Counterfeit or acid treated 1852 Braided Hair Large Cent?

Recently bought a partial album of U.S. Large Cents and this coin was in there. Common date. VF detail. Sounds different in the "drop test." Posted here for study, reference, and discussion. @TypeCoin971793 @Jack D. Young @Conder101

 

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Drop test for a copper coin!?
Didn't know there was such a procedure.

 

Unofficial or unheard of.... doesn't really matter. There's still a noticeable difference in the sound it makes when dropped onto my desk from 6 inches or so, when compared to the sound a genuine copper Braided Hair Cent makes. The "ping" is different. It is higher pitched.

 

Interesting.
Outside of a faulty (cracked) planchet I can't image a cause.
But it sure needs consideration.

 

Have you weighed it? The reverse appears fuzzy and distorted, so the coin could have been acid treated.

 

What is the weight?

 

I would expect an acid treated coin to have etched surfaces. I suspect that this is counterfeit.

 

It isn't grainy, so I don't think it's a fake. Measure it and weigh it.

Just a stupid idea, but do you think it could have been carved out of a Chuck-E-Cheese's token? They make a pretty high pitched noise. Also if someone had the time on their grabbers to make a counterfeit why make it look like a shoddy worn down coin.

 

Definitely check the density. About this time, the mint was starting to play with different copper alloys for patterns. This isn't a pattern; at least not a known one. But it's possible that it was struck in an unusual copper alloy.

XRF surface analysis might be a good idea. There is a dealer or two who will do it for you at a show. PM me if you need more info.

Cal

 

I have kids... and Chucky Cheese tokens are smaller in diameter than a Braided Hair Cent. But I know the sound they make in a pocketful of change, so point taken.

 

Either the planchet was underweight or it was weakly struck. The rest of the coin looks correct. Looks like the coin attributes to N-23.

 

This coin looks acid treated.

 

7.8 g
.268 oz

 

Was acid treating a method used for cleaning coins once upon a time?

 

You mean conservation. Mercury had uses also. Is that why the term cleaning got such a bad rap?

 

Coin is supposed to be 10.9 g. If 3.1 g had been removed from the surface, it would look a lot worse than it does unless tooled after acid. So, struck on underweight planchet, perhaps composed of an unusual copper alloy. So, mint error or fake? What are the dimensions?

Cal

 

Unfortunately all I have is a scale, not a way to measure the dimensions.

 

You don't have a ruler???! Put a modern cent on the coin with one edge lined up.

 

I recall seeing at least two thin, underweight large cents at an EAC Convention, having this surface appearance.
One was offered for sale by a well-known large cent dealer and described as “acid-etched.” This a basis for my opinion.