BI-METAL DIME COPPER CENTER STRUCK AS PENNY

MAD4MORGANS

I have what I believe is the copper center of a bi-metal dime that was punched as a 1979 (has a mintmark probably D) lincoln penny. The size of this coin error is the size of a dime.

Each side shows the proper penny obverse and reverse images and both are striked on center. The copper is very thin from the stamping. I have a few photos I took of it next to a dime and penny to show its scale. I could e-mail a couple photos (not the greatest images) but can't post the pictures here because they exceed the 50kb limit.

I found it in change and I put it in my safe deposit box around the time it was minted.

Does anybody know if this may be a rare type error and could be of some value?

DorkGirl

First of all I want to introduce you guys to the ebayer who helped us get rid of the scammer.

Here are the pics:





And to the forum

ldhair

???????

kryptonitecomics

it looks like a penny that has been filed down to make it smaller.....I have a coin that looks just like the one in the picture, but the picture isn't very clear so.......

Craton

It looks like an "acid cent". They are an after mint alteration. I believe that Ken Potter has an article on them but I could not find it for you.

MAD4MORGANS

I wish I could show you all better photos of the coin. The coin is extremely thin and the reverse seems to be a little more convex than the obverse maybe some slight cupping. It's about a third or fourth of the thickness of a normal penny (fingernail thickness) about the with the same diameter of a dime.

I guess I really need to invest in some good photo/micrsoscope equipment.

I'll do a search on Google on the acid wash thing, but the coin doesn't look filed under a 10x magnifier.

Thanks for the comments so far...maybe it is a rarity if it hasn't been altered. Maybe I should send it out for grading!

ldhair

Welcome.
I'm not really sure from the images but I just don't see this as a mint error.
Hold off on the grading fees till some of the folks in the know weigh in.

ldhair

Sorry.
Some of the folks in the know have weighed in.

grip

How come I dont see a scan?
.........
Al

pharmer

<< <i>First of all I want to introduce you guys to the ebayer who helped us get rid of the scammer.

Here are the pics:





And to the forum >>



What in the he!! is going on? What scam?

cladking

The copper core of a clad dime recieving such a strong strike from cent dies should expand
to the collar or at least fairly close. It seems improbable that this is a cu/ni clad core. There
were a lot of cents ground down for use as dimes in vending machines and that is the likely
cause of this despite the fact that this practice was most uncommon after the early '60's.

rich

You will need to get it weighed.There is a 1969-d dime PCGS certified as struck on dime copper core part of a lot on Ebay that is 1.4 grams.
scroll down to see it Linky
It is an interesting error, I don't know what the real value might be.
This guy is asking quite a bit for the lot.Too much for me, I'd rather have a nice 55 lincoln DD

grip

<< <i>The copper core of a clad dime recieving such a strong strike from cent dies should expand
to the collar or at least fairly close. It seems improbable that this is a cu/ni clad core. There
were a lot of cents ground down for use as dimes in vending machines and that is the likely
cause of this despite the fact that this practice was most uncommon after the early '60's. >>


I think you just hit the nail on the head.Ihad done this in the late 50's,I would grind it down on the cement
and the dime machine would accept it(sometimes).BEFORE I was a collector.
..............
Al

MAD4MORGANS

I went searching for other coin errors similar to the coin I was inquiring about in the thread I posted earlier this evening. I did a Google search which eventually led me to a coin currently being offered on eBay (Item number 3950247415). This coin on eBay is EXACTLY like the one I was inquiring about right down to the coin's size, thichness, and date!!!

And before you even THINK it...the one on eBay is NOT my coin and I am NOTor KNOW the seller offering the other coin on Ebay!!

After seeing the one on eBay I gotta wonder what the ODDS of these two coins being altered (filed, acid washed, whatever) in the same manner to obtain the same appearance and apparent description!!! And he's in Michigan and I'm in Florida!

The eBay seller's description and mine are truly Twilight Zone stuff!! The coincidence is absolutely amazing!!

Please have a look at his ad and compare his coin with my coin. SIMILAR ITEM ON EBAY

pharmer

Greg, is that you? Alan? Here, little fishy. Oz, you come down from there right now. Oy.

seanq

Both the coin pictured above and the one in the eBay auction linked are altered. The reverse of the '79-D that started this thread has the characteristic waviness of a coin soaked in acid. This particular coin was probably not submerged completely, leaving the obverse unaffected. The eBay coin looks like it was either cut down or severely corroded.


Sean Reynolds

Dog97

MAD4MORGANS that's good that you did your research but it is not just like the PCGS dime on eBay. The dime on eBay is a dime on dime core, your cent on dime core would be a very rare event because not only being a defective dime planchet it would have had to accidently gotten mixed in with the cent planchets making it a dual error and the odds of this are about 0.
I'm with sean & craton in that what you have is not a <<<copper center of a bi-metal dime>>> but rather a copper center of a copper cent. If you don't feel comfortable with our opinion then contact this guy for a 5th opinion, he's one of the top error guys in the US Text

errormaven

The 1979 cent appears bogus to me. It is most likely an "acid job" that suffered later mechanical damage (that would account for the warping). If the design elements are complete and unformly fuzzy, that would establish its status as an acid job. If it were genuine, the extreme thinness should have resulted in a weak strike with the weakness especially apparent on the reverse opposite Lincoln's bust. No such localizws weakness is apparent. The coin, though undersized, is perfectly centered, which would be unusual for a cent struck on a smaller planchet. Perfect centering is, however, characteristic of acid jobs.

-- Mike Diamond