1953 steel penny? 0

[nwengfan-migration]

I recently purchased several rolls of pennies and came across a 1953 penny that appeared to be steel. It is not attracted to a magnet, but doesn't appear to be painted either. There are some scratches on the field of the coin, and no copper is visible.

I also found a 1973 penny that has the appearence of a gold coin. Since I am new to the hobby, I would appreciate any feedback on either coin. Thanks in advance.

[jgrinz]

Plated trinkets is my guess

[LuvToCollect]

Can you post a image?

[nwengfan-migration]

Unfortunately, I don't have the ability. I took both coins to a local coin dealer this afternoon. The 1953 is plated, he was able to chip some plating off. The 1973 he said was not plated, but made of brass. Is it worth the money have it sent in and verified?

[jgrinz]

If it is a Penny MADE out of brass it is an Illegal coin

No such thing made

[MunkyMan95]

Could be bronze?

 

Or struck on foreign planchet.

[nwengfan-migration]

It appears to be made of brass, it is not plated. He called it an "off metal strike".

[spiny]

There weren't any foreign brass coins that would have worked for a cent made in 1973. There was the Philippines 5 centimos in Denver in 1972 and then same in both SF and Denver in 1974. The planchets were 2.50 grams.

 

See if you can get the coin weighed accurately first. Maybe the coin shop or a local jeweler will have a scale and do this for you.

 

Also, does your coin have a S or D mintmark below the date?

[relicsncoins]

Wasn't there one year that they did do a trial cent in brass? I know about the 74 aluminum, but I thought there was also a trial brass cent?

 

JJ

[spiny]

I think that was 1942. edit Lots of interesting stuff.

That one has the same portrait as one of my currently most wanted coins, the Colombia two centavos 1920-38. It may be easier to find the pattern than one of them in unc.

Edited November 17, 2006 by spiny

[LuvToCollect]

Never heard of a brass planchet in 73 but heck if I knew everything I wouldnt have married my ex-wife.

[nwengfan-migration]

There is no mint mark. What will the weight tell me?

[MunkyMan95]

Never heard of a brass planchet in 73 but heck if I knew everything I wouldnt have married my ex-wife.

 

 

[spiny]

There is no mint mark. What will the weight tell me?

 

It'll help narrow down the possibilities. If it was 2.5 grams, then the chances would be good for being struck on a foreign planchet. If it's 3.11 grams or a little over, chances are good that it's been messed with.

[Coin]

Ken Potter sells brass pennies on his web site( go to CONECA web site and get links or use the one below) and in ads in either coin world or numismatic news . It is just a case of where the mixture of copper and other metals did not mix properly and ya end up with a mostly brass planchete. Nothing rare or major , price-wise , mostly an oddity .

....just be sure it is not a case where someone took an old '73 cent and wiped it down with Brasso cleaner ....way too much ammonia in that stuff.

 

Direct linky to Koin pro site :

 

http://koinpro.tripod.com/ErrorVarietyList.htm

 

Check out the 1983 brass cent , could not find one listed for 1973 , but that does not mean you can't find one , only that he does not have one listed for sale right now.

[nwengfan-migration]

Thanks to all, I appreciate the information. I guess I need to invest in a good camera to provide photos! I have read several posts and have found the information facinating. I look forward to reading additional posts as I wind my way through this maze called coin collecting. Thanks again.

[spiny]

Ken Potter sells brass pennies on his web site( go to CONECA web site and get links or use the one below) and in ads in either coin world or numismatic news . It is just a case of where the mixture of copper and other metals did not mix properly and ya end up with a mostly brass planchete. Nothing rare or major , price-wise , mostly an oddity .

....just be sure it is not a case where someone took an old '73 cent and wiped it down with Brasso cleaner ....way too much ammonia in that stuff.

 

Direct linky to Koin pro site :

 

http://koinpro.tripod.com/ErrorVarietyList.htm

 

Check out the 1983 brass cent , could not find one listed for 1973 , but that does not mean you can't find one , only that he does not have one listed for sale right now.

 

Those are all due to an error in the plating process on 1982 and later cents. It wouldn't be a consideration on a 1973 cent.

[kryptonitecomics]

I have a brass cent laying around somewhere and I agree it's just a mixture issue with a nominal value.

[Jzoey]

This is a old topic i see 2006 but i also found a 1953 penny looks like partial steel it weighs 3.05 grams i completely sticks to a magnet

Edited May 9, 2019 by Jzoey

[pigeonman333rd]

So I am going to try to explain something about the so called 1953 and 1953 d steel cents with some pictures of some coins I found coin roll hunting. The coins you are about to see all came from the Williston Vermont Chittenden bank from rolls I searched with the exception of the 1943 s steel cent which came from my collection. The first coin is a 1943 s steel cent and it weighs 2.63 grams and that is the approximate weight of a steel cent and as you can see in the second picture it sticks to a magnet and as far as I know I can read the vdb under the bust so its real. The second coin displayed in picture 3 weighs 3.48 grams and is a 1953 d and as you can see in picture 4 the same coin as displayed in picture three is magnetic but the coin weighs more than the steel cent 1943 s and more than a 1953 D cent which weighs the standard 3.11 grams. I suspect that this coin is steel plated because of it weighing 3.48 grams. For fun I am going to show you two more examples where a steel coating has been applied. One coin weighs 3.25 grams slightly heavier than the 1953 standard weight of 3.1 grams and as you can see its magnetic but its coated with steel because it weighs more than the 1943 s steel cent. The last example is a 1953 cent and it weighs 3.17 grams that's slightly heavier than the 1953 standard planchett weight of 3.1 grams and as you can see it is as well magnetic and it weights more than the 1943 s steel cent so this last example is also steel plated copper. The point of all of this is to point out that a steel plated cent is an altered coin in these three cases and can be found in change and is not considered rare. However if you find a 1953 steel cent that weighs approximatley 2.63 grams and you can read the vdb under the bust with a light and a loop then you might have a rare steel cent or really late transitional cent. In the case of all of the 1953 cents I found in change they are all altered coins and are worth one cent. I keep them because they look good in my collection but they are not rare.

[pigeonman333rd]

On 11/17/2006 at 6:16 PM, spiny said:

 

Those are all due to an error in the plating process on 1982 and later cents. It wouldn't be a consideration on a 1973 cent.

Thanks you solved alot of questions I had about coins I found with your post

[pigeonman333rd]

On 11/16/2006 at 1:43 PM, jgrinz said:

If it is a Penny MADE out of brass it is an Illegal coin

No such thing made

I have a brass 1983 penny to see it check out blog post on this website labled 1945 cyclonite and scroll down to the bottom of the page where I posted a recent post of my coin on a scale it weighs 2.97 grams.