Hello Everyone. I received this 24 Gold Plated 1942 cent as a bonus coin from a seller off eBay and , well, it's magnetic. Not as Magnetic as a 1943 Steelie ( it doesn't go flying off the desk when I run a magnet over it like a steel one ) but if I lower the magnet onto it then it'll fly up and stick. My question is this; Does Plating cause a coin to be magnetized and could it be a steel 1942 and the gold plating has reduced the strength of it's magnetic property? This is the second gold plated wheat cent I received from the same seller and the other one is not magnetic so I am sort of ruling out the plating process as the reason to cause it to be magnetic. it's 3.2 grams
Yes, plating may cause a cent to be magnetic - that is plating with iron, nickle or cobalt can. Plating with gold will have no affect on the magnetic propertied. At 3.2 grams, it is copper and has likely been plated with nickle. If it were steel, it would weigh 2.7 grams.
