My 4 year-old son ate a penny - removal by coin doctor

JoeV · January 19, 2011 1:49AM

Monday night my 4 year-old son swallowed a penny. Kind of ironic since I like to collect Lincoln and Indian Head pennies. The coin was stuck in his espohogus (the doctor says this occurs 50% of time). They removed it with a scope (10 minute procedure) and was back in school today (Wednesday). The nurses and doctor's at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh were amazing! It was pretty scary as parent and my wife and are blessed to have everything go so smoothly.

Once we found out that he was okay and awake from the procedure the coin collector in me started to come alive. What year was it, was it one of my circulated Indians, Wheaties, maybe a Flying eagle and I need to get this slabbed for my collection. Then we talked to our "coin doctor" and he showed us a picture of the coin in the esophogus before it was removed and it was pretty cool pic. I was spare you all by posting the picture here. Then the moment of truth...... the doctor handed my wife and I plastic container inside a bag and there it was a 2000 Lincoln Cent. After the doctor left I inspected the coin in the light and noticed the luster was gone, abrasive hairlines for the coin being cleaned by the "Coin Doctor". Now this leads me to my question. Will PCGS slab this coin for me? My son's "Coin" removal "Doctor", doctored the coin by cleaning it to prevent the spread of germs. Since this "Coins Doctor" is professional and has a PHD does this making this "doctoring" "Market Acceptable"?

Baley · January 19, 2011 1:53AM

you definitely want to save that coin with the hospital papers and a picture of the kid. (glad to hear he's ok)

that would be cool if you could submit the story and papers and coin to PCGS and they slab it genuine with the notation, "Doctored" and the date

Justacommeman · January 19, 2011 1:56AM

Whew, I was worried that this was going to be a picture thread..............glad it worked out. MJ

Outhaul · January 19, 2011 1:59AM

This, too, will pass.

UtahCoin · January 19, 2011 2:02AM

Did it tone? Would that be considered AT or NT?

blue594 · January 19, 2011 2:13AM

<< Did it tone? Would that be considered AT or NT? >>

It was the late 60's when by brother swallowed a Roosevelt dime. He was maybe 2 or 3 years old.
Because he was young, my Mom had to search through his poop for about four days to make sure that it came out.
She fished it out and lo and behold it was a 1966, my brothers birth year.

I remember the coin had wild purple and dark colors from the stomach acid.
I think he still has it.

John

llafoe · January 19, 2011 2:15AM

<< 

<< Did it tone? Would that be considered AT or NT? >>

It was the late 60's when by brother swallowed a Roosevelt dime. He was maybe 2 or 3 years old.
Because he was young, my Mom had to search through his poop for about four days to make sure that it came out.
She fished it out and lo and behold it was a 1966, my brothers birth year.

I remember the coin had wild purple and dark colors from the stomach acid.
I think he still has it.

John >>

Crappy story!

19Lyds · January 19, 2011 2:23AM

I swallowed a cent as a kid but I wasn't 4. I do remember that it really hurt but was too embarassed to mention it to anybody.

No I didn't check for where it ended up.

airplanenut · January 19, 2011 2:26AM

NGC will slab this as "Esophageal Effect"

BAJJERFAN · January 19, 2011 2:30AM

<< NGC will slab this as "Esophageal Effect" >>

PCGS would slab it Genuine. SWALLOWED

PTVETTER · January 19, 2011 2:32AM

chances are he is an MD not a PHD
Childrens hospital use to be in the Oakland area now in the Bloomfield/garfield area of Pittsburgh

Glad all came out OK

All thoses areas are still in Steeler country

RYK is a doctor and collect coins is a doctor that collects coins a coin _________?

MsMorrisine · January 19, 2011 2:38AM

<< Did it tone? Would that be considered AT or NT? >>

I thought he was dipping it?

QuarterCollector · January 19, 2011 2:45AM

<< you definitely want to save that coin with the hospital papers and a picture of the kid. (glad to hear he's ok)

that would be cool if you could submit the story and papers and coin to PCGS and they slab it genuine with the notation, "Doctored" and the date >>

That would be awesome.

