1918 Magnetic Lincoln Wheat Cent
jmlanzaf
Posts: 34,255 ✭✭✭✭✭
I have no picture. But a guy came into a friend's shop today with a 1918 Wheat Cent that was magnetic. Not plated. VG/Fine on wear. 3.0 grams.
Foreign planchet? Or are there accidental magnetic alloy mixes known for U.S. cents?
2
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Pixs or it's not real
Please post 12 pics using a microscope.
My camera that shows magnetic force lines is out for repair.
I don't own the coin. I don't have the coin. You get no pictures. You'll have to trust me (or not) that it stuck to the magnet - much to my surprise.
Can you weigh it? A dirty scale is preferred.
100,260,195 foreign coins were minted in 1918. Equador 5 and 10 centavo coin had 25% nickel. El Salvador
had a 5 centavo coin that also was 25% nickel. Panama had a 2 1/2 centesimos that also had 25% nickel. Same with Peru with 5, 10 and 20 centavo coins with 25% nickel. Philippines also had a 5 centavo copper/nickel coin.
There you have them. I do know that none of these coins were magnetic. So, these were all the small coins I could find and I doubt there are others as my source is good (US Mint).
bob
vegas baby
Did you check YouTube for a video about magnetic Lincoln cents? There's probably one there, and the person who made it probably has other examples for sale to show you valuable they are.
I had the same dilemma with a non steel wheat cent. I learned a super ultra fine hole was drilled into the edge and a steel rod was inserted. The purpose was for magic tricks.
The edge damage was hardly recognizable even on such a small coin and a 16X loupe.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
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JRCS #1606
I have also seen coins sawn in half and glued back together with a thin piece of steel in the middle to use in a magic trick.
Interesting. I didn't see anything but I only looked quickly.
Just curious, did he have a tin foil hat on?
Student of numismatics and collector of Morgan dollars
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Nope. Just the usual pile of junk
That's cool! Thanks for sharing.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you" Matthew 6:33. Young fellow suffering from Bust Half fever.
BHNC #AN-10
JRCS #1606
Any thoughts? I might be the guy the OP is referring to. I decided to send to Anacs. Here is what came back. Thank you for your input.
It'll be interesting to see what the critics have to say now that there is a picture.
And a K5 cud to boot.
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Wow, interesting.
Are you in Upstate NY?
Congratulations on solving the mystery. That was one possibility I mentioned. I really have no idea about value. It's not an "error" that you can see. But maybe @FredWeinberg @ctf_error_coins have some idea of possible value. They are among the leading experts in the field.
Yes
Nice.
I added a couple of tags to some error coin specialists who might be able to shed some light on value.
And my apologies for some of the doubting Thomases on the thread.
Heading to the grape festival in Naples will check back later Thank you
Nice. Always a good time there...
I was just making comparison jokes about all the ridiculous threads new people start, not doubting you personally. You're obviously one of the solid people here.
To be fair, your jokes were f'ing hilarious.
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@SamsonBringo —Welcome to the forum. That was damn good, backing jml’s post the way you did.
Asking about someone else’s “different” coin did not turn out well when I did it, because he won’t submit, I offered to pay for the submission.
Anyone have any thoughts on the Over/Under?
I’d say this is a $25 to $50 coin. If it was a foreign planchet, it would be at least in the couple hundred dollar range. The details grade hurts, and it’s such a low grade to start with, not gonna be a coin many people stretch over.
I wasn't thinking of you. Yours was obviously a joke.
Mic drop
Buying and Selling coins for 54 years, 700+ shows in last 20 years, and boy am I tired.
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$25 to $50 doesn’t even cover my Anacs cost. So this is a One in a 100,260,195 coin that was produced in 1918. Pretty cool though!
The “magnetic slag” that ANACS says is in the planchet might’ve been placed in there after the coin was in circulation. (Described by others above)
I have my doubts that it’s a alloy error in the Planchet
for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
I can't believe that ANACS didn't thoroughly examine the surfaces of this coin under high magnification looking for such an alteration before making their determination.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
It's hard to know exactly what the wording means. It does say "magnetic slag inside blank" which would seem to imply before striking. On the other hand, why didn't it simply say "magnetic alloy"?
I believe that ANACS implied a discrete impurity rather than a magnetic material being melted and mixed throughout the planchet which would constitute an alloy.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
If in doubt,crack it out.
And how could they know that...
They may have done an x-ray spectrographic analysis of the coin and determined that the surface is of the proper alloy and thus concluded the magnetic material must be on the inside the planchet. It's only a guess since I have no way of knowing what actually transpired inside ANACS when they evaluated this coin.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
There appears to be a problem with the way that ANACS records information on their CERTs.
The field called "Variety" is used to report whatever text is written on the line below the date: this includes die varieties, errors, strike type (e.g., "PROOF") AND the type of damage on a details coin. However, it is left to the reader to interpret which is which. In this case, when ANACS reports "MAGNETIC SLAG INSIDE BLANK", it is not clear to me if this is supposed to be an error attribute or a damage attribute.
ANACS includes the population reports (including error populations) with the CERT information, which would be helpful, if they were always complete. After looking up several different CERTS, I see that other coins that are unambiguously attributed as errors are frequently left out of the population reports. In this case, "MAGNETIC SLAG INSIDE BLANK" is not in the population report, so again, I am left wondering what ANACS intended.
@SamsonBringo - Did ANACS provide you with any additional information indicating that they were attributing your coin as an error, as opposed to just damaged?
The only thing included was a packing slip saying “Magnetic Slag Inside Blank”. I’m going to call them tomorrow to see if more info can be provided. I really appreciate all the input that everyone has provided. Thank you!
I decided to send an email. I had an email address as I corresponded with them before sending the coin. Will post the reply when received. Stay tuned!
If a piece of ferrous slag fell into an ingot of molten bronze (possible) which was eventually rolled out to many, many times its original length, I would expect the differences in malleability between the bronze and the ferrous slag to cause the bronze next to the slag to tear away from it, leaving a ragged hole in the planchet strip on either or both sides sides of the slag.
An X-ray of the piece might show the shape of the inclusion, which might tell us if it was random or machined.
Perhaps. It's hard to imagine them turning this into much of a research project.
@SamsonBringo - I've been following this thread. Between you and me, I didn't doubt your existence for a second. @jmlanzaf is an honest guy. I just thought your camera ran out of film. 😉 Nice coin!
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )
we're sending the patient out for x-rays!
actually an x-ray sounds like a good idea. anyone have experience x-raying coins?
@CaptHenway I've never heard of coins being X-rayed. When you were working as an authenticator at ANACS, how many coins were X-rayed? Can someone show us a pic of an X-ray of a coin? Due to the density of the metal, I doubt that it's even possible. In the case of the subject coin, a magnet was the only tool needed to make their determination.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Interesting. Has this variety "phrase" ever been used previously? By any tpg?
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The Use Of X-Ray Spectrographic's In Numismatics
Some additional info.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1095793/the-use-of-x-ray-spectrographics-in-numismatics#latest
Disclaimer: I'm not a dealer, trader, grader, investor or professional numismatist. I'm just a hobbyist. (To protect me but mostly you! 🤣 )