A first, and a great find (for me)

[Twitch]

Went to the grocery store today, walked by the Coinstar on the way in and grabbed a few coins out of the reject slot. Didn't look at them and proceeded to go get some food (it was Taco night at home). Checked out through the self check out and got a gold plated penny in my change (Also found a dime on the floor by the checkout) . Never seen one of those before in the wild. When I got out to the truck I checked the coinstar change and found four Zincolns and a '60'D Rosie. It's small potato's for most of you but I'm pretty stoked about both the Rosie and the gold plated penny. Picture has the silver dime, the gold penny and two other pennies for color comparison.

Thanks for looking.
Twitch

 

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[Wickaboag]

Free silver rosie? NOT SMALL POTATOES!
Great Find
Wickaboag

 

[Diver_Down]

Indeed, it might be a great find. I don't think you have a gold-plated cent. What you might have is a brass-plated cent. The difference is if it is a gold-plated cent than it is PMD and only worth a novelty/curiosity. If it is brass-plated then it is a result of the minting process and is considered a mint error. What happens that the zinc planchets proceed to the copper plating tank. Occasionally, zinc planchets become lodged in the copper plating process eventually dissolving. When this happens, it contaminates the copper plating and turns it to brass. Typically, they are discovered in the minting process and are destroyed. A few get released into circulation. They aren't terribly rare, but they do carry a premium. Unfortunately, they need to be tested and attributed in order to "earn" the premium.

Nice find, indeed.

 

[Twitch]

Indeed, it might be a great find. I don't think you have a gold-plated cent. What you might have is a brass-plated cent. The difference is if it is a gold-plated cent than it is PMD and only worth a novelty/curiosity. If it is brass-plated then it is a result of the minting process and is considered a mint error. What happens that the zinc planchets proceed to the copper plating tank. Occasionally, zinc planchets become lodged in the copper plating process eventually dissolving. When this happens, it contaminates the copper plating and turns it to brass. Typically, they are discovered in the minting process and are destroyed. A few get released into circulation. They aren't terribly rare, but they do carry a premium. Unfortunately, they need to be tested and attributed in order to "earn" the premium.

Nice find, indeed.

Wicka - Yeah, I'll take a free silver Rosie any day of the week.

Diver Down - Thanks for the education. In hand I guess it could be brass or gold. It's a 1999-D and on the back you can see the copper under the gold or brass, looks like it's a high spot on the coin and the coating wore off. Is there any way I can test to see if it's gold or brass coated?

Thanks again.

 

[Diver_Down]

Take photos of the obverse and reverse without any other coins in the picture. If you can, focus in on the "high spot". The plating process isn't perfect and has been known to "blister". I'll trust what you see in hand. If there is a another material under the plating and it isn't zinc, then it is indeed PMD and only worth the novelty/curiosity. If you indeed have a brass plated cent, then attribution is necessary. Ken Potter offers attribution services or you will have to check Coneca Coneca - Attribution Services .

 

[Twitch]

Diver - thanks for taking the time to help me out. Unfortunately the stairs, under the coating, are certainly copper. I appreciate the education. It goes into my 'weird, cool finds' joining a '43 lincoln from the Coinstar from a few months ago and a nice proof lincoln from mid-2012.

Thanks again

 

[Infector101]

Indeed, it might be a great find. I don't think you have a gold-plated cent. What you might have is a brass-plated cent. The difference is if it is a gold-plated cent than it is PMD and only worth a novelty/curiosity. If it is brass-plated then it is a result of the minting process and is considered a mint error. What happens that the zinc planchets proceed to the copper plating tank. Occasionally, zinc planchets become lodged in the copper plating process eventually dissolving. When this happens, it contaminates the copper plating and turns it to brass. Typically, they are discovered in the minting process and are destroyed. A few get released into circulation. They aren't terribly rare, but they do carry a premium. Unfortunately, they need to be tested and attributed in order to "earn" the premium.

Nice find, indeed.

Diver Down, I don't think it's a mint error. It could be but I think it most likely from a science experiment. What you do in place a penny in a heated solution of zinc powder and sodium hydroxide. This will plate the penny with zinc. You then place the penny in the flame of a Bunsen burner for 10-15 seconds and you get a brass plated penny. I've made many in science class. Eventually the brass tarnishes and you get the look of the coin from the OP.

 

[Diver_Down]

Diver Down, I don't think it's a mint error. It could be but I think it most likely from a science experiment. What you do in place a penny in a heated solution of zinc powder and sodium hydroxide. This will plate the penny with zinc. You then place the penny in the flame of a Bunsen burner for 10-15 seconds and you get a brass plated penny. I've made many in science class. Eventually the brass tarnishes and you get the look of the coin from the OP.
View attachment 738935

Actually, it is a mint error. The process I described is originally mentioned in a letter to Ken Potter from the Mint director in 1985. He has a letter posted on his site. The letter was before word-processors as the Mint director has a fragment sentence then skips to another paragraph. The key between the Mint error and science project gone wrong is the absence of a different plating material under the brass plating. Ken has a few for sale attributed and slabbed on his site.

http://koinpro.tripod.com/VarietiesUS/MintLetter.jpg

http://koinpro.tripod.com/Brass.htm

 

[TimZim]

Am not into pennys but good for you keep hunting!!

 

[hotrod]

nice!

 

[Bigheed]

its probably the science experiment version, we made them for engineering fair every year for the chemical engineers and sold them as "magic penny's" to kids (i.e. parents). put them on the stove and turn to gold!

 

[sagittarius98]

Actually, it is a mint error. The process I described is originally mentioned in a letter to Ken Potter from the Mint director in 1985. He has a letter posted on his site. The letter was before word-processors as the Mint director has a fragment sentence then skips to another paragraph. The key between the Mint error and science project gone wrong is the absence of a different plating material under the brass plating. Ken has a few for sale attributed and slabbed on his site.