1978D Silver Lincoln Penny 0

[DiannaM]

I have a 1978D Lincoln Penny that is silver and in very good condition.  I know that US mints were not minting silver pennies that year and the aluminum pennies minted in 1974 were not released to the public.  Issue is that aluminum, silver, copper, mercury (heavy metal not used for coins, but could have been a dangerous and irresponsible science experiment) and nickel used for our coins is non-magnetic.  This coin is slightly magnetic; not as magnetic as a zinc plated 1943 steel penny, but still magnetic.

Is this an error metal coin?  It have taken this coin to a coin shop and the coin expert has never heard of a 1978 silver penny. 

Please see 2 pennies sitting on a magnet.  Copper penny is non-magnetic and falls off if placed too far from center, but the silver colored penny remains on the magnet due to magnetic characteristic of the unknown metal composition of either the base material and/or plate.

Any ideas?  Thank you for your assistance!

 

[l.cutler]

Nickel is magnetic, most likely nickel plated.  It definitely looks plated.

Edited January 11, 2020 by l.cutler

[Greenstang]

Welcome to the Forum.

I have probably seen about 50  of these on various forums and they have all been plated.  Most likely a High School experiment.

Do you have a weight?