1994 Penny printed on a Dime Planchet?

[jgirard02]

Hi everyone, I am a new paid member of coneca and actually very new to coin collecting as well. I've been wanting to get into this hobby for some time but have always put it off for other things. I just happened to stumble across an odd looking penny and throught it would be a great time to jump in! please bare with me if i dont use the right terminology or if this is not a unique situation.

I found this 1994 penny and noticed right away that it looked odd - it seemed a bit smaller than a typical penny and was silver/copper colored. I looked closer and noticed that the date was hard to read as its printed up to the edge of the coin. On the back, the words are also printed very close/off the edge. I overlayed it onto another penny and it is definitely smaller (added a side by side for comparison)

As i was digging around i had read that it could be a penny printed on a dime planchet but im not sure. It is the same circumrance as a dime but is slightly thicker with smooth outer edge. Hoping someone here can share some thoughts or insights.

Thanks,
Josh

[sumdunce]

The cent is a zinc core copper plated planchet. There appears to have been surface damage after it left the mint which removed some of the copper plating and exposed the zinc core. IMHO post mint damage (PMD) sorry.

[MintErrors]

In my opinion, this zinc cent was either dipped in a corrosive or acid bath.
The photos are fuzzy to confirm this, but it is more than likely the case.

The caustic bath would eat as the copper lining, exposing the zinc core, it would slightly reduce the diameter, making it look odd.

As the caustic bath tries to escape it eats at the rim, and in turn makes it smaller. The surfaces of the coin will be uneven in some places, and you may see ravines where the caustic material traveled.

Clear photos are better than too close.
We typically can download and manipulate them as needed, so a good photo that is focused helps a lot.

The inner area of the Lincoln cent will be bluish in color.
If it was struck on a dime planchet, it would not have copper on the outer layer in most cases.

Weight in this case is important BUT, this coin is damaged, pretty bad, and we would not know an semi-accurate weight. Amazon sells small digital scales that go to hundredths of a gram (x.xx) for less than 20 bucks shipped to my office. Same with a digital caliper.

[jgirard02]

Thank you for the replies!

"If it was struck on a dime planchet, it would not have copper on the outer layer in most cases" - yes, thought about that right after i posted and felt a bit dumb. - interesting thought on the caustic bath shrinking the diameter! just seemed odd that it is the exact circumfrance of a dime.

I did try to weigh it on my kitchen scale but it only reads whole number. Ill have to put an order in for a different scale.

Well, thanks again for the thoughts - was hoping it was a cool, rare find but maybe not. It did spark my interest in the hunt though so now it looks like i have a new hobby.

[Petespockets55]

Congrats on finally diving into the hobby.

When I enlarge the image it is easy to see this is a classic example of the copper plating having been sanded/ground down. The high points of the design are the first to go.

(Acid would take an equal amount of copper plating off all surfaces of the coin, not just the high points.)