Colored wheat pennies 1 1

[Patman54]

Does anyone know why they paint these red blue or black this one is red  or maybe was done has a novelty?

Edited May 4, 2021 by Patman54
This 1 has a strange color to haven't figured it out yet

[Coinbuf]

Mostly as you mentioned these were novelty giveaways and used for promotional gigs.

[Patman54]

I posted 2 more pictures of a 1958 D but it has a strange gold color to it. Guessing maybe the same thing

[Just Bob]

The '58D looks gold plated or maybe painted gold.

[Patman54]

That is what I was thinking Also.  Most of it is gone off the back. It does look pretty cool  So

[RWB]

One cent coins don't get much respect. Your photos are of typically abused, stained, heated coins. No value at all.

However, A century ago the Mint Bureau collaborated with General Electric to experiment with cent planchets that were pre-colored. The goal was to make cents that did not quickly turn mottled brown on use. The cents were called "Calorized" in recognition of pre-strike heating used to color the planchets. The experiments failed because the instant a planchet was struck by the dies, the metal flow destroyed any pre-existing color.

[Patman54]

I did not figure they had any extra value other than being a penny. I was however interested in the history. So thank you for the history lesson. I personally find the history behind things more interesting than the object itself even though having it adds to it.  So again thank you