This is my first post. I just started collecting pennies and I came a cross one that really stuck out as being different from any of the other ones I have looked at. This one seems to have a "matte" finish but I am serious a N00B. What do you think? Is it worth more than a cent?
I'm no expert but I purchased a coin cleaner called EZest and when I soak a penny in it for 5 seconds or so it cleans of any tarnishing finish but one time I left the penny in the solution for 2 min. just for fun and it removed the finish and made the penny have a real light colored finish like the one in your picture.. So that coin may have just been exposed to a chemical for too long.
The 2001 cent appears to have a little circulation, and that really enhances the chances of post mint damage ( effect). Probably hundreds of coins pass through a washing machine in every household, in pockets or eventually loose, exposed to detergents and whitening agents, and whatever. I have a few in the cup holder of my pickup which have odd color/texture from having spilled beverages dropping on them. I spend them. Of course it may be an entirely different scenario, but probably similar. Post 1982 cents have pure copper layers on the outside over zinc. Pre 1982 were a composite of 95% copper , 5% zinc. ( 1982 were a mix). The pure copper layer reacts much quicker and more actively than the 95%, so the later cents are prone to have texture/color problems to a greater extent. Jim
Thanks for the info guys. Like I said, this one stuck out like a sore thumb from the 1000s for pennies I have gone through so far. Just thought I ask since it looked very different.
