1979 Lincoln Cent - COUNTERFEIT OR REAL?? 0

[investinrehabs]

I'm not a newbie, but I'm totally baffled by a 1979 Lincoln, (no mint mark), cent I have. I went to 3 coin shops and all three of them told me that they're baffled as well. The composition of the cent is as follows: 69.79% Nickel....29.99% Copper and .22% Lead. It looks like a "steel" cent. However, there is no steel in it and it doesn't stick to a magnet! All 3 coin shops looked at it closely and said it does not look like it's a counterfeit. It doesn't resemble a copper cent at all as far as the "color" goes. Has anyone ever run across one of these? I researched it and can't find one single article about it. The pictures I'm attaching make it look like a copper cent, but it looks just like a steel cent. I'm very curious if anyone has run across one of these.

[Coinbuf]

Dipped in mercury is one possibility, not an uncommon science experiment, and there are some other solutions that will yield this type of result.   Unless someone was just testing his skills there would be no profit in counterfeiting a 1979 Lincoln cent.

Edited March 28, 2022 by Coinbuf

[investinrehabs]

The metal composition of the cent wouldn't change to 69% nickel!

Edited March 28, 2022 by investinrehabs

[Coinbuf]

Various type of plating or coating can throw off those metal composition readers, as such I'm not counting on that data being accurate.

[investinrehabs]

I didn't know that it would throw off the composition reader. 

[Coinbuf]

Not always, just depends on what is on the coin or what was done to it, and some of those readers are better than others.   I'm not saying that your reading could not be correct just that I don't see a reasonable explanation of the results you got from the limited information so far, thus it makes more sense to assume the read was incorrect until verified.   Have you weighed the coin yet?

[investinrehabs]

Yes, it's 3.22 grams, which is high. IF the composition is correct, either the nickel content or lead content is what most likely increased the weight over a regular cent. IDK, the whole thing is bizarre. But the fact that no one has ever discovered one of these, makes me think there's an explanation for it. I just don't know what it is yet!

[bsshog40]

Well it sure has some clean fields for a 79. Not wondering if it hasn't been plated. 

[Coinbuf]

The extra weight does suggest some type of plating or a dip in mercury, here is a youtube video on dipping a Lincoln in mercury.

Mercury

[investinrehabs]

I watched the video and it's very possible it was dipped in mercury. The extra weight of .22% lead might be from the mercury.  However, the composition of it still doesn't make sense. I looked up what metals mercury reacts with and it doesn't react with zinc. So I'm trying to figure out why no zinc showed up in the makeup, why the nickel shows up and shows up in such a high quantity. Maybe the mercury is "throwing off" the machine that analyzes the metal. I don't know!

[Woods020]

It could very well have been nickel plated. A lot of car guys and restoration people commonly use nickel plating. Wouldn’t be hard to image them either texting on a cent or just being bored and threw one in. 
 

as others have said there would not be a reason to counterfeit this year. Not that I think counterfeiters are intelligent people, but they usually go to the other extreme and knock off rarities. 
 

I’m not aware of any experimental work being done at this time at the mint, but someone else can confirm. 
 

That would only leave the possibility of a wrong planchet. Not sure what the mint would be producing at the time but for it to be nickel as you claim it would have had to be a foreign coin I am not aware of that would be the right planchet size and thickness but made of nickel. 
 

Long story short chances are astronomically higher it’s a simple explanation like it was nickel plated. 

[investinrehabs]

If it was nickel plated, that doesn't explain why there only seems to be 30% copper in the coin. I believe it's suppose to be 95% copper . The odds of the cent being extremely rare are incredibly high. But I think it's worth checking it out. Thanks everyone for your input.

Edited March 28, 2022 by investinrehabs

[Oldhoopster]

On 3/28/2022 at 5:54 PM, investinrehabs said:

If it was nickel plated, that doesn't explain why there only seems to be 30% copper in the coin. I believe it's suppose to be 95% copper . The odds of the cent being extremely rare are incredibly high. But I think it's worth checking it out. Thanks everyone for your input.

