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Magnetic penny

I have this 1988 D penny that is magnetic, it also has an off color and feels lighter than a normal penny, is it fake?
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  • AUandAGAUandAG Posts: 24,515 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hmmmm, what does it weigh? Pics? Perhaps it's just an old blank left in the machinery
    since 1943 and it just popped up?

    bobimage
    Registry: CC lowballs (boblindstrom), bobinvegas1989@yahoo.com
  • I'm working on getting pics, and I weighed it and it weighed 1kg while a normal penny weighed 2kg, but I have a feeling my scale is off?
  • tightbudgettightbudget Posts: 7,299 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I'm working on getting pics, and I weighed it and it weighed 1kg while a normal penny weighed 2kg, but I have a feeling my scale is off? >>



    You're off by a lot. A normal zinc cent is only 2.5 grams.
  • mingotmingot Posts: 1,805 ✭✭✭
    if the penny weighed a kg, yeah i would say the scale is off image
  • Billet7Billet7 Posts: 4,923 ✭✭✭
    It's a cent that's made of unobtanium, it has very high mass. image
  • Billet7Billet7 Posts: 4,923 ✭✭✭
    Question, are you sure it's a US cent...and if so, is it one of those huge cent pieces they have as gag gifts?
  • I knew my scale was off, I looked up the weight for a penny and it said 2.5 gramsimage
    And yes I'm sure its a US penny, and no its not one of those gag gifts lol I'm not as dumb as I'm appearing to be imageimage lol
  • Billet7Billet7 Posts: 4,923 ✭✭✭
    Just giving you a good razzing! Shows you're a good sport!

  • Haha I know, I don't mindimage

    Anyways, here are some pictures, it is the middle coin.

    image

    image

    image

    Aw shoot, they're rotated. Eh oh wellimage
  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 31,499 ✭✭✭✭✭
    My first guess is that it has been plated with something magnetic. A chrome plating, for example, can make a coin attract to a magnet, but chrome would have a shiny grey color.

    Serious question....is it strongly attracted to the magnet, such as a 1943 steel cent would be, or does it just barely stick to the magnet enough to be lifted off the table top?

    Second thing.... Reweigh it, along with those other two cents, one at a time. We'll use the normal ones as a calibration check. Then weigh all three together. The gross weight will help tell us how accurate the individual weights are.

    What type of scale are you using, and how fine is the readout? Does it just give whole grams, or grams to the first decimal point, or what?

    TD
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • Billet7Billet7 Posts: 4,923 ✭✭✭
    Now I'm actually intrigued. Yes, do what the Captain says and get back to us. I would really like to see this turn into something made in the mint, legit...
  • Ok here is what I got, the 2012 and 1998 penny weigh in at 2 grams, but my scale doesn't go to decimals, so I'm betting they both weigh the normal 2.5 grams, now the coin in questions weighs 1 gram, but since my scale doesn't do decimals, who knows if its actually more like 1.5 grams or something else?

    When all three are weighed together I get 6 grams. The scale is electronic.

    And the coin doesn't stick to the magnet like a steel cent would, it hardly sticks.
  • OldEastsideOldEastside Posts: 4,602 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Wow, ya got my attention too! Keep us informed

    Steve
    Promote the Hobby
  • jmski52jmski52 Posts: 22,302 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You need a more sensitive scale, for starters. Until you know the weight in tenths, it's all guesswork.
    Q: Are You Printing Money? Bernanke: Not Literally

    I knew it would happen.
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,296 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>My first guess is that it has been plated with something magnetic. A chrome plating, for example, can make a coin attract to a magnet, but chrome would have a shiny grey color. >>



    I don't think chrome is magnetic. Perhaps you are thinking of nickel which is mildly magnetic.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,296 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Did the US Mint make coins for a foreign country in 1988 that used a steel planchet?

