I work as a bank teller and came across an interesting coin today that I thought I would get some second opinions on. It is a $1 Sacagawea coin, but it seems to be plated with (or struck on) a completely different material than every other $1 coin in my vault. It isn't rhodium - the color is dark brown, like clay, but the coating is smooth and even and allows for detail to show through just as well as the standard gold plating (though it's harder to see in pictures). It isn't dirt or anything, I can't scratch it off... any ideas?
The clad dollar coins tone easily. The Mint has tried to coat the coins (actually the planchets) to reduce toning but with limited success. I suspect your coin may have been in the ground for a time (or some other exposure to something that caused it to tone heavily).
Welcome to cointalk! I wonder if it could have been a sintered planchet? FYI, they are not real gold plated.
Back in 2000 when Walmart was hand them out.my son left one in his pocket and it was washed & dried and now the coin looks like the dark one you posted.
Don't they call "that improperly annealed" when the coin looks like that. I have a 1954D nickel that looks the same way. I thought it was caused by the mint not doing something right.
It's normally caused by exposure to chemicals after the coin leaves the mint. That's damaged - has nothing to do with the annealing.
That goes for the nickel as well, That nickel is a victim of some kind of "environmental damage" as it is called. It has nothing to do with the annealing process in this case. Thanks, Bill
