Anyone Know the Specs of the Canada 1859 Brass Cent?

[kidrootbeer]

Just wondering if anyone has the specs of the 1859 Brass Cent... this one has the same obverse and reverse  dies as Heritage's PCGS VF20, just in an earlier die state. I've "lit it up" under a full-spectrum 100W light bulb, and it didn't react as most of the copper cents do

[physics-fan3.14]

I don't know what you mean by "specs" - weight and diameter info should be available in Krause, but if you want something more than you'll need to be more specific. 

And I don't know what you mean when you say that coin "didn't react" as most coppers do? What were you expecting? What happened? 

[kidrootbeer]

Specific Gravity, or Composition. Weight and Diameter are not OK for this coin, as no Brass varieties exist in this grade, and the diameter would be the same. When I photograph Canadian Large Cents under intense light, there is a 'pinkish' cast-this one is white. If the photo were sharper, you would see the recutting in the legends.

If this is the True Spec for the Copper 1859 Cents: 95 copper, .04 tin, .01 tin, then at what point does it turn into Brass

[Conder101]

Short of an XRF gun or other similar non-destructive testing methods there is no real way to be sure about a brass or bronze composition.  The weight, diameter, and specific gravity would be too similar to tell them apart.  I'm fairly sure in the past they have just been identified in many cases just by color which in my opinion is too subjective.  Especially if you don't know the actual exact composition they were supposedly made from.

[kidrootbeer]

I was wondering if PCGS had spec'ed any of the examples they've certified. This thing is mustard yellow and blue, with luster. The only way I know for certain is to dip it: if it's "pinkish: it's Copper, "whitish" means Brass (I did it to a CWT I knew was Brass, except that it was unknown in the metal; now, it's the only CWT encapsulated as Copper by NGC, but with the Brass alloy on the label. Go figure) I don't want to do that to this, it's a nice AU, and if it's Brass it's a Monster in the series

[physics-fan3.14]

46 minutes ago, allmine said:

I was wondering if PCGS had spec'ed any of the examples they've certified. This thing is mustard yellow and blue, with luster. The only way I know for certain is to dip it: if it's "pinkish: it's Copper, "whitish" means Brass (I did it to a CWT I knew was Brass, except that it was unknown in the metal; now, it's the only CWT encapsulated as Copper by NGC, but with the Brass alloy on the label. Go figure) I don't want to do that to this, it's a nice AU, and if it's Brass it's a Monster in the series

I don't know about PCGS, but I know that NGC offers a metallurgical analysis of coins submitted. They use non-destructive testing like Conder mentioned above, and they will tell you the alloy of your coin. This service is not cheap, but if the brass version is rare it may be worth it. 

[Conder101]

See if you have a "we buy gold" or jeweler, or pawn shop around you that has an XRF gun that can shoot it for you and  pray for a zinc reading well over 5%.  If it does THEN you may want to consider certification.

[kidrootbeer]

I have a dealer or two nearby with those devices (one is a scanner) used for metal content-they buy a lot of scrap... I'd like to know the specs of the Brass first, but I believe that that data is non-existent. Yeah, if it is Brass, my kid goes to college for *Free*

[kidrootbeer]

Mine is not worn enough to bring out the patina; but I dunno about NGC: they alloy-tested and affirmed my token as Brass, but still named it Copper on the label