Brian K. Briggs Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 When I picked up this coin I was 100% certain it was my 1943 D Steel War time Lincoln Cent. As you can see. I was mistaken. I'm sure there is an explanation for the two coin similarity. But I don't have it. So I reach out to the members here. Thank You. And Merry Christmas All. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conder101 Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 The 1943 cents were zinc plated steel. Since 1982 the cents have been copper plated zinc. If you strip the copper plating off a post 1982 cent then all you have is zinc and they end up looking like the coin that you have. Dull gray with silvery highlights where wear has occurred recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKK Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 Yeah, the copper is really thin. You could lose all of it without losing much detail at all. Plus, that grey has a very zincy look, just the right color. Not sure what they used to take off the copper, but those scrapes from 10 to 4 o' clock may have to do with the method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 1 hour ago, JKK said: Not sure what they used to take off the copper There is an old plater's method called the "Mathers and Martin" method. To make 100ml of the Mathers and Martin solution: Sodium hydroxide - 10g Sulfur - 15g Add water to 100ml For legal reasons, that is as far as I go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