DCW · January 19, 2011 3:01AM

2000 Lincoln Cent? Check the reverse, maybe it's a "WIDE AM." Perhaps the first ever to be ingested. I'd pay the slabbing fees for the memory.

johnny9434 · January 19, 2011 3:54AM

would that be considered artificially toned ?

razzle · January 19, 2011 4:17AM

It chokes me up that some kids just can't "stomach" collecting coins. Poor Doc, I'll bet it threw his scope for a loupe.

Glad it came out okay. I agree with the posters above who recommend a slab or some way to preserve the coin and the memory. Thanks for sharing the story.

coindeuce · January 19, 2011 4:25AM

Fer cripes sake Joe, feed the kid once in a while and he won't be taste testing Zincolns.

ColonelJessup · January 19, 2011 4:30AM

Great story! Even better story if he swallows a nickel and you get 4c change.

morgandollar1878 · January 19, 2011 4:59AM

Sure send it in to PCGS and get it slabbed. When he turns 18 you can give it to him as a present. Glad to hear that he's okay.

Raybob15239 · January 19, 2011 5:03AM

Buy a CoinWorld Slab and self-slab it with an appropriate label with the date of attempted ingestion, date of removal and the amount of the hospital bill. Present it to him when he graduates and tell him he has to reimburse you, with retroactive interest of course!

LindeDad · January 19, 2011 5:36AM

Sue the mint for poisoning your child.

WoodenJefferson · January 19, 2011 5:48AM

<< This, too, will pass. >>

Pre-1982 copper cents did, not so with the post 1982 zinc composition.

Blurb:

Doctors at Duke University
Medical Center in Durham,
North Carolina, have
learned that a penny
saved isn't always a
good thing, particularly
if that penny
was minted after
1982. A team of
doctors found that
children who swallow
post-1982 pennies
may develop
stomach ulcers if the
coins become lodged in
their digestive tracts. More
than 21,000 children visited the
emergency room in 1997 after swallowing
coins.

Rollerman · January 19, 2011 6:04AM

Glad the little one is alright.
I've always liked Mercury Dimes as I remember my Mother saving them and putting them in rolls to take ot the bank. Maybe I like them because I too swallowed one when I was 4 years old. It hurt going down, I still remember that and that penny must have hurt even more. The Doctor told my Mom to feed me a couple of pieces of bread to help it pass and to check to make sure it had passed in a day or two. It did pass.
I've told this story before, but the bottom line is: I don't know if Mercury dimes are in my blood, but they have passed through my digestive tract!

Pete

HKstrongside · January 19, 2011 6:15AM

Scary story. Glad he is ok. Gives new meaning to the term "knock some CENTs into them"

Schmitz7 · January 19, 2011 6:24AM

Maybe NGC would slab it similar to the "Shipwreck Effect" label.

Broadstruck · January 19, 2011 6:26AM

<< Great story! Even better story if he swallows a nickel and you get 4c change.

>>

That's just wrong... But funny!

JoeV · January 19, 2011 6:43AM

Thanks everyone! There's a lot of good humor in this thread and great ideas for what to do. I really like "Esophageal Effect" or getting it in a genuine holder and have it labeled "Doctored". Too bad I already sent in my quartely special, I could of used it for this coin. I don't know if it was the acid in the esophogus or what they cleaned the penny with but 24 hours ago the coin was very bright and overnight it really toned up darker and very splotchy. It's not a wide AM either, that's too bad because that would have been cool.

JoeV · January 19, 2011 6:45AM

Pre-1982 copper cents did, not so with the post 1982 zinc composition.

Blurb:

Doctors at Duke University
Medical Center in Durham,
North Carolina, have
learned that a penny
saved isn't always a
good thing, particularly
if that penny
was minted after
1982. A team of
doctors found that
children who swallow
post-1982 pennies
may develop
stomach ulcers if the
coins become lodged in
their digestive tracts. More
than 21,000 children visited the
emergency room in 1997 after swallowing
coins.

