2005 penny, error?

I came across this, and I cannot think of how this could have been done. The penny is the same thickness in the center as a regular one, but the edges slope down on one side, and are flat on the other, most all of the copper is missing, and the detail is way off, especially by Lincoln's face. Is this an error, or a victim of circumstance? If it is an error, what would it be called? Thanks!

~Barnabus

 

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It's a victim of circumstance. I can't you tell what actually happened to it, but I can say that it didn't come from the mint like that.

 

Definitely looks like damage to my eyes...either the victim of a rogue chemical experiment or some other form of PMD.

 

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give us a weight, but it looks like it just spent some time in the campfire.

 

Dnt have a digital but it looks smashed like it was punched repeatedly on the rim or something idk

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I found a 2005 penny in some change I got this week (A normal one) Weighed it and it came out to 2.3 Grams (That is the good penny) Now for the Suspect penny it came in at 2.1 Grams, and I have come to a few conclusions.

All of the writing is flat, near flush, way wider text, and the monument has no Lincoln in it, as well the date is not like that of the 2005 penny that has no issues.

If this penny was flattened, then I would expect the penny to be much wider than a normal one, however it is not, it is very small amounts bigger, I mean to the hundredth maybe thousandth of an inch bigger than a normal one.

The hair on Lincoln has a "Missing" part where it looks shaded it is just a plan gap, no lowered image, or anything.

If this was done by acid it would have pits on it in places, however under a 2x scope I have found no evidence of any pits, nor marks indicating it was hit with like a hammer

The sloped edge is within a 10,000th of an inch the same distance all around nearly, and covers up some of the words half way.

The copper is nearly all gone from the zinc, and I am assuming that's the .2 grams

The T in the "One Cent" does not have the hanging tips, instead it is just a straight line.

I do not believe this is a dryer coin, nor a victim of acid, I am not certain it is an error though, I am investigating more into this, but I have little to no way of knowing anything about this coin because the other two similar ones I found online all got the same answer "EH probably a dryer coin" which is in my opinion a great way of saying, "No clue"

If you can help me to figure this one out please post. Thanks!

 

The 2/10 gram loss is due to wear. Your coin is worn. Heavily. Think of it like an automobile tire with 50K miles on it.

You have nothing special. Spend it before it corrodes away.

Answering with "dryer coin" is not a polite way of saying "I have no clue". Take the time to learn how coins are minted before coming here and questioning the opinions, and by extension the expertise, of the members of CT.

 

Please do not troll my post, keep it on topic, HOW could this coin have worn like that??

The edge is sloped like crazy, that does not happen from any kind of wear I can think of.
The loss of weight I am near certain is from loss of copper clad layer, which also makes me wonder, why it only weighs .2 less than normal, with that edge crazy sloped, wouldn't the loss of that much material count for more weight??

I am searching for factual information, and anything related to finding out answers, I appreciate the opinions, but if I listened to everyone that said "Eh it's not worth anything" I would have a lot less money now.

 

@ Rickmp,

I sense no tone of expertise on your statements. Thanks!

If you are going to make a statement about a question, how about providing resources, and information as to verify your claim. I have seen 2 examples like my coin ever, so I would assume that if it was a "Common" Dryer coin, then I would see a few more references. JS

I have listed several things which would suggest this coin COULD be a error, or at least contain one +External interference. I am unsure, which is the point of asking, so please forgive my ignorance but I know no other way besides asking for help since I have exhausted all of my resources.

*2.1g
*Missing copper
*Sloped edge
*Memorial stairs intact but no Lincoln
*Sloped edge
*Missing material in hair
*flush words
*Shadows on some letters and potentially date (need to verify)
*5 on date is off

Please review these reasons, and let me know which of them the dryer can do.

 

Barnabus - Your coin is damaged. You'd be lucky if you were able to spend it as $0.01 with how messed up it is.

Also, Rickmp is a respected member on here who knows quite a bit about coins. If I were you, I would listen to what he has to say.

