Underweight 1875 IHC

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by Mike Willner, Jan 19, 2009.

  1. Mike Willner

    Mike Willner Member

    I got a 1875 Indian Head Cent from a reliable internet source (oxymoron?) for my son's collection. I noticed it seemed very thin when I went to pop it into the Dansco. I weighed it and found it weighed about 1.9g. The other IHCs weighed more then 3g, and a peek at the book confirmed this is the correct weight.

    The coin is not overly rubbed down, so either there was an issue in '75 that was light (seems unlikely) or the coin is a fake (also seems unlikely, it is barely in Fine condition and not very expensive).

    Anyone have any ideas on this, or pointers where to follow up?

    Thanks!
     
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  3. Harryj

    Harryj Supporter**

    A pic would help, post a side view along with another IHC.
     
  4. borgovan

    borgovan Supporter**

    It may have been treated with acid. I have seen this before.
     
  5. Vess1

    Vess1 CT SP VIP Supporter

    It may not be the case with this discrepancy but I've found some MS coins that are simply underweight but I don't believe them to be fakes. I've also noticed that coins that have features well worn down can lose significant weight from that wear. So if you had a coin that was minted underweight to begin with AND received a lot of wear, the weight can be significantly under what it's supposed to be.

    But one full gram on a penny is a little strange.
     
  6. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    If it is that much underweight it is either a fake or it was struck on a wrong planchet. Both are very possible.
     
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