chicken pox bumps on my 1982 Cent ??

ad4400 · May 5, 2023 11:47AM

Thoughts based on the images? Rusted dies? Improper storage causing PMD? These were given to me as a gift the year they were minted. There was one each of large/small date from each mint mark, with each coin in a paper envelope, and I got a number of sets. They stayed in the original paper packaging until 5 or so years ago, when I rediscovered them while doing some storage area clean up. Most had taken on some remarkable toning, and I did consign a few, where I believe they went 65 or 66 RB. I can't recall if the ones I had graded had these bumps. If the consensus is that the bumps were as-made, I'm probably going to submit to add to my type registry. Admittedly not the most astute financial decision at the surface of it all, but the two I have left are both "monster" toners + they have the back story of having been coins I've owned since boyhood.

erscolo · May 5, 2023 11:50AM

That is all too common on the early zinc cents. The plating evidently was not yet refined. I have found this condition on the 1982 zinc cents and 1983 issues most of all, but have seen it happen throughout the 1980s issues after that point.

AUandAG · May 5, 2023 11:56AM

Mump bumps, not chicken pellets.

bob

coinbuf · May 5, 2023 12:22PM

Super common plating blisters, see this on the zinc core cents. While not as prevalent as the first five or so years of the plated cents you can still see this on all the cents minted from 82 to current. Error-Ref.com has a section that deals with these and how they occur.

https://error-ref.com/blisteredplating/

ad4400 · May 5, 2023 3:35PM

Thanks for the explanations! Exactly the type of info I was hoping for!

Jimnight · May 5, 2023 4:06PM

Plating blisters.

DCW · May 6, 2023 3:58AM

Plating blisters suck, especially when it occurs on a valuable cent like the 1983 doubled die reverse or the 1984 doubled ear.
You can take toothpick and actually "pop" the little bubbles. Doing so, of course, exposes the zinc core and you have a rapid progression to rot.

So, don't do that!

Saam · May 6, 2023 9:17AM

ricko · May 6, 2023 11:04AM

Plating blisters... Do not pop the blisters, it will get really ugly. Cheers, RickO

ad4400 · May 6, 2023 11:42AM

Thanks again for all the inputs. Do plate blisters preclude a straight grade?

johnny9434 · May 6, 2023 2:19PM

@Jimnight said:
Plating blisters.

This

Onastone · May 6, 2023 2:28PM

Fun with Zinc. I saved a couple rolls from 82, I should check them out for these bumps too.

coinbuf · May 6, 2023 2:34PM

@ad4400 said:
Thanks again for all the inputs. Do plate blisters preclude a straight grade?

No, however, it can limit the grade if the graders feel it has a negative impact on the eye appeal score. I have seen coins graded all the way up to and including MS68 with some blistering.

Icollecteverything · May 6, 2023 5:36PM

Does anyone else think that the 82 cents have less blister problems than they did in 83?

I got 3/4 of a bank box in 83 and there were a bunch of wild looking pimply cents. Some of them also had the rinsed in dirty water look but a lot of them are also nice.