1973 Lincoln penny 2.6g 2 2

[CoinCat61]

I have a 1973 Lincoln penny that weighs 2.6g. I can not find anything out there about that. I know they were doing experiments with different metals in that year and I know mine is not part of the ones made of aluminium. I have been collecting coins for over 40 years and this is the second time I have ever had discriminating weights. Any info?

Thanks

Edited February 12, 2023 by CoinCat61
Misspelled word

[sanction]

Hey man I have been collecting coins for a very much shorter time than you and I only hold interest in Roman coinage all others I have bought only to make a profit of or to keep for the metal content value,from the information I have read when I coin is underweight or over weight it's been struck on the wrong planchette maybe a foreign coin planchette or an past planchette 

[Sandon]

  Welcome to the NGC chat board.

  I've been a collector and student of U.S. coins for about 52 years. 

   You appear to have a normal 1973 Lincoln cent of correct diameter and color that no one would ordinarily think of weighing or suspect was struck on a foreign or experimental planchet (blank).  Assuming that your scale is accurate and has been weighing other pre-1982 Lincoln cents at or around their statutory weight of 3.11 grams, the most likely explanation was that the metal "strip" from which this coin's planchet was punched was a little bit thinner than normal.  This might account for the slightly weak strike at the center of the reverse, although this isn't unusual on cents of that era. Such a piece wouldn't likely have any great value.

   From what I recall reading some time ago, the mint experimented with alloys such as aluminum bronze and higher zinc brass (copper and zinc) in 1973-74, but no trial piece of these compositions is known to have been preserved or has ever been seen by collectors. Such alloys would likely have a different color than normal 1973 95% copper, 5% zinc brass cents. (The few 1974 dated aluminum pieces that turned up had been improperly retained by mint employees and government officials, resulting in their confiscation.) It is extremely unlikely that an experimental alloy piece would now be randomly discovered in circulation. The only way to tell for sure would, I think, be through some sort of nondestructive metallurgical analysis, which would be unlikely to yield results that would make the cost worthwhile.

   Others on this forum may have different opinions or advice.

   

[J P M]

I agree that the planchet sheet may have been thinner than normal and that would account for the weight loss. 

[Coinbuf]

Well the first step is confirm that your scale is properly calibrated, if it is then the next most likely solution to the underweight coin is as @Sandon suggested the blank may have been an end of strip planchet.   It is not uncommon for the very end of the strip of metal the blanks are punched from to be tapered and slightly thinner.   Did you measure the thickness of the coin?

[Fenntucky Mike]

Agree, check your scale, measure the thickness, and the most likely explanation is an underweight/thin flan.

Even if an experimental piece, I would expect the thickness to be the same as a normal circulation piece. The coin has the look of a normal cent.

[rosiedimas]

On 2/13/2023 at 12:23 AM, Sandon said:

  Welcome to the NGC chat board.

  I've been a collector and student of U.S. coins for about 52 years. 

   You appear to have a normal 1973 Lincoln cent of correct diameter and color that no one would ordinarily think of weighing or suspect was struck on a foreign or experimental planchet (blank).  Assuming that your scale is accurate and has been weighing other pre-1982 Lincoln cents at or around their statutory weight of 3.11 grams, the most likely explanation was that the metal "strip" from which this coin's planchet was punched was a little bit thinner than normal.  This might account for the slightly weak strike at the center of the reverse, although this isn't unusual on cents of that era. Such a piece wouldn't likely have any great value.

   From what I recall reading some time ago, the mint experimented with alloys such as aluminum bronze and higher zinc brass (copper and zinc) in 1973-74, but no trial piece of these compositions is known to have been preserved or has ever been seen by collectors. Such alloys would likely have a different color than normal 1973 95% copper, 5% zinc brass cents. (The few 1974 dated aluminum pieces that turned up had been improperly retained by mint employees and government officials, resulting in their confiscation.) It is extremely unlikely that an experimental alloy piece would now be randomly discovered in circulation. The only way to tell for sure would, I think, be through some sort of nondestructive metallurgical analysis, which would be unlikely to yield results that would make the cost worthwhile.

   Others on this forum may have different opinions or advice.

   

Thank you for sharing your expertise and insights into the coin you described. It sounds like you have extensive knowledge and experience in the field of U.S. coin collecting. Besides that I have to say that I am also a big fan of metal detectors, this is my drug, I even did some research on this https://papersowl.com/examples/drug-abuse/ and I understood that drugs are actually not just substances but anything addictive. I really was shocked to find this out.

Edited June 6, 2023 by rosiedimas

[Henri Charriere]

If there were a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for a tidy, letter-perfect topic with breathtaking, beautifully written posts contributing to the body of numismatic knowledge, my one-time nemesis now gone would  have considered this one to be a worthy contender.

[Patriot17]

I have a 1974 Lincoln Memorial Penny that weighs 2.6 grams. I will post pictures if need be. Its also a lot thinner than regular pre-1982 pennies.

[Sandon]

@Patriot17--Welcome to the NGC chat board. Please post questions about your own coins as new topics, not as replies to someone else's topic from a year ago. 

  Assuming that your scale is accurate, your coin was likely struck on a slightly thin planchet, which isn't very unusual or valuable.