I have a 1984 Lincoln cent no mint mark. Silver. Weighs 2.5g. It's not been chemically altered. I would really like some info about it.
Welcome to CT We would like to share info with you but you need to post a pic of your coin, or we can just guess for you. IMO Dave
You have a plated penny. Many have been produced through the years as novelty items. You are not the first nor the last to make this thread.
The one on the left is a steel penny. The middle is obviously a regular penny. The one on the left is the coin I'm asking about.
Can you take just pictures of the coin in question? Closer and in focus. In all likelyhood, the copper plating was stripped off but I can't tell with just one side of your coin. Where did you get this coin from?
Your penny is PMD. Simply google "how to make a silver penny" It is a high school science lab project that people have been doing for decades. It is not an error! https://www.sciencecompany.com/Turn-Copper-Pennies-Into-Silver-and-Gold-Pennies.aspx
"Regular" 1984 cents should be 2.5 g, so if this were a different metal, it would not weigh that. The zinc put on the surface in the high school experiment is so thin it would not increase the weight. I think it is a zinc coated cent.
Would the zinc be easily damaged? As far as wearing off or scratching off? How can I tell for 100% certainty if it is zinc or not?
Difficult without altering the coin. If the weight is 2.5 grams, this is the normal weight for the normal cent. A dealer examining it in-hand would have a better chance to tell. The only other way would be to abrade some of the coating off, and even if this were on the edge, it would damage the coin. What metal would you think the cent is?
I'm going to say plated, coin is high grade but shows no cartwheel luster. Surfaces are not dull, gray, or rough so it isn't a coin that has had the copper removed. So it has almost certainly been plated post mint. You MIGHT be able to tell if it has been plated with an XRF test if it penetrates deeply enough (it would show a high copper content), or if it returns an element composition for the surface other than zinc (such as nickel or silver).