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • LanceNewmanOCCLanceNewmanOCC Posts: 19,999 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>You need a more sensitive scale, for starters. Until you know the weight in tenths, it's all guesswork. >>



    +1

    the cost is very low. look around and i'm sure a nice one can be obtained for $15-20.

    the battery in the $20 one i purchased has lasted 3 years and is still going strong image
    .

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  • s4nys4ny Posts: 1,562 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Did the US Mint make coins for a foreign country in 1988 that used a steel planchet? >>



    If so, this could be a valuable penny!
  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 31,499 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>My first guess is that it has been plated with something magnetic. A chrome plating, for example, can make a coin attract to a magnet, but chrome would have a shiny grey color. >>



    I don't think chrome is magnetic. Perhaps you are thinking of nickel which is mildly magnetic. >>



    From Wikipedia:

    "Chromium is remarkable for its magnetic properties"

    linky
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • StaircoinsStaircoins Posts: 2,565 ✭✭✭

    Your photos, cropped and rotated for convenience
    image
    image

    ... and the obverse at 200%
    image

    (reverse pic was a bit too blurry to enlarge clearly)


    Looking forward to a more precise weight!
  • jonathanbjonathanb Posts: 3,411 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Chromium != chrome plating. Chrome plating is not magnetic.

    Besides, the OP' s pics still look generally copper-ish, not bright chrome.

    I'm thinking foreign planchet as well, as a possibility. Canadian cents have been mostly steel since the early 2000s, but that doesn't help for this 1988 example. Need another candidate...
  • CoinZipCoinZip Posts: 3,253 ✭✭✭


    I would take the coin to a local coin dealer and ask them to weigh it for ya.

    Another option would be to take the coin to a Coin Show,or to a Coin Club meeting....

    Coin Club Benefit auctions ..... View the Lots

  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 31,499 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Chromium != chrome plating. Chrome plating is not magnetic.

    Besides, the OP' s pics still look generally copper-ish, not bright chrome.

    I'm thinking foreign planchet as well, as a possibility. Canadian cents have been mostly steel since the early 2000s, but that doesn't help for this 1988 example. Need another candidate... >>



    I beg to differ. At Collectors Clearinghouse and at ANACS I saw chrome-plated coins that weakly attracted to a magnet. I am sure that the thickness of the plating has an affect upon the magnetic attraction.

    That said, I did not say that this coin was chrome plated. I merely gave that as an example of a plating that could make the coin attract to a magnet.

    Not sure when the U.S. Mints stopped striking foreign coins, but pretty sure it was some time in the mid-70's when there was once again a "coin shortage."
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • messydeskmessydesk Posts: 19,642 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You could also use a ruler and pencil to weigh it. Balance the ruler on the pencil by putting the pencil at the 6" mark (assuming a 12" ruler). Center a normal cent 4" away from the pencil. The ruler will balance when you apply 10 inch-grams of torque (forgive me for mixing English and metric and also for interchanging weight and mass) using the other penny. When it balances, divide 10 by where the mystery cent is centered and you'll have its weight in grams.
  • I would not take it to a dealer because most of them will say its junk and then offer to buy it..I would send it in and have it checked
  • thebeavthebeav Posts: 3,744 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It sure is crude looking, but a real oddball at this point.....
  • StaircoinsStaircoins Posts: 2,565 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I would not take it to a dealer because most of them will say its junk and then offer to buy it..I would send it in and have it checked >>

    A jewelry store may be a better idea. Jewelers will have precise scales and most won't be interested in buying coins.
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,296 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>I would not take it to a dealer because most of them will say its junk and then offer to buy it..I would send it in and have it checked >>

    A jewelry store may be a better idea. Jewelers will have precise scales and most won't be interested in buying coins. >>



    Be careful that the jeweler doesn't do any destuctive tests such as file the edge of the coin with a jeweler's file and then apply acid.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • Didn't the US Mint produce Canadian coins in 1988?

    Could this be one of them?


