1968-D Silver Lincoln Cent

SemperFI

I started a thread asking some general info about this coin. Well, now I have this coin and I really do belive it IS silver. It does not sound like a plated coin and has a weight of 3 grams. (That is exact as I can get with my digital scale) If it plated they would have to have done it after it circulated as there is some wear and some bag/circulated marks through out the coin. There is considerable detail on the reverse where lincoln sits.

The coin is not corroded but it is tarnished. Should I take a chance and give it a quick dip or should I send it to NCS and have them take a look at it for authentication and conservation?

Below is the ugly picture of this coin.

Feedback please.

coinguy89

It could be real, I dont know much about lincoln cents but, I have been seeing way too many errors and patern coins lately. Send it in to somewhere try to get it slabed, then you might know.

meos1

I have a 1964 (My birthyear) just like that. It was tested and confirmed as silver. I really like mine.

Dan Watson

SemperFI

Meos,

Is that Lincoln Cent on a Cent, Dime, Quarter or half dollar planchet? In 1964 they had silver coins being minted. In 1968, the only silver coin being minted was the 40% JFK half and my coin is not on the Half Planchet.

Is there any chance that a 40% Silver sheet was was fed into the cent planchet making process? Would that make the cent thicker tho?

Rob790

None of your test sound like they in any way prove any silver is in that coin. Lincolns weigh 3.11 gram, a plated piece will sound no different from a non-plated example and any plating will be thin enough to see fine details. Do a real test like a specific gravity test. The likely hood of it being silver versus a plated and corroded coin is very very small. The plating process probably is why it is so corroded. Do a specific gravity test and then if it looks good, send it off to ANACS.

nwcs

NCS it.

SemperFI

I am going to send it to ANACS because I really do not have a clue. I will have them verify it. If it is fake, it's fake and we will have a nice plated coin. If not, that will be soemthing to talk about.

ldhair

Cool site on test

phut

I have a 61D that looks just like that.
I believe it was soaked in mercury by some high school or college Chemistry student.
One of the deep scratches shows copper color under a 40x lens.
Specific gravity test is probably your best bet to determine metal type.
Know anyone taking a chemistry (or physics) course ?

SemperFI

Oh yeah, I did the mercury thing when I was a kid too. The tell tale signs are if it is slippery. This is not mercury dipped and mercury will not tarnish like this coin did. I ruled that one out when I asked about the coin when my brother had it. He laughed when he brought up my mercury experiment. I did the same thing with clash die error by hitting them with a hammer. I sold some to him and a coin dealer for a buck. He got me back by buffing a bunch of junk wheat pennies on the buffer in metal shop and telling me that they were proof. Never seeing a proof wheat cent I bought them off of him. I paid like $10 for a few of them. I got suckered. I don't think this is a trick since he is paying for it.

Conder101

I'm betting plated, the weight is wrong. If it was struck on a dime planchet it would weigh 2.5 grams and show weakness in the strike. At 3 grams yours is too heavy and the detail is struck up too well. If it was struck on cent sized 90% silver planchet it would weigh 3.6 grams, yours is too light to be that. It is the correct weight for a silver plated cent though.

cladking

<< <i>
Know anyone taking a chemistry (or physics) course ? >>



Density is extremely easy to determine. Just weigh the coin in water and subtract
that from it's weight. Its weight divided by this difference is its specific gravity.