So I found this example of a "foggy penny". It's not the first I've come across but it's one of the more pronounced ones. The whitish surface almost looks sandblasted or proof coin like. Anybody know what it is? why is it different? Sorry if it's not really visible on the pictures, it's a little difficult to capture it on camera.
remember coin are used primarily for currency. And they end up in any and everything. How many have you seen in cupholders, with soda pop spilt on them. On the ground covered in water, etc. I wash up a bunch of coins I pick up from dirt/gunk and many get foggy. Without chemically checking the whitish compound you're just guessing on what it is exactly.
You’ll need to show a photo of the whole coin both sides for us to be helpful. Most likely though, it’s simply some form of corrosion.
I should also mentioned. I just looked at a roll I rolled back in the early 90s. One zincoln has white hardened dust over 1/4 of it, I assume from the zinc. The edge in the middle of that section slightly showed the zinc underneath after I wiped it away. The rest of it had bubbles all over it.
I'll try and take some better pictures, but the coins that I'm referring to that have this powder white look to them are more often than not in what looks to me like a near mint state. Hardly any PMD of any kind safe for this powder white finish, if it's PMD at all.
There are scratches and wear all over that cent you posted. You need to be much more objective when it comes to condition.
Ok. So here are a couple of better pictures. I took a pic of a "normal" looking shiny penny next to it so it's easier to see the contrast.
I think it could be either the status of the planchet before minted. After all, pennies or planchets aren't really polished before or after being minted. It kinda looks like aluminum foil. You notice how aluminum foil is shiny on one side but kinda dull on the other? That's my best guess. Honestly I figured this would have been an easy question for this forum. The dull or powdery look I'm talking about is not uncommon at all. I mean if you have 10 newish looking pennies right now you can probably see a difference in how shiny they are. This dull look on the penny comes off quite easily with just simply wiping the penny (in effect polishing it). But it's still visible in pennies that have started to change to a darker copper so long as the penny hasn't been messed with. If someone so much as wipes the penny a little bit the dullness goes away.
+1 as you can see, if you look closely, this penny has been HEAVILY WIPED in multiple axis/directions.
When you stated white i thought you meant like this. It's a "leaking" zincoln. Very hard white leaking zinc. lol which I found in an old wraps i did in the early 90s
How is my suggestion enviromental/toning damage? I'm suggesting the opposite, I'm saying the dull look is there even pre-mint stage, at the time the rolls of metal are flattend and cut then minted and then the dull look is what later gets the envirommental damage, suggesting that by default pennies could and would have a dull side. BUT My theory, as neat as it sounds, doesn't fit for two reasons. 1. It would mean that every penny would have both a dull side and and shiny side and 2. planchets for pennies don't just get cut from rolls of copper anymore, they are electroplated and that changes everything. However, what I'm seeing on the pennies as far as description goes very much looks like the dull side of aluminum foil only it's a penny instead. I remember mention of a "satin finish" pennies for a certain number of years. I have yet to see what this "satin finish" looks like and PCSG photography, as sharp and detailed it is, fails to demonstrate any difference between a satin finish vs. typical finish. I highly doubt what I'm looking at is such a thing, but could those coins have been an extreme example of what I'm seeing? It's really hard to capture these "finishes" on camera but I'll see if I can find the right lighting/angle to demonstrate it.
I thought you were saying ED too To work on your theory you'd have to eliminate the circulation process. Obtain all the coins *before* they get circulated. Once they enter circulation all bets are off the table because you cannot guarantee anything about how the coin was handled. Your one coin is scratched like crazy if you look at it .. clearly wiped already.