    I also saw on Wiki answers talked about a 1988D Silver Penny. I will try an find a link. Hold onto this penny.
    Morgan Everyman Set
    Member, Society of Silver Dollar Collectors.
    Looking for PCGS AU58+ 1901-P, 1896-O, & 1894-O
  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 31,499 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>

    << <i>I would not take it to a dealer because most of them will say its junk and then offer to buy it..I would send it in and have it checked >>

    A jewelry store may be a better idea. Jewelers will have precise scales and most won't be interested in buying coins. >>



    Be careful that the jeweler doesn't do any destuctive tests such as file the edge of the coin with a jeweler's file and then apply acid. >>



    Agreed! That is how they test metal, by destroying or at least damaging the item being tested! Never take a coin to a jeweler!
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • StaircoinsStaircoins Posts: 2,565 ✭✭✭

    I have gone to jewelers to use their scales in the past, when I was away from home and needed to have coins weighed (pawn shops also, even).

    I find that most folks are friendly enough and receptive to a simple request of "Mind weighing this for me?".

    I've never had anyone try to file or test anything, unless I'm selling them scrap.

  • seanqseanq Posts: 8,568 ✭✭✭✭✭
    There are 1988-D and 1989-D cents known struck on bronze planchets intended for pre-1983 coinage, so there was something screwy going on at the Denver mint around the time the OP's coin was struck.

    If possible a precise weight would be helpful. There is also a way to determine the specific gravity of the coin by immersing it in water, I'm not certain of the exact procedure but it might be worth trying as well.


    Sean Reynolds


    Incomplete planchets wanted, especially Lincoln Cents & type coins.

    "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
  • CameonutCameonut Posts: 7,250 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I used to work in one of the largest plating houses in the US in the '70's.

    Much of our work was zinc plating, but we also did high volume in chrome. More specifically, the parts were always plated with copper, then nickel, and then chrome. The nickel coating was partially magnetic (I think the term was diamagnetic). It was also applied in thicknesses of a thousandth of an inch or so. Chrome was plated on top of the nickel and thicknesses were measured in millionths. So for that type of work, any magnetic properties were likely the result of the nickel and less from the chrome.

    But who knows what we have here with this cent. Could be nickel, could be chrome, could be something else......

    Interesting.

    “In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson

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  • ModCrewmanModCrewman Posts: 4,027 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Just throwing this out there as a possibility. I recall a similar discussion regarding a potentially counterfeit quarter once upon a time, that turned out to be a "crude" coin replica from one of those novelty coin toilet seats made with fake coins. Could this be something similar?
  • FlatwoodsFlatwoods Posts: 4,122 ✭✭✭✭✭
    This is an interesting thread.
    The first thing that comes to my mind is... Just how the heck did you discover this anyway??!!
    Do you use a magnet on all your pocket change?
    Gotta go look for my magnet now. image
  • Thanks Staircoins for rotating and cropping my photos, appreciate it.image

    And CoinZip, I have no local coin dealer.image
    Also no local jewelry store around, but thanks for the suggestion Staircoins.

    And Flatwoods, yes I do use a magnet on all of coins,image but I actually came across this penny in a $25 dollar bag of pennies from the bank that I was searching through, and I always thought it looked off so I held on to it and recently I got hold of a magnet so I went ahead and tried it on the penny, and it turned out to be magnetic.image

    And also I'm broke, so I can't go get myself a new scaleimage
  • LostSislerLostSisler Posts: 521 ✭✭✭
    Is the suspect coin thin? In some of the pics it appears so.

    Could you take some additional shots of the coin? Different angles, it's side etc?
    Is there a design on the obverse edge from two to five o'clock?
    Because to Err is Human.
    I specialize in Errors, Minting, Counterfeit Detection & Grading.
    Computer-aided grading, counterfeit detection, recognition and imaging.
  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 31,499 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Thanks Staircoins for rotating and cropping my photos, appreciate it.image

    And CoinZip, I have no local coin dealer.image
    Also no local jewelry store around, but thanks for the suggestion Staircoins.

