Jesus , he said it was not magnetic??? I think ya'll scared him away. He hasn't been back since. I think the mercury does not last long as I have been informed by another member, I can't remember who - no not Mr. Chris. If I found a silver colored penny I would post it here also. Even though I knew it was most likely plated. What gets me is who is doing this and why? I have a gold plated dime that had no history and I could not get an answer on. I found through allot of searching that It was part of a promotional campaign launched as " The Amazing Sprint Sense Dime Find" which made 1,000 pieces of gold dime and spread it in different locations. There is really no way to distinguish one of these from any other plated dime but I believe it is a sprint dime. That makes it worth holding on to for me. I found a story to my piece and that gives it a place in my collection. Hang on to it and keep looking.
Personally I think these are being made in science classes as lesson projects and students just take em home and spend em.
I would go for the edge if I was gonna try that. little abrasive and see if you get more copper underneath.
Removing copper over zinc seems difficult. To do this experiment follow the modified protocol shown below: 1. Cu (s) + 4 HNO3 (aq) → Cu(NO3)2 (aq) + 2 NO2 (g) + 2 H2O (l) Place a single penny (you should have determined its mass) into a 250-mL Erlenmeyer flask. Add 20 mL concentrated nitric (HNO3) acid. Let the penney completely dissolve, or if you believe all the copper has dissolved, you can remove the zinc core using a pair of forceps. Add about 20 mL of DI water....
If I recall correctly, Sprint had some sort of special mark or ID so they would know if the gold p. lating was part of the promotion of somebody trying to cheat. Unless you can do some research and figure out the ID marks, you just have a gold plated dime. my Remind to post my picture of Bigfoot talking to the aliens. Trust me, I know it's authentic and it makes a great story.
In 1974, as a test, there were 1,579,324 pennies made of pure aluminum struck (produced) by the U.S. Mint. These were never circulated and most were later destroyed. The key word here is most. I was bartending at the time and 8 came across the bar from someones change. The first thing I thought of was aluminum. For the life of me I can't remember what happened to them. They may not be the same as I just stated.
1) would a beaker do as well? what size? 2) 20 mL concentrated...no, I stop joking around here. Where would you get concentrated nitric acid anyway, and do you realize how dangerous it is? Do you know how toxic the NO2 in your equation is? Even if you don't make enough NO2 to suffer from the toxicity, it is irritating and damaging to the nasal tissues. Assuming you are a chemical expert, will the zinc not be damaged by the HNO3? Don't recommend what you don't know. Don't do this!!!
In other words, unlikely that copper has been dissolved opposed to likely being plated?? Yes I agree.
OK, here is your stuck at home lab... Shiny zincoln cent (no picture...you know what they look like) Make a spot with 6M HNO3 (I don't like conc.) yeah, the pics are lousy... Hmmm put some more more? more, I'm still not satisfied... OK, let's put a drop and let it sit 10+ minutes... Oh...gnarley...get the old brass brush out and dress it up In other words, easier to say strip the plating than to do it. I know...boring day
Holy hell it looks like crap, I would have expected some shiney zinc. Luv the lab work. Can you plate one, I may give it a go. I think I'll donate some of my scrap silver to the cause.