Can anyone tell me what this is???.. it is silver in color

Mystekka

Mystekka

It weighs 2.7 grams.. I am confused found this in my grandpas coins??.. is it fake ? Should I get it checked out by an expert.. any advice would be greatly appreciated

ms70

Probably one of those 1950's school experiments where they coated it in mercury.

Mystekka

Hmm that’s interesting.. how could I find out if that’s the case

mustangmanbob

The AFTER MINT plating, when added, it will be thin, and typically wears quickly, revealing the copper underneath.

DO NOT take it near California, as they will melt down over mercury entering the state.

It is worth about 1 cent.

Copper is an extremely easy metal to plate over, so the old Lincolns have been chrome plated, gold, silver, cadmium, zinc, alodined and anodized, etc. If you were patient, you could build a set of virtually all colors.

They are a known alloy, with known reactivity, and it is (was) common to toss a cent into plating batches to be a quick reference for the overall plating. One of my subcontractors still uses "copper pennies" as mules for plating tests. I gave them a couple rolls of 1960's BU cents, that I paid a whopping 60 cents a roll for, bank wrapped, so they would have a BU supply of test mules. The were ecstatic as they did not have to hunt down "copper pennies".

Smudge

@ms70 said:
Probably one of those 1950's school experiments where they coated it in mercury.

Done that. May be why I collect coins, Mercury exposure.

ricko

Looks like it could be mercury coated.... could also be silver plated...when I was working in the printed circuit industry, all sorts of coins were silver or gold plated....Workers on the night shift plated many different items. Cheers, RickO

Hemispherical

@Mystekka said:
Hmm that’s interesting.. how could I find out if that’s the case

Try it yourself.

The basics of chemistry is obviously not being taught in school so use the proxy teacher, “u”-tube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5fmRfsep450

BAJJERFAN

@mustangmanbob said:
The AFTER MINT plating, when added, it will be thin, and typically wears quickly, revealing the copper underneath.

DO NOT take it near California, as they will melt down over mercury entering the state.

It is worth about 1 cent.

Copper is an extremely easy metal to plate over, so the old Lincolns have been chrome plated, gold, silver, cadmium, zinc, alodined and anodized, etc. If you were patient, you could build a set of virtually all colors.

They are a known alloy, with known reactivity, and it is (was) common to toss a cent into plating batches to be a quick reference for the overall plating. One of my subcontractors still uses "copper pennies" as mules for plating tests. I gave them a couple rolls of 1960's BU cents, that I paid a whopping 60 cents a roll for, bank wrapped, so they would have a BU supply of test mules. The were ecstatic as they did not have to hunt down "copper pennies".

IIRC a nickel plated revolver I had was first plated with copper prior to plating with nickel. Also I believe that rifle barrels have the bore plated with copper before being button rifled; probably the copper being soft is a lubricant.

cameonut2011

It is post mint damage. If the others are correct and it is coated in Mercury, note that Mercury is a neurotoxin.

cameonut2011

https://www.epa.gov/mercury/health-effects-exposures-mercury