Dual Silver 1968 Pennies?

[Gold Guy-migration]

You're looking at two 1968-S Lincoln Cents

Was there some sort of change in materials during vietnam that I am not aware of, or did these two possibly get treated with some chemical that turns them this color?

Or something else?

 

 

Thanks for your help

[cpm9ball]

There appears to be evidence of corrosion from dampness or water damage, not only on the staples, but near the rims of the coins as well. Even the cellophane appears to have been affected by moisture. You may even have a problem with mildew. Your first move should be to take them out of those holders. I can't give you advice on possible remedies, but some of the other members, here, definitely can.

 

Chris

[braddick]

With full rims, they don't appear to be minted from dime planchets. Even if they were, they'de be clad, and you're stating they're silver.

 

I'd speculate they are mercury coated or simply silver plated.

[TomB]

It's possible that your cents were struck from either clad planchets or from 40% silver planchets. More likely, if the images are accurate, the coins have either been processed as a novelty or have reacted to the moisture in their environment.

[Gold Guy-migration]

With full rims, they don't appear to be minted from dime planchets. Even if they were, they'de be clad, and you're stating they're silver.

 

I'd speculate they are mercury coated or simply silver plated.

 

Thing is I'm not sure what they are made out of, hence the question mark in my post topic and the query about them perhaps being treated with something.

 

Any way I could tell further?

[nwcs]

>Any way I could tell further?

 

If you have a sensitive scale, something that weighs in the 100ths of grams, you can see if it is just a little bit heavier than the standard for a cent.

[Gold Guy-migration]

mm. It isn't water damage, I am certain of that. I pulled them out of a binder with the exact same date and mint pennies in the exact same sleeves, with the exact same darkened edges to the holders. These other pennies are still untouched and have all of their luster. Next to them are double ringed and stamped pennies and other odd things.

 

but anyway I put them in new sleeves

[niel-migration]

my first reaction to them being silver was to think they had too much zinc. this however would not show blackened areas as zinc does not corrode like silver. the weight, if silver has been mixed into it, will be higher than the standard penny. find a very accurate scale and see what the weights are in comparrison to other standard pennies of the period. then compare that to the published weights they are supposed to be. if they have silver in them then you may have to take them to an expert to see if they were just plated or not. if it turns out they have a general mix of the silver throughout then i'd say you have a find.

niel

[BankNote1]

I guess I would send them in to NGC! This would be just what NGC is for isn't it?

[AlixTCat]

Kind of like my copper 1943 cent in reverse. You won't know what they are unless you weigh them and perhaps send them to NGC.