1944 penny mixed metal ? 0

[Jaynh]

It’s 3.1 g Could it be mixed Metal And the reverse looks like it might have another design. The reason I say mixed metal When I zoom in with a USB micro scope It looks shiny like steel but it’s not magnetic

Edited November 2, 2019 by Jaynh

[Greenstang]

Never heard of a mixed metal cent. Looks more like Environmental Damage and corrosion to me. The weight and being non magnetic is consistent with it being copper.

[kbbpll]

There were odd alloys used in the 1942 and 1943 pattern cents, but if there was one for 1944, it would be in Roger Burdette's book. I agree that it's just a regular corroded cent.

[Conder101]

Other than the copper half cents and cents, and the current bullion coin, all US coins are made from a mix of metals (Even the plated zinc cents have a small amount of copper mixed with the zinc in the core.).  The question becomes how well are they mixed.  But the OP coin just looks like mottled toning.  The T in CENT is damage.

[Jaynh]

2 hours ago, Conder101 said:

Other than the copper half cents and cents, and the current bullion coin, all US coins are made from a mix of metals (Even the plated zinc cents have a small amount of copper mixed with the zinc in the core.).  The question becomes how well are they mixed.  But the OP coin just looks like mottled toning.  The T in CENT is damage.

Thank you.

[VKurtB]

I believe someone in this coin's past may have zinc plated it to attempt to run some scam. Most of the zinc has worn off.

[Jaynh]

10 minutes ago, VKurtB said:

I believe someone in this coin's past may have zinc plated it to attempt to run some scam. Most of the zinc has worn off.

  how can you tell the difference between one that’s done at the mint and 1 that someone did at home?

[VKurtB]

1 minute ago, Jaynh said:

  how can you tell the difference between one that’s done at the mint and 1 that someone did at home?

In the "real" error, the interior metal must be steel, and would be magnetic. A zinc plating over copper looks okay, when recent, but will not be attracted to a magnet.

[Jaynh]

2 hours ago, VKurtB said:

In the "real" error, the interior metal must be steel, and would be magnetic. A zinc plating over copper looks okay, when recent, but will not be attracted to a magnet.

Thank you for your info one more question. How would you determine steel Plated Zinc

[VKurtB]

19 minutes ago, Jaynh said:

Thank you for your info one more question. How would you determine steel Plated Zinc

Actually it's zinc-plated steel as all 1943 cents are. Any 1944 transitional errors would have the look and magnetic properties of a normal 1943 cent, but with the 1944 date.

The historical irony here is that zinc was used as the plating metal in 1943, but since 1982, the zinc is the inner metal onto which copper is plated. Zinc is funny stuff. Some wartime European coins were zinc through and through and they oxidize white, as all zinc oxide is white. It also keeps your nose from burning in the sun. Zinc oxide is in many sunscreen products.

Edited November 6, 2019 by VKurtB

[Jaynh]

9 minutes ago, VKurtB said:

Actually it's zinc-plated steel as all 1943 cents are. Any 1944 transitional errors would have the look and magnetic properties of a normal 1943 cent, but with the 1944 date.

The historical irony here is that zinc was used as the plating metal in 1943, but since 1982, the zinc is the inner metal onto which copper is plated. Zinc is funny stuff. Some wartime European coins were zinc through and through and they oxidize white, as all zinc oxide is white. It also keeps your nose from burning in the sun. Zinc oxide is in many sunscreen products.

Awesome thank you.

[Conder101]

On 11/6/2019 at 2:01 PM, Jaynh said:

How would you determine steel Plated Zinc

I really don't think you can plate something with steel (you can clad with steel but not plate it)  Common steel is just iron with a percentage of carbon in it.  If you try to plate with it the iron would possibly plate but the carbon most likely would not go along for the ride.