Macquel Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 (edited) Hi there! Fairly new coin collector here. From what I've researched, many silver/steel looking coins nowadays are mainly made of copper, so I'm guessing that's the brown that's showing through..? However, I am curious if anyone has an idea or theories of why it's in this specific pattern. It looks like maybe some sort of liquid chemical that ruined the top layer was spritzed onto the coin or something? I tried looking up similar photos and found nothing. I'm not looking to see if this is valuable or anything. I'm just genuinely curious. I think it looks pretty cool! It's a fun little addition to my growing collection Edited November 17, 2020 by Macquel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moxie15 Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 the metal reacted to something it contacted. Hard to say what it was Macquel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWB Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 A normal quarter (post 1964) has a core of pure copper with outer light gray color cladding of copper (75%) nickel (25%) alloy. The copper-nickel is much harder and tougher than pure copper. Photos suggest the coin was exposed to a strong reagent that dissolved parts of the copper-nickel cladding, but was rinsed off before it reacted with the copper core. An odd looking coin but, as the OP noted, of no particular value. Macquel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James_OldeTowne Posted November 18, 2020 Share Posted November 18, 2020 Numerous circumstances could create that look, none of which add value or numismatic interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
