1982 penny grease strike? 1 1

[Origami Master]

Is this a grease strike or something else and does it have any value?

[DWLange]

It was altered outside of the mint.

[Origami Master]

What does that mean? Like someone had dipped it in acid or something?

[Origami Master]

How can you tell?

[DWLange]

50+ years of studying coins.

[VKurtB]

On 9/8/2022 at 7:04 PM, DWLange said:

50+ years of studying coins.

THIS!!!!!! This is what matters more than all the websites in the world. Bravos! This is my new answer to all “link, please” responses. I also have 59 years of studying coins. I DON’T CARE if I have a stoopid “link” for you. My experience gives me all I need to know or show you. It’s like when I was an election administrator. People would ask what my source was for things I wrote about election administration. My damned source was ME! I can’t help it if nobody wrote my experience on a website!

Edited September 9, 2022 by VKurtB

[Sandon]

   Although I don't consider myself an expert on mint errors, I'll attempt an explanation.  Origami Master's coin doesn't resemble a coin struck through grease or other foreign matter, which wouldn't create the apparent concavity of the obverse.  Nor does it resemble any other known category of mint error, such as a "brockage"--a strike from a previously struck coin that had adhered to the obverse die-- which would result in the "obverse" having a blurred mirror image of the reverse.  It appears instead that someone used some sort of tool to scrape off or scoop out much of the obverse detail, except for the rim, which shows a number of likely tell-tale nicks and scrapes. 

   It might be informative to weigh this coin to see if it weighs the approximately 3.11 grams that a 1982 brass (copper) cent is supposed to weigh, as its being underweight would tend to confirm that it was altered after being struck.  (I assume that the lighter color on most of the obverse is a peculiarity of the photo and not exposed zinc on a 1982 copper plated zinc cent, which would tend to prove that the original copper colored surface was scraped off.)

  In order to conclude that a coin is a mint error, one must be able to explain how it was created during the minting process. I can think of no such explanation for this piece. 

   

[VKurtB]

On 9/9/2022 at 6:52 PM, Sandon said:

I assume that the lighter color on most of the obverse is a peculiarity of the photo and not exposed zinc on a 1982 copper plated zinc cent, which would tend to prove that the original copper colored surface was scraped off.

The difference in the density of the blue lines confirms this.