 

Again I am sorry, but that means nothing to me, I value information and facts, I appreciate opinions, but Let me put it this way.

I am being told (Spend it, it's worth nothing), When I asked for information, and instead received that. Does that sound credible to you?

If you asked me, How much is my: (Insert coin) worth, and I said, eh IDK take it to coinstar. Would that be a valid answer.....

The coin has no evidence of tampering, it lines up and measures very nice all over. I used gauges, micrometers, calipers, a 2x scope to try and find inconsistencies. As I am assuming that a natural calamity to the coin, or human interference to the coin would not be perfect in any way, and at best poor symmetry.

I am not trying to be disrespectful to anyone, However I will accept nothing less in return. If that does not work for you, and you cannot adhere, then perhaps consider I probably will not agree with your opinion.

 

Realize this - there is almost no way to tell how your coin ended up how it did. The only one who knows for sure is the person who did it. What everyone has told you so far has been the best answer you will probably get. If you want to figure it out, then I suggest you experiment on some coins. Please, take as many Zincolns out of circulation as you can while you figure it out

 

I feared I may have to do this, I am not asking someone for the recipe to a acid that would remove the copper. Nor asking if someone used a Socket and a hammer to make the edge.

I do appreciate opinions, and the whole reason for asking is because I cannot figure it out myself. I have run through multiple scenarios, and thought maybe I forgot something.

*Weight (Obviously lack of copper and other material possible wear)
*Sloped edge (This would have to require a vise or something to hold the coin, another machine to spin the coin, and another machine to grind down the edge, and no a drill and a sander wouldn't work)
*Memorial stairs still visible, but Lincoln and his chair are missing (I cannot figure this one out)
*Missing hair (Could have been eaten away by an acid, but I would assume it would leave other missing things besides just that)
*Flush words and fat text (This instantly indicates the coin was flattened, or I would think, as an acid will not increase the text size, just remove the text flush)
*Shadows (This would indicate an error 99% as I do not think this can be done by a random person)
*5 on date is off (I cannot figure this out either)

With so many problems, it does suggest tampering for sure, but where? What about it would be tampered with? Surely not every problem on this coin can be put into one category.

If this was an error I have an idea of how it could have happened.

Double die with foreign material entering between strikes 1&2, causing the coin to flatten, cut the edge, and goof the words up. Copper clad would either have to be missing initially or be taken off after the fact.

 

OK, Barnabus, you've proven that we can't fool you. The best thing that you can do now is send it off to Heritage Auctions in Texas. They'll have it graded and listed in one of their great auctions. It should net you somewhere in the high 6 figures.

 

Furryfrog, I am humbled. Thank you.

 

Hey, you do good work

I forgot to mention non_cents too. - Late props non_cents

 

Hey Barnabus, the 2.3 grams isn't normal. If anything, worry about why it is 0.2 grams light. A normal zinc cent weighs 2.5 grams. The other is clearly damaged. And I agree with Furry, Rickmp is a very knowledgable member. Take his words to heart.

 

When it comes to errors, there is a finite set of things that could happen during the minting process that results in an error. Therefore, when looking at a coin, you have to think "what during the minting process could have caused this?" In the case of this coin, there really isn't anything during the minting process that could have caused your coin to turn out like that. The overall appearance, from the thicker rims to the odd surface texture, lack of plating in most areas, and reduced weight is almost certainly the result of a coin being damaged or altered after it left the mint. For every one way that a coin could become an error in the minting process, there are 100 ways it could be damaged after it left the mint. For some coins we can almost certainly say it is damaged because there are telltale signs that it did not leave the mint like that...but unfortunately because there are so many ways it could be damaged, it is sometimes very difficult or impossible to say exactly how it was damaged.

 

My ol' man just started to collect coins but he has found one identical to what you are describing on how you penny looks so I want to say it is not a man made error because how is it possible to have two Penny's in the same state of damage and the same spots as one another I have searched for hours trying to find out why and what made it look so different couldn't find any other penny so I was beginning to dought we had any thing special but maybe I'm wrong but need to look at this a little closer we may got something here