1983 penny that is silver looking

[Anely]

Anybody know why this penny isn't copper colored and how much it might be worth. A guy spent it at my job today so I put a penny in my till and took this one lol.

 

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[kcm]

This is the 2nd such cent I've heard about lately. Both were 1983's. My guess is someone removed the copper coating on 1983's thinking they could fool someone into believing it was a Mint mistake during the changeover from copper cents to zinc.

Sorry, this is not an error. Would be considered damage.

 

[woodstock]

It has been dipped in Mercury and that's all . I did this as a kid ... find a termostat with a Mercury tip switch and remove the Mercury . Then add a cent and role it in the Mercury and abracadabra it's silver colored ... and it just sticks until wear and tear removes it ... Woodstock

 

[enamel7]

Doesn't look like mercury. Appears to have been plated.

 

[galenrog]

Zinc plating will produce this color, among others. Junior