. And also, when I was looking at the noses, I noticed that on parts of the coin that really stand out in relief, it shows through a tiny bit of silvery colour, as if the yellow has rubbed off these high spots. It's very hard to notice and very slight, but I can see it.