Jeff12633

I bought this for about $7 on Ebay knowing it was probably either fake or aggressively cleaned.  Any opinions?  The sides of the rim are very dark and the deeper details are quite gunky compared to the bright fields, which makes me suspect the latter.

I'm building a wood bookcase and storage cabinet for my coin collection, and I was wondering if anyone has any advice regarding archive-safe materials.  I've got the no-PVC thing and no acid-producing substances, but it's hard to find out whether specific coatings in particular are a risk.  For example, any types of wood that are not recommended for storage cases?  Oil-based stains?  Latex paints?  Water-based polyurethane laquers?  Adhesive-backed velvet sheets sold for lining jewelry boxes?

Thanks in advance for any inputs--I don't collect anything really valuable, but I want to make sure the silver and proof coins I do have last for generations!

I think this Zn cent got dragged by the same vehicle as that nickel.  I haven't tried polishing it...yet!

Thank you both for the excellent information!  It definitely helps clear things up for me.  So if I'm interpreting it right, when the price of gold was changed in 1834 from $19.39 per oz to 20.67, the price of silver was not changed to maintain the 15:1 ratio--is that correct?  If so, the math all works out perfectly, with the dollar coin being the only silver coin being worth exactly $1.

Thanks again!

In studying the composition and melt values of U.S. silver coins from the 1873-1964 time frame, I noticed that there's a discrepancy between the amount of silver in Morgan and Peace dollars and that in the lower denomination coins.  If you assume the silver in a dime, quarter, or half dollar was intended to be equal to the exact face value of the coin, it suggests a silver bullion price of about $1.382 per troy oz.  However, if you assume the same for the silver dollars, it is consistent with a silver price of only $1.293 per troy oz.  Interestingly, the latter price is exactly the silver price I calculate from 1792 legislation setting the weight of all silver denominations in grains "pure" and "standard".  So my question is, which of the following is the explanation? 

(1)  Was the amount of silver in the lower denomination coins reduced compared to the 1792 standard to account for a rise in the price of silver and gold, while the dollar for some reason retained the original weight?  This would mean the dollar was worth more than a dollar, while the lower denominations were worth exactly their face values.  The higher silver price is consistent with a 15:1 ratio of gold to silver with a gold price of $20.67 per oz, as set in 1837. 

(2)  Was the amount of silver in the dollar exactly equal to a dollar, while the smaller denominations were worth less than face value?  The lower silver price would be consistent with a 15:1 ratio of gold to silver with a gold price of $19.39 per oz, the price set in 1792. 

Option (1) seems more likely, unless the 15:1 ratio was changed at some point prior to 1934.  But if so, why would Congress allow the minting of hundreds of millions of dollar coins over almost 90 years that were worth $1.07 each?

I agree, if it weighs 2.5g it could only be an ordinary cent with the Cu removed.  You can find instructions online for how to chemically strip off the Cu without damaging the Zn, though I haven't tried it.  I've done the opposite though--filed off a spot on the edge of a post-1982 cent and dropped it in acid until all the Zn was consumed, leaving an extremely thin (and unfortunately curled) copper shell.  Cool novelties, if you can get it to turn out right.

A casting is a good suggestion--the surface finish does look consistent with a casting.  Maybe someone thought it would be cool to try to make a mold of a real penny, fire it, and then make castings.  I'll check the edge of the coin to see if there's evidence of grinding or of an opening in a mold.  I'll bet if you do it right, you could make counterfeit pennies for just pennies each. 

Hi, I just joined this forum.  I'm not a real "collector" as I only collect to acquire representative designs and variations, not for value or scarcity.  I ran across this ugly looking thing among my hoard of copper Lincoln cents.  It's smaller than a normal cent--18.4 mm diameter compared to 19 normal.  I don't have an accurate scale to weigh it, but I measure the thickness at 1.1 mm vs 1.4 for a normal cent.  The surface finish and strike quality are very poor, and a portion of both sides are silver in color instead of copper.  On the front there appears to be a defect across Lincoln's jacket and continuing up through his cheek--possibly a hair on the die or a die crack?  On the back, the E appears almost completely missing from the motto, with weakness right above it in the word "States".  I don't find anything like it in online descriptions of error coins.  Could it just be a bad planchet or something else?  It doesn't seem likely to me that anyone would counterfeit a penny of ordinary year and mint mark.  Thanks!