LNG Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 Thanks much for allowing an uneducated old man to post. I have never been a collector, only an accumulator. I have a small hoard of mostly US silver. I have spent the last couple days reading back postings and didn't see anything like the coin in question. Back in the 70's my ex was a chief teller for a California Bank of America. Every day when she had to close out she bought the silver and brought it home. A few hundred coins I'm sure I will have questions on. The silver coins she brought home are what got me into metal detecting and that is what this post is about, a metal detector find from just the other day. I'm fairly certain this coin is in such poor condition it won't have much if any value. I could go on & on about all the I think's about this coin but I would rather hear what you think. Could this be some kind of an error or junk? Showing with a normal 1983 D. I'm working on my photography, please be gentle. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l.cutler Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 Sorry to say, that is just junk. Looks like it may have had the copper coating removed. Is it larger than normal? One thing that is often done is pounding them out to make them larger which can also remove the coating. Heat can do it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleRJO Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 (edited) I agree the coin on the left has been trashed, and has some environmental and post mint damage (PMD) at the rims. Even so, what errors are you thinking this coin has? If you have read through some similar posts you will know the members generally don't play the guessing game. Edited March 19, 2023 by EagleRJO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenstang Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 (edited) Welcome the Chat Board That is what is known as a "Texas Cent" (Everything is bigger in Texas) Put the cent between two pieces of leather and pound it. This will remove the copper plating and enlarge the zinc core. Edited March 19, 2023 by Greenstang EagleRJO 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNG Posted March 19, 2023 Author Share Posted March 19, 2023 Thanks for responding. I am totally untrained so I really don't know what I'm looking at. I'm sure the copper is gone, the coin is larger in diameter & oval in shape. I don't see any marks on the lettering or picture from rolling, hammering or smashing or stretching (like from train tracks). From what I have seen it looks like it could be a double die strike on the reverse. Just trying to educate myself about what I think I'm seeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNG Posted March 19, 2023 Author Share Posted March 19, 2023 On 3/19/2023 at 10:40 AM, Greenstang said: Welcome the Chat Board That is what is known as a "Texas Cent" (Everything is bigger in Texas) Put the cent between two pieces of leather and pound it. This will remove the copper plating and enlarge the zinc core. Thank you that does make sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandon Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 Welcome to the NGC chat board. Your darkened copper coated zinc 1983-D cent is corroded, as are many coins that been buried in the ground and found through metal detectors. Copper coated zinc cents are particularly vulnerable to corrosion. It also appears to have been flattened as suggested by others. It is definitely not a mint error and has no value beyond its face value. Like many new or inexperienced collectors, you are looking for interest or value in all the wrong places. Although we can answer some of your questions, you should learn something about coins yourself. You may find, as I have, that such knowledge will help you to appreciate your coins and enrich your life. First of all, refer to the following topic to find some of the print and online resources that will help you learn the basics of U.S. coins and their values: To learn about mint errors and die varieties, go to the NGC home page (ngccoin.com), and review some of the articles in the following link, especially the four-part series "Learn Grading: What is a Mint Error" and "Variety vs. Mint Error". You can also refer to such websites as error-ref.com and varietyvista.com, to name a few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powermad5000 Posted March 19, 2023 Share Posted March 19, 2023 Welcome to the forum! Feel free to ask about your coins, but for your future postings be aware we need clear, cropped photos of both sides of the coin as well as a clear closeup of any areas in question, and please ask a question. Some people post a coin without a question. The photos provided in this post are good enough for this coin. Being you say it is oval in shape (which may be hard to tell from the pictures) makes me think of those machines from when I was a kid that you used to put a penny in it and turn the rollers and it would put out a larger oval coin. Some of the machines had marketing images put on the rollers so it would counterstamp them into the coin for novelty purposes or promotional purposes. Your coin, being you state you participate in metal detecting, was in the ground and suffered heavy environmental damage. I do not see any doubling on the reverse and if anything with the coin being enlarged some of the details got distorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
