1966 Lincoln Cent 3.5 grams ?
CCDAMEEK
Posts: 117 ✭✭✭
Howdy, The past few days I have been sorting through & weighing, a bunch of pennies that I have saved over the past 30 years or more.
I discovered an odd one. It's a 1966 Lincoln Cent that is weighing in at 3.5 grams! Definitely thicker than all the rest of the 129 other 1966 Lincolns I sorted, and in very good condition. All the rest weigh in between 3.0 & 3.2 grams, except for this guy!
This is clearly been pressed into a heavy Blank/Planchet. Someone else posted in May on the Q & A forum about that they also found the same year and weight, so this may be recurring, or scarce .
Does this "Heavy" Blank/Planchet, make this coin more collectible, and potentially more valuable?
Thank You for replies & suggestions, as I am not a "collector", just a guy with a bunch of pocket change trying to learn a thing or two!
Oh how I LOVE this hobby!
Freedom isn't free, we must protect it. Many Thanks to all those in the U.S. Military and Law Enforcement, past and present, for taking lead in that fight.
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Comments
“Does this "Heavy" Blank/Planchet, make this coin more collectible, and potentially more valuable?”
That depends on what a buyer or collector of such a coin would want to pay.
Try and look-up closed/completed auctions of similar coins on the bay or HA or GC.
I doubt a weighted coin is going to bring as much as if it was a DDO or DDR 1966 cent. Have you checked for that ??
WS
Probably a legitimate rolling error. The Mints were very busy that year.
That said, it is probably nothing that would excite an error collector.
It sounds like a minor "error" that would not generate much interest among collectors. If a cent "error" needs a scale it isn't of much importance.
@Hemispherical , @WaterSport , @CaptHenway , @291fifth ,
Thanks so much for your time of responding. What I am understanding is the general consensus, is that just because this 1966 cent is on a heavy Blank/Planchet, it really doesn't effect the value as a collectible, as it still looks like a normal 1966 cent?
I guess I may never understand coin collecting. As an example to my confusion, The 1989-D zinc cent, looks just like the mint error 1989-D on a copper blank/planchet. But you have to weigh them to find they are different. Yet the copper one is highly collectible. I am sure there are more across the many, many coins and errors.
So why would this oddity not be more collectible. There may be far fewer of these 1966 heavy's that got through minting than the 1989's above. I have only been able to uncover one other in researching.
Anyway, really appreciate your responses. Thanks much!
Oh how I LOVE this hobby!
Freedom isn't free, we must protect it. Many Thanks to all those in the U.S. Military and Law Enforcement, past and present, for taking lead in that fight.
Current equipment: Whites DFX 300; Tesoro Tiger Shark; Minelab CTX 3030.
Pin-ponters: Garrett Propointer AT; Minelab Pro Find 35
Minor "errors" need to be promoted and gain listing in one of the cherrypickers publications if they are to have any real chance of catching on with collectors and establishing themselves as being worthy of a premium. Very often these "errors" are promoted by sellers who are just looking to find a "live one" to buy. If offered one for sale the same sellers would respond that they "have an adequate supply" which usually means they have no interest in the variety if they have to pay a premium to get it.
I'm no expert on these, but it sounds like you have an interesting find -- no matter what anyone thinks. I suggest getting a bit more info, such as (accurate) diameter and thickness to determine the cause of the extra weight. Specific gravity test will also tell about composition. You will then have better info to research.
Good Luck and let us know your findings.
The 1989-D on a Copper planchet is a major error. It was struck in a planchet that was now longer used. This is similar to a 1943 copper cent. Your coin is a few % heavier than the tolerance of a normal cent
I would put it in a flip and keep it. Just because it is a bit unusual.
@Oldhoopster My reference to that coin was because you can't see a difference without weighing. The same can be said for this 1966.
Yet on the flip side of that, what U.S. cent was ever produced using a 3.5 gram blank/planchet? Yet, I have one?
But I can appreciate the difference as well.
Oh how I LOVE this hobby!
Freedom isn't free, we must protect it. Many Thanks to all those in the U.S. Military and Law Enforcement, past and present, for taking lead in that fight.
Current equipment: Whites DFX 300; Tesoro Tiger Shark; Minelab CTX 3030.
Pin-ponters: Garrett Propointer AT; Minelab Pro Find 35
As @Oldhoopster said, the other coin you are referring to is a wrong planchet error, which is far different than a coin that is simply overweight.
This is an incorrect assumption. The off metal error may be unique or perhaps only a few exist. On the other hand, all the cents struck from the thick strip that led to your coin would also be overweight.
No offense intended, but I don't understand why you are weighing all your coins. A scale is a very valuable tool in confirming authenticity, etc. But, there is no reason to weigh random coins. The rare off metal errors you mention are not valuable because they are overweight, the fact that they are overweight confirms that they are valuable (wrong planchet).
@JBK , No offense taken. As I stated in the first post, I am NOT a collector.