It's nickel plated.  A 70% Ni 30% Cu XRF compositional analysis is entirely consistent of a nickel plated piece.  XRF can penetrate 100 microns or more below the surface, which is below a typical plating thickness. For example, the thickness of the Cu plating on a Lincoln cent is approx. 8 microns.  So the XRF is primarily reading the Ni plating along with some of the Cu cent underneath

Sorry to say, but your coin is a regular cent that was plated after it left the mint.  Nothing more

Edited March 29, 2022 by Oldhoopster

[VKurtB]

On 3/28/2022 at 7:36 PM, Oldhoopster said:

It's nickel plated.  A 70% Ni 30% Cu XRF compositional analysis is entirely consistent of a nickel plated piece.  XRF can penetrate 100 microns or more below the surface, which is below a typical plating thickness. For example, the thickness of the Cu plating on a Lincoln cent is approx. 8 microns.  So the XRF is primarily reading the Ni plating along with some of the Cu cent underneath

Sorry to say, but your coin is a regular cent that was plated after it left the mint.  Nothing more

Another unbeliever. 

[Clay1492]

This doesn't concern the composition of the coin but i was wondering if you noticed the second ear North of the normal one and leaning to the left. I can't say for sure without a better pic but there may be remnants of a third one in the field just below In God. 

[JT2]

On 3/28/2022 at 5:21 PM, Woods020 said:

could very well have been nickel plated. A lot of car guys and restoration people commonly use nickel plating. W

was think ing the same thing with electro plating they can do ths just like the restore the ol 71 240Z bumpers

[Just Bob]

On 3/28/2022 at 7:36 PM, Oldhoopster said:

It's nickel plated.  A 70% Ni 30% Cu XRF compositional analysis is entirely consistent of a nickel plated piece.  XRF can penetrate 100 microns or more below the surface, which is below a typical plating thickness. For example, the thickness of the Cu plating on a Lincoln cent is approx. 8 microns.  So the XRF is primarily reading the Ni plating along with some of the Cu cent underneath

Sorry to say, but your coin is a regular cent that was plated after it left the mint.  Nothing more

+1

[investinrehabs]

How nice to wake up and have my dreams of being a millionaire crushed! LOL. I appreciate the responses and all of you taking time out to let me know. One last question. Why would anyone bother to nickel a plate a cent??

Scott

[J P M]

On 3/29/2022 at 8:54 AM, investinrehabs said:

How nice to wake up and have my dreams of being a millionaire crushed! LOL. I appreciate the responses and all of you taking time out to let me know. One last question. Why would anyone bother to nickel a plate a cent??

Scott

We see coins all the time and say the same thing. Why do they do it.????   Who knows.  

[bsshog40]

Yep, as JP stated, who knows. Whoever plated it may have done it to a bunch them and you just happen to find one. 

[Oldhoopster]

On 3/29/2022 at 8:54 AM, investinrehabs said:

How nice to wake up and have my dreams of being a millionaire crushed! LOL. I appreciate the responses and all of you taking time out to let me know. One last question. Why would anyone bother to nickel a plate a cent??

Scott

Electroplating was done as an experiment in many HS chemistry classes.  Nothing better than a hands on experiment that demonstrates an important concept.  Plus the student gets to take their experiment home

Could also be a set up piece or QC check for a small plating operation.  We'll never know for certain, but you can be certain that it didn't occur at the mint.

[VKurtB]

Today in our K-12 schools, all science is taught from a “green” ideological framework. Physics, chemistry, biology, ALL of it is highly politicized. They don’t do what we did in our science classes. Today it’s 100% political indoctrination. I complained to my kid’s school and they just repeated leftist talking points to me. American education is beyond hope. 

Edited March 29, 2022 by VKurtB