VERY odd 1988-D lincoln cent

aballein · January 14, 2007 4:31AM

i was just searching some rolls i got from a local pharmacy and ran across a very odd looking 1988-D lincoln. I see NO signs of copper plating and it is EXTREMELY light in weight, almost reminds me of aluminum. Has anyone ever come across a coin showing these kinds of properties. At fist glance i though it was a '43 steel but it says 1988-D. Its not in great shape but under 10x magnification i can read the date. I doubt that i will be able to get a picture of it because its hard to see any detail although there is detail on it. If anyone has ANY info or links to info please post it, i am quite curious about it.

ok so i think i got a few pics of it they are not the best but it might help to shine some light on the mystery

kranky · January 14, 2007 4:40AM

It sounds as though it was dipped in acid. That would explain the lack of copper plating, the light weight, and the lack of detail.

aballein · January 14, 2007 4:48AM

kranky , please take a look at the pics i just posted and tell me if you think that is the outcome of acid dipping

fcloud · January 14, 2007 4:53AM

With what looks like bubbling, it could be a copy. Someone may have been playing around with inventment casting.

aballein · January 14, 2007 4:54AM

not sure i know what inventment casting means..care to elaborate?

fcloud · January 14, 2007 4:58AM

Someone makes a mold something (in this case it would be a coin). The molds would create a hollow area. Hot metal is poured into the mold. Gas bubbles form and leave little pimples on the surface (similar to your coin).

Why anyone would do this who knows, maybe trying to hone their skills.

aballein · January 14, 2007 5:05AM

fascinating, do you know of a way to tell if it is indeed a copy, i dont know if this matters or not but the thickness varies from the top of the coin to the bottom of the coin

Cladiator · January 14, 2007 5:07AM

I've dug dozens, if not hundreds, of Zincolns while metal detecting that look just like that one.

aballein · January 14, 2007 5:09AM

so what are you saying Cladiator, im not sure i understand

Cladiator · January 14, 2007 5:13AM

<< <i>so what are you saying Cladiator, im not sure i understand >>

I'm saying that I have located and dug from under the ground MANY examples of modern Lincoln cents that looked nearly identical to the coin posted in this thread. My guess is that the look of the coin is due to some kind of environmental issue rather than being a copy of some sorts.

DieClash · January 14, 2007 5:21AM

<< <i>With what looks like bubbling, it could be a copy. Someone may have been playing around with inventment casting. >>

"The first copper-plated zinc cents were struck on planchets with a pure zinc core and plated with pure copper. However, the zinc quickly oxidized before the blanks were plated with the copper, resulting in poor bonding between the core and the plating (manifesting itself as bubbles in the plating). To fix the problem, the Mint added a small amount of copper to the zinc core in 1984; doing so improved the bond between the core and the plating." -CW, Gibbs, William T, 3/8/2006

Here's a link to the original CoinWorld Article:

"Cents Copper No More"

I'm not saying this is the cause of the 1988 D coin depicted by the OP in this thread, but I expect the environmental damage has resulted in a similar bubbling and loss of copper on the surface of the coin.

aballein · January 14, 2007 5:33AM

very interesting reading DieClash, thanks for the info. So the copper plating has probably just came off of the zinc core then. Does the copper plating really give it substantial weight because this penny is really light weight, and also would a pure zinc core penny have any value even though it supposed to have copper on it?

grip · January 14, 2007 5:34AM

It may have have been on a battery.

Al

DieClash · January 15, 2007 2:11PM

I doubt that it was on a battery. It's misssing the tell-tale green cupro-sulfur hydrate deposits. I know that copper-plated zinc coins have much less mass than their copper core predecessors. If you have a balance maybe you can compare the "light" weight of your specimen versus that of a 1982+ modern copper-plated "normal" cent.

Perhaps the planchet from which this coin was punched was not up to spec. Maybe some other CU members have some additional insight.

Edited for spelling. Need to learn not to post after midnight

aballein · January 15, 2007 2:15PM

interesting idea dieclash i will attempt to make a balance beam to test the weight theory. TO THE KITCHEN!!!

VERY odd 1988-D lincoln cent

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