Having read about the 1983-D & 1989-D errors on the wrong planchet, I had the scale out, so figured "Hey, someone at some time, had to weigh those cents, to originally find out that they existed. Right? SO, I weighed the coins, and lo and behold, I found one that didn't jive. Waist of time?
I'll bet that collector that discovered those '83 & '89 errors, wondered what was up originally as well. No?
Appreciate your thoughts, Thank You.
Oh how I LOVE this hobby!
Freedom isn't free, we must protect it. Many Thanks to all those in the U.S. Military and Law Enforcement, past and present, for taking lead in that fight.
Current equipment: Whites DFX 300; Tesoro Tiger Shark; Minelab CTX 3030.
Pin-ponters: Garrett Propointer AT; Minelab Pro Find 35
If I had a scale (I don't, so you are already ahead of me
) I would be weighing 1983 cents to see if I could find one on a copper planchet. The chance of finding one dated later is almost nonexistent but not impossible, so if I had time try to kill I could weigh all cents dated after 1982.
But, weighing a copper era cent does not involve the same chance of finding an off metal error...
As you have found out, even if you beat the odds and discover an oddity with the scale, it probably won't have any value.
I have searched a couple hundred thousand nickels and found a few handfuls of buffalo nickels and silver war nickels, several very minor errors, and one spectacular error with a few thousand dollars. It was all about volume.
My own personal approach is that if you want to find valuable coins in circulation the best approach is to look at more coins, not look at fewer coins more closely.
But, to each their own.
Interesting find, and although not of significant numismatic value, it is unusual, and as such, I would put it in a 2x2 and keep it. Cheers, RickO
Is it April 1 already?
As the song says, "it's 5:00 somewhere".
If you understand the minting process, you’ll understand that coils of metal alloy are rolled to a specified thickness. For copper cents, the thickness was targeted to yield a blank that weighed 3.11gms with a tolerance of +/- 0.13gms. So, any cent weighing 2.98gms-3.24gms is considered in spec by the mint. When you consider that the mint (or the supplier that makes the blanks) is a high volume manufacturer, it’s not unreasonable to expect that a rolled strip coil may have thickness variations or may even be a few thousandths too thick or too thin. The coils are long, so if the technician made a minor mistake, there can be numerous over or under weight blanks that get minted
Technically, these are errors, but are considered minor. I’ve seen a few slabbed examples, but generally they only sell for a small premium (certainly not enough to recover the certification costs). I don’t believe there is any premium for minor weight issues on raw coins.
As stated in the previous posts, errors like the 3.11 gram 1983 or 1989 cents are very valuable, isn’t because they were struck on a thicker planchet, it’s because they were struck on a planchet of a different composition. Big difference between the 2.
@ShepIII Now you have factual information in case any of those mean old collectors try to cheat you.
Good information, but I suspect it will fall on deaf ears.
Shhh! Don't give away the scam. We here on the forum convince new collectors to release their rare errors back into circulation so we can then search through billions and billions of coins to find them and make big money off their discovery!
Who’s thread is this now? Went off the rail.
Anyways...
New discovery’s need to be vetted submit as necessary to get it done.
Good luck!
Wexler’s Coin Examination
http://doubleddie.com/402401.html
But I heard someone say they should be notarized first.
(BTW, how do you notarize a coin? I don't think there is room for the notary public's seal and signature.
)
Well, I guess this is still MY thread. People all have differing opinions. And apparently differing levels of civility also.
Sad.
Oh how I LOVE this hobby!
Freedom isn't free, we must protect it. Many Thanks to all those in the U.S. Military and Law Enforcement, past and present, for taking lead in that fight.
Current equipment: Whites DFX 300; Tesoro Tiger Shark; Minelab CTX 3030.
Pin-ponters: Garrett Propointer AT; Minelab Pro Find 35
@ShepIII,
I'd sure like to read more of what you've learned about coins, collectors, and the Internet.
Thanks in advance.
Here's a KEY coin that is finalized by weighing it! The rare 1982 Small Date Cent. If it weighs 3.11, big bucks!
"Jesus died for you and for me, Thank you,Jesus"!!!
--- If it should happen I die and leave this world and you want to remember me. Please only remember my opening Sig Line.Exactly - weighing the coins that might be valuable (such as transitional cents or nickels within a certain time period) is smart.
But remember: the 1982D cent you reference is not valuable because it weighs 3.11 - it weighs 3.11 because it is on the wrong planchet and THAT makes it valuable.
I just wanted to save your post (and profanity) for posterity.
This is starting to a sound familiar...
Agree and poofed?
Back to the OP.
That might be some kind of record. He lasted 7 posts and about 9 1/2 hours. And on a Friday, no less!
This is the line that have me flashbacks: "If I want serious answers , I’m talking to coin press operators, metal workers, lab techs , stock manufacturers, metal machinists, And basically anyone else I have access to that is a doer and not just a reader.."
There was someone else once who talked like that. Don't remember the name.