Don't be afraid to take a guess, but think first so you don't just blurt out PMD! Experts, please give others first shot to answer so they have time to think it out for themselves. Describe what you see on the edge of this Lincoln cent to someone who cannot see it.. Then tell what could cause this effect and what did you see on the edge to come to that conclusion.
Looks like a blister that has popped, then worn down. I've heard of plating blisters and gas bubbles. But dont know if this is what they look like.
This is a stretch...I think the cent was coated in polyurethane or lacquer to adorn some curio item. When the curio item outlived its usefulness the cent went back into circulation and the bright spots are the remnants of dripping lacquer.
Irregular spaced dots possibly remnants of solder from a jewellry casing or imprints from a damaged collar
TOUGH LOVE: What makes you think the edge of the cent was coated! What on earth do you see in the image to back up that opinion?
Oh no.... I must be looking quite foolish right now..... It appears to me that there is a coating on the edge of the cent that is flecking away.
ABSOLUTELY CORRECT! Don't EVER let any "expert-in-their-own-mind" talk you out of something you see that is plain as day! OK, we have flaking on a coin's edge coated with something. What are the spots? Why are they bright?
I am a weekend woodworker and they appear to be droplets that form when too much coating is applied. When the droplets wore away it exposed the untarnished (is that a word?) copper finish of the cent.
The dots are possibly the original colour of the coating substance that were slightly thicker due to gravity when the coin was suspended vertically to dry
@Insider thank you for these quizzes. If they continue i consider them one of the best learning mediums for newcomers like me to more understand the complexities of this wonderful hobby
Randy Abercrombie, posted: "I am a weekend woodworker and they appear to be droplets that form when too much coating is applied. When the droplets wore away it exposed the untarnished (is that a word?) copper finish of the cent." In this case the bright round spots were places where bubbles in the coating protected the area beneath them from toning.
Describing it to someone that can't see it, i.e. a blind person, I would say, "In a galaxy far, far way, a new solar system appears."
Go ahead! Just do it! You know you want to! This is apparently the third post of its kind, but I've not seen the first two. That is probably because of the way I view new posts. Very enjoyable, thanks for posting! I do have a question about the cent you have shown. Most of us know about reprocessed steel cents. Is this cent perchance a wheat cent? During our lock-down period here I was bored and purchased two bags of wheat cents to dig through. Along with a number of reprocessed steelies, I also came across some "reprocessed" copper wheaties. I have never come across any reprocessed copper cents before. The ones I obtained have the look of being plated and are obviously plated over circulated specimens. The physical feel and touch of the coins is not metallic, but most definitely something like polyurethane. Is the coin you have shown similar and is this something new that people are starting to do? Like I said, I have never personally come across these kinds of reprocessed cents nor heard wind of such until I purchased these bags. Thanks again!
From what you're describing, it's not something new, it's something quite old, and I believe it's the same thing as what was done to the coin Insider posted. Quite a few decades ago it was extremely common for many collectors to coat (which can be translated as "paint") their copper coins with lacquer. This was done to prevent the coins from toning. Now different collectors would use different things like various varnishes, and in more recent years some used polyurethane, but the intent and the purpose was always the same. In today's world yeah there still are some people who do that, but they are few in number. But there are still a great many coins out there that were coated in the past and their present owners sometimes are unaware the coins are coated, other times they know but simply don't care. It should be noted that is practice of coating coins with lacquer is not the same as reprocessing steel cents, it's completely different. When steel cents are/were reprocessed they were given a new coating of zinc to make them appear to be in better shape than they really were by covering up the original and often corroded zinc coating.
NPCoin, asked: "I do have a question about the cent you have shown. Most of us know about reprocessed steel cents. Is this cent perchance a wheat cent? During our lock-down period here I was bored and purchased two bags of wheat cents to dig through. Along with a number of reprocessed steelies, I also came across some "reprocessed" copper wheaties. I have never come across any reprocessed copper cents before. The ones I obtained have the look of being plated and are obviously plated over circulated specimens. The physical feel and touch of the coins is not metallic, but most definitely something like polyurethane. Is the coin you have shown similar and is this something new that people are starting to do? Like I said, I have never personally come across these kinds of reprocessed cents nor heard wind of such until I purchased these bags." This was a BU cent from the 1930's. At one time, collectors put lacquer or other things on copper to protect them from changing color. This was possibly one of them.
Thanks for the info, GD! I have only gone through three bags of wheaties in my lifetime (including these two). So, I am not experienced in some of the junk that can actually come in them. Thank you for the input. Given some time, I may actually start a thread showing some of these coins from the bags. It's been eleven years since I last started a thread here in the coin forums.
