Found one 1995 penny with no copper on it. The copper was probably removed by someone, but is there anyway to tell if it came from the mint like that, taken off after?
Try to post a picture if you can. Usually if the details aren't too clear, you can roughly assume that someone tried to strip the copper plating off from the zinc. Welcome to cointalk by the way.
After several attempts this is the best I could do. This is no substitute for the real thing but may help. When I saw it in my change I thought steel penny, then my mind kicked in and I really saw the back.
Well the photo isn't going to help much unless its clear---what you might do is find out the weight of it... Speedy
Thanks for the welcome and advice. I will try and get it weighed very soon. I scanned it and will post them now. The true color is the first post, from the camera. I had to lighten, highlight and try color hues and still didn't get it right from the scan. Tis the same coin on all 3, I promise you. The condition on the coin is used. It is still crisp in detail. The color is dull, uniform with the following exceptions. The highest areas of the coin, such as the rim and the forhead are more shiny, and there are a couple of places that the color is lighter.
No, I can't Since any acid you'd need to dissolve copper would also dissolve zinc (and more vigorously than copper since it's more easily oxidized) and the original poster mentions the details are crisp, I'd guess it's been plated with zinc and then worn a bit in circulation.
It weights 2.5 g. Had it weighed on a jewlers scale today. Guess I shoulda had another of the same year to weigh as well. I can see no sign of the copper being scratched off and the details are good on it. Some kind of solution to take the copper off would seem to be the answer, if it was not made without it.
The correct weight for the coin is 2.5 grams, but - since the zinc content is 99.2% of the weight, I'd say you have an acid washed coin.
Not really, the copper plating is so thin that the details are always quite sharp on the zinc under it. And if the copper were removed by acid - they would stay that way.
Unless the person doing the acid wash promptly moved the coin to an alkiline solution and neutralized the acid as soon as the copper was gone, then washed it thoroughly. Anyone who has developed black and white film is familiar with the procedure - immerse in developer move to fixing solution rinse
High School experment? Why go to all that trouble for a penny and then throw it into the change pool? Makes no sense to me. Guess I will throw it in the drawer with the buffalo nickles ......
While it might not make "cents" to you that is what alot of kids do---and then others will take it and try to rip someone off telling them that it is an unplated cent worth about $50. Speedy