VERY INTERESTING!

fiveNdime · January 19, 2011 7:41AM

<< PCGS would slab it Genuine. SWALLOWED >>

this .01 would be 'LODGED'

Bigrig52 · January 19, 2011 9:47AM

Put it in a plastic baggy and take it to a coin dealer to see what he would give you for it..It would be slabbed as rear mint damage..

habaraca · January 19, 2011 12:24PM

Maybe you should post the picture to get RYK's professional opinion.....

course reading xrays is expensive but maybe he will give the CU discount......

JoeV · January 19, 2011 1:38PM

Well you ask for it, so here's the X-Ray and the picture the scope took of the coin. Technology is amazing! RYK what do you think? I hope I'm not breaking any rules. But I guess its coins related????

BigE · January 19, 2011 1:45PM

Very nice, you have the tru view pics, and photo seal, now all you need is the hospital write up to send along with the submission to pcgs, and the pedigree should be on the holder

-------BigE

Coins101 · January 19, 2011 2:00PM

My son swollowed a quarter when he was in 3rd grade. My wife is an RN in Peds and she asked one of the Doc's if he needed to come in. He said if he could drink a glass of water, it was ok. Just check in a couple days to see if it passed. I though that was going to be a crappy deal. So, I whipped out the old metal detector and beep, beep - there it was. Next day, the same thing but the day after that, nothing. The next day, still nothing. So, it was on its way to the sewer plant.

ProofArtworkonCircs · January 19, 2011 2:54PM

Years ago my granddaughter swallowed a penny. The penny her brother was playing with was missing. She could no longer swallow solid food but could drink. She was taken to the HMO. The doctor said we were not sure that she swallowed it and he would not risk an x-ray unless we were sure. He sent her home. Several days later they went back to the HMO and saw a different doctor. He did an X-ray and found it lodged in the throat. Another doctor then removed it and complained that we had made the job harder by not bring her in earlier.

MarkInDavis · January 19, 2011 4:20PM

Clearly, you should have slabbed it sooner and saved a boatload of money and aggravation. I am assuming of course the slab would be too big to swallow.

Glad it ended well.

NumisOxide · January 19, 2011 4:46PM

Glad your son is ok and that pic is awesome and sick looking!

DrPete · January 20, 2011 2:21AM

Glad the kid is OK. That cent cost you and the health care system a lot of money, but I'm glad we have a system to take care of such events.

The coin has undergone exposure to a variety of substances including saliva (exzymes such as amylases are in saliva), and possibly gastric acid, although the coin became lodged in the tubular esophagus from what the endoscopic photo shows. Don't forget it has also received x-rays. Chances are good that the metal of the cent has been damaged by various biologic fluids it encountered. The sniffer of PCGS likely could detect the presence of organic materials on the coin. In fact, perhaps PCGS would like the coin to test it in their sniffer. I doubt that they have many examples in their possession to test (I can't see them asking staff to swallow coins, then get them out and test them with the sniffer).

It reminds me of the time when I was a pathology resident at University of Michigan and a piece of flatware swallowed by a patient with a mental disorder was removed by a surgeon, and dutifully submitted to pathology. The surgeon wrote on the requisition card, in the space for question for pathologist, "Tea vs tablespoon." It was a tablespoon. I found that rather amusing.

renomedphys · January 20, 2011 2:39AM

After seeing a particularly convincingly toned fake 1/2 cent at FUN, I got to talking to some of the vendors about how this type of patina might be applied to a fresh coin. One of them responded, "they feed it to a duck." I wonder if the effect would be the same had it been allowed to pass

DrPete · January 21, 2011 5:41AM

Looks like we've reached the "end" of the story/thread, here.

AnkurJ · January 21, 2011 5:53AM

Glad he is ok. If it was a coin with a reeded edge, the esophagus could have been damaged quite badly.

My 4 year-old son ate a penny - removal by coin doctor

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