JKN58 Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 I inherited my fathers collection about 15 years ago. Started going through it and educating myself on it contents about six months ago. There is what looks to be an 1859 Indian Head penny that was possibly struck on a dime planchet. It weighs 1.6 grams. Haven’t seen any similar error coins in my research. Any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Just Bob Posted November 11, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted November 11, 2021 Welcome to The Forum. Your coin has been treated with acid. We see those every now and then on this forum. bsshog40, Oldhoopster and Coinbuf 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKN58 Posted November 11, 2021 Author Share Posted November 11, 2021 Bob, thanks for your response. It is a much thinner planchet and smaller in diameter than a normal penny as shown in third photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Bob Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 On 11/11/2021 at 4:52 PM, JKN said: Bob, thanks for your response. It is a much thinner planchet and smaller in diameter than a normal penny as shown in third photo. Yep. That's what acid does. It also erodes the devices and fields more or less equally, so that the design remains legible even when the coin is almost paper thin. I have not done the experiment myself, yet, but I have seen quite a few coins treated this way Coinbuf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coinbuf Posted November 11, 2021 Share Posted November 11, 2021 Welcome to the forum, @Just Bob is spot on with his explanation. Not an error and due to the damage this coin no longer has any collector value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKN58 Posted November 12, 2021 Author Share Posted November 12, 2021 Coinbuf and JustBob thanks again for your response. What type of acid and for what reason would someone do that to a coin? Especially a FYI? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldhoopster Posted November 12, 2021 Share Posted November 12, 2021 On 11/11/2021 at 7:31 PM, JKN said: Coinbuf and JustBob thanks again for your response. What type of acid and for what reason would someone do that to a coin? Especially a FYI? It'snot an error, it's been exposed to something acidic It's impossible to determine the type of acid or the motive. However, I did perform this experiment a number of times while in grad school. HNO3 works really well. Your coin was not struck on a dime planchet. In 1859, dime planchet weighed 2.67 grams, so you're still missing a gram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coinbuf Posted November 12, 2021 Share Posted November 12, 2021 On 11/11/2021 at 5:31 PM, JKN said: Coinbuf and JustBob thanks again for your response. What type of acid and for what reason would someone do that to a coin? Especially a FYI? As @Oldhoopster said unless you I or Bob were there it is impossible to know the why and how. One possible reason; out of many possible reasons; is that the coin many have been in the ground for an extended period of time and some acid or cleaning agent was used to remove the crud and grime from the coin. Also remember that there was a time when this coin was just another cent that may have fallen into a vat of some acidic substance at some factory in the late 1800's. I'm sure that I and others can come up with many other guesses but at the end of the day it really does not matter, the coin is badly damaged and just is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKN58 Posted November 12, 2021 Author Share Posted November 12, 2021 Thanks to all! Obviously, there is a lot more to learn about this hobby and the coins in my fathers collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKurtB Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 On 11/12/2021 at 6:59 AM, JKN said: Thanks to all! Obviously, there is a lot more to learn about this hobby and the coins in my fathers collection. Don’t despair. It’s always that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
