How much is a 1927 Silver Wheat Penny worth?
KaseyKahne938
Posts: 22
My grandfather found some old coins in his attic and gave them to me. One coin was a 1927 silver wheat penny in very good condition. I really don't know much about coins but I wondering if this coin could be worth anything, because I didn't think they started making silver pennys until 1942 or 1943. Sorry there is no picture.
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There is no such thing as a US 1927 Silver Wheat Penny.....
The 1943 white pennies are steel not silver.....
<< <i>well how about a 1927 copper penny that is zinc coated >>
That would be a five cent item since any plating put on the coin after it left the mint is considered damage...and how do I know it was after it left the mint? Because the mint didn't plate any cents before the steel issue of 1943 was plated in zinc.
It's also like that your coin is plated in mercury, not in zinc, so be careful with it. Mercury has been determined to be very dangerous.
The Lincoln cent store:
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USAF veteran, 1986-1996 :: support our troops - the American way.
The Lincoln cent store:
http://www.lincolncent.com
My numismatic art work:
http://www.cdaughtrey.com
USAF veteran, 1986-1996 :: support our troops - the American way.
Crap...I must be tired...
The Lincoln cent store:
http://www.lincolncent.com
My numismatic art work:
http://www.cdaughtrey.com
USAF veteran, 1986-1996 :: support our troops - the American way.
jonathan
<< <i>Hey not many people do know the difference in metals from just thier appearance. Like already noted it is possibly just a plated copper coin done for the fun of it in a high school or college chem lab. If in fact it is Mercury coated be careful not to get any of the contaminates in your mouth. We used to coat pennies with just about anything we could get our hands on in the chem lab at school. Not being great scientist we often left marks on the coins where they were suspended in the sovent to be used for coating. Check out your coin for such a slight discoloration. Might be one of ours. Fun but ruined a lot of nice coins. >>
If it is a coin that is just coated in a lab or something will it have a little build up over the words liberty or on the date, or will it look sharp and clear like at the mint?
Go to a jewelry store and ask nicely if you can borrow their scale, then report back here the coin's weight in grams (to the nearest 0.1 or 0.01 gram) or grains. That's the simplest way to get a definitive answer. Most everything else is guesswork.
jonathan
It implies that the planchet is iron or steel.
<< <i>I stuck a magnet to it and it sticks so what does this mean. >>
That's pretty smart of you to think of that. You sure are a fast learner.
Russ, NCNE
<< <i>I stuck a magnet to it and it sticks so what does this mean. >>
Could also be a mixture of gold and iron, a lot of that was done by the mint in the 20's to see if consumers preferred those to other metals. Only a few hundred were made and if yours is one them its worth several thousands. They were all struck a few miles east of the Philadelphia mint across the line in Jersey. Heraldo found two of them when he broke into the vault on TV. I don't know if you remember seeing that or not.
Hypothetically....
Very hypothetically...
it could be a planchet intended for a coin outside the USA, and it could be that planchet responds to a magnet.
so: you'd have to find out if the U.S. mint were striking, say, steel coins for an unnamed European country that had steel coins in them days. Hm, what country would that be?
Hm...
<< <i>Are you Kasey Kahne, and if so, I get the "9" but where does the "38" come from? >>
His busch number when he raced with Akins Motorsports.
<< <i>How about a scan? >>
I don't have a scanner.
In 1927 the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia struck 5 Centimos coins for Venezuela. The planchets were 19.0mm in diameter, weighed 2.5 grams, and most importantly were 75% copper and 25% nickel, which should result in an alloy which is highly magnetic. A normal copper cent from 1927 should weigh 3.0 grams, and a plated coin something more than that. You need to find yourself a scale, it's possible you have yourself a pretty unusual off-metal error.
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
<< <i>(Thanks to Mike Byers for supplying the table where this information was found)
In 1927 the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia struck 5 Centimos coins for Venezuela. The planchets were 19.0mm in diameter, weighed 2.5 grams, and most importantly were 75% copper and 25% nickel, which should result in an alloy which is highly magnetic. A normal copper cent from 1927 should weigh 3.0 grams, and a plated coin something more than that. You need to find yourself a scale, it's possible you have yourself a pretty unusual off-metal error.
Sean Reynolds >>
Since when is an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel magnetic? This is the alloy used to make nickels. Even pure nickel is only slightly magnetic.
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
<< <i>
<< <i>(Thanks to Mike Byers for supplying the table where this information was found)
In 1927 the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia struck 5 Centimos coins for Venezuela. The planchets were 19.0mm in diameter, weighed 2.5 grams, and most importantly were 75% copper and 25% nickel, which should result in an alloy which is highly magnetic. A normal copper cent from 1927 should weigh 3.0 grams, and a plated coin something more than that. You need to find yourself a scale, it's possible you have yourself a pretty unusual off-metal error.
Sean Reynolds >>
Since when is an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel magnetic? This is the alloy used to make nickels. Even pure nickel is only slightly magnetic. >>
I thought that was accurate, but I also knew if it wasn't that someone would correct me immediately. Mea culpa.
I still suggest weighing the coin if photography is not feasible.
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
<< <i>Since when is an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel magnetic? This is the alloy used to make nickels. Even pure nickel is only slightly magnetic. >>
Pure nickel is HIGHLY magnetic.
OK they have a 1927 Lincoln that is silver in color and is magnetic. Two questions. One is it strongly attracted to the magnet (get the magnet close and the coin jumps to it) or just barely. Two, what does it weigh.
What I suspect is a cent that has a heavy nickel or chrome plating (Chromium is weakly magnetic) A heavy Chrome plating will show some atraction to a magnet, and a heavy nickel plating will allow a magnet to pick it up but it will seperate from the magnet easily. I doubt you could get a heavy enough plating to allow the coin to "jump" to the magnet like a pure nickel or iron coin would.
<< <i>Kasey: you got 'em hooked, no REEL 'EM IN!
Why do you think I'm making this up? Do you really think I would do all of this for nothing.
<< <i>Sounds like it is almost certainly nickel or chrome plated then. >>
Is that a good thing does it make the value go up?
<< <i>
<< <i>Sounds like it is almost certainly nickel or chrome plated then. >>
Is that a good thing does it make the value go up? >>
Unfortunately no, it means the coin was altered outside the Mint and has little value beyond a curiosity... sorry.
Sean Reynolds
"Keep in mind that most of what passes as numismatic information is no more than tested opinion at best, and marketing blather at worst. However, I try to choose my words carefully, since I know that you guys are always watching." - Joe O'Connor
San Diego, CA
<< <i>Just weight it. >>
With what? I don't have anything that can weight something that small.
<< <i>Let's see the blurred image!! Maybe your grandmother got bored one day and covered the penny with silver nail polish! >>
Heres the pictures you cant make out much detail on them, the firts pic has a brownish tent for some reason but the coin is really shinny you just can't tell in this picture , it does however have a brown looking spot above his head which probably makes the value go down.
Best to just send to PCGS and let them determine what it is.
<< <i>turn your Private message feature on in your profile >>
OK I turned it on
Russ, NCNE
<< <i>One of the things we tried was to smelt down film negatives for the Silver Nitrate and use it as a plating substance. >>
Throw a copper cent into spent photographic fixer and the silver in it would plate onto the cent.
<< <i>Best to just send to PCGS and let them determine what it is. >>
I disagree. He'll be out a goodly amount of money for fees and round trip postage. When he gets the coin back, it will be with a terse ruling of what it is -- plated, unless it's legit. Hang on to it until you can take it to a large show where there are several dealers that have errors other similar coins. They'll be able to tell you what it is, and you can take the PCGS and USPS fees and spend them at the show on something other than an expensive body bag.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
<< <i>We can't access your computer to see the images, you need to post them somewhere. My guess is that there isn't any coin. You were bored and needed to waste some time. Thanks! >>
How do I post them so every one can see? It want really matter if I fix it, you can't make much detail out. But if someone tells me how to fix it, I will.