Silver/Nickel Plated 1957-D Lincoln Cent

Most likely this was an experiment...or someone tried to pass it on as a dime planchet.

 

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Looks like it was a high school chemistry experiment or something

 

I have one of these also and so do a few other people around the country who have commented on another blog. Weird thing is that so far all the people who say they have this one all say that it is 1957 D. If this was some kind of random high school shop class experiment why are they all exclusively 1957's and all minted in Denver?

 

Mercury will adhere to a Cent. I heard this can cause poisoning! Seriously.
Be very careful how you handle it.

 

Wow! So you are suggesting this is composed of a mercury plating done by unofficial parties post minting?

 

You may have found the result of a high school chemistry experiment. After the experiment, some of the cent coins end-up back in circulation. Here is a video link describing the process. http://search.aol.com/aol/video?q=m...28D27279160D93A11&s_chn=prt_bon&v_t=comsearch

 

Believe me, kids in the 1950s were playing with mercury from broken thermometers and rubbing those balls of mercury onto pennies. You probably shouldn't handle that coin too much and be sure to wash your hands after you have handled it.

 

Who knows, could have been a sales promotion of some kind where a bunch of 1957 d cents were plated and given out.

 

It's not mercury metal that's dangerous, it's the vapors from heated mercury that will poison you. Play with it all you want, just don't heat it and breathe the vapors. If it was dangerous to handle, just about every kid who grew up in the 50' or 60's would be dead by now.

Elemental mercury. Quicksilver (liquid metallic mercury) is poorly absorbed by ingestion and skin contact. Its vapor is the most hazardous form. Animal data indicate less than 0.01% of ingested mercury is absorbed through the intact gastrointestinal tract, though it may not be true for individuals suffering from ileus. [Wikipedia]​

Mercury will combine with copper but the copper must be pure. If you have a penny you have to remove the oxide layer with acid first, then coat with the mercury. An easier way is to coat the penny (can have oxide layer) with mercuric nitrate for several minutes. This will put a dark coating on the penny but rubbing it with a soft rag will bring out the shine.

The OP's cent doesn't have the bright shine that mercury produces. His is more likely coated with zinc or nickel. If it's zinc, it could be heated over a gas flame for a few seconds. This would cause the zinc to combine with the copper and form bronze which could then be polished to a gold color.

 

Question still is - How much is it worth if anything?

 

Nothing really.. just 1 Cent

Silver, Gold and platinum plated Quarters they sell oustide of the Mint as a novelty are only worth 25 Cents also.

 

It's value is based on what it is. In this case it's a PMD wheat cent. That should make it worth $.0125 as that's what a dealer would pay, if you can find a dealer that wants it.

 

I have the same penny! 1957 D. I checked with a magnet, and it is not steel. How strange. I was sure hoping I had a penny that could pay my house off! If I can figure out how to post pics here, will.

 

Here is a pic of the silver 1957D penny I have.

 

1957 cent is common as it was a key experiment in a nationwide push in 1957 to increase science education as Sputnik was twirling around the sky over the US and world "beeping" HaHa" and the US population sure a bomb might be next.
Google: science education change in 1957

Our chem teacher went to the bank and got rolls of new 1957(D since my HS was in Calif) and the first new experiment was to make a silver or gold cent using simple chemicals and heat, it made a new start for several ( including myself who went on to teach chemistry and other sciences in college classes ( and still do part time),

https://www.sciencecompany.com/Turn-Copper-Pennies-Into-Silver-and-Gold-Pennies.aspx

Eventually though the cents went into gum machines, etc. but thousands done around the county and still a staple experiment in many chem labs from 7th grade to college chem. They can be done with any copper cent( or used to re-coat '43 zinc cents) , but the largest group per date is probably the later 1950s.


Jim

 

I have a 1957 D wheat penny and it is steel. The magnet picks it up.

 

Most likely nickel plated, nickel is also magnetic.

 

If your coin was steel, it would have to be a left over steel planchet from 1943 that
never got minted until 1957. It is possible. A cleaning crew finds blank planchets stuck in weird places and tosses it into a bin of regular planchets and it gets minted.
But this is unlikely and what Cutler said is probably what happened. The plating material is magnetic. If you read the entire thread, they did this a lot in 1957.
Your coin is plated and damaged.

 

I also have a 1957D that looks like that. So strange.

 

Yes.. Very strange. Did you read and learn from the responses that were given?