    And Flatwoods, yes I do use a magnet on all of coins,image but I actually came across this penny in a $25 dollar bag of pennies from the bank that I was searching through, and I always thought it looked off so I held on to it and recently I got hold of a magnet so I went ahead and tried it on the penny, and it turned out to be magnetic.image

    And also I'm broke, so I can't go get myself a new scaleimage >>



    Do you know anybody affiliated with your local high school? The chemistry or physics lab might have a good scale you could use.

    Ditto a local pharmacy.

    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • messydeskmessydesk Posts: 19,642 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>And also I'm broke, so I can't go get myself a new scaleimage >>


    Try the pencil/ruler balance scale I mentioned. You should be able to get close.
  • I'm actually still in high school, I don't know why I didn't think to ask the science teacher if I could use a scale. I'll ask Monday, I have no school tomorrow and don't go to school on Friday's. And messydesk let me see if I can find a ruler.

    Here are more pictures,

    image

    image



    Coin in question is the middle coin, as you can see it is the same thickness as a normal penny

    image
  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 31,499 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Here's another test. Drop a normal zinc cent onto a solid countertop from about three inches high. Then drop this one. Do they sound the same?
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.


  • << <i>Here's another test. Drop a normal zinc cent onto a solid countertop from about three inches high. Then drop this one. Do they sound the same? >>



    They sound the same.
  • stealerstealer Posts: 3,968 ✭✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>Here's another test. Drop a normal zinc cent onto a solid countertop from about three inches high. Then drop this one. Do they sound the same? >>



    They sound the same. >>


    Well that's strange. If it's significantly lighter, it should have a different ring.


  • << <i>

    << <i>

    << <i>Here's another test. Drop a normal zinc cent onto a solid countertop from about three inches high. Then drop this one. Do they sound the same? >>



    They sound the same. >>


    Well that's strange. If it's significantly lighter, it should have a different ring. >>



    That's what I thought too.
  • ConstantineConstantine Posts: 2,338 ✭✭✭
    I notice the highest point of the coin (the rims) look lighter in color. Also lighter color on parts of the memorial. Not sure if that helps but it is my observation at least.
  • WoodenJeffersonWoodenJefferson Posts: 6,491 ✭✭✭✭
    Speculation, but I have seen these 'reproductions' tokens imbedded in Lucite for novelty key chains and such. The cents look realistic but are not the same percentages of copper or zinc. I hope you get to the bottom of this, but do not get overly excited that you found a mystery coin, I'm certain there is going to be some rational explanation.

    Good luck....hope you found something exciting.
    Chat Board Lingo

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  • notwilightnotwilight Posts: 12,864 ✭✭✭
    Some googling tells me that there are some bronze alloys that are slightly magnetic (not the bronze that penny's are made of, however, even pre 82). Where is fred W when you need him? --Jerry
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 45,296 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Check the face of your magnet for traces of glue or chewing gum.image

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.

  • errormavenerrormaven Posts: 1,168 ✭✭✭
    The weak magnetic attraction indicates that this cent was probably plated with nickel outside the Mint. I've never seen a coin with a weak magnetic attraction that WASN'T a fake. They're either plated or they're cents that have had a pellet of steel (or a magnet) inserted into the body of the coin from the edge.
    Mike Diamond is an error coin writer and researcher. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those held by any organization I am a member of.
  • <<Some googling tells me that there are some bronze alloys that are slightly magnetic (not the bronze that penny's are made of, however, even pre 82). Where is fred W when you need him? --Jerry >>

    I disagree. I remember a physics lecture demonstration in 1954 at school. A penny was suspended on a string and when a powerful electro-magnet as turned on, the penny lined up with the field. It was a very weak but real effect. A piece of bismuth was repelled by the field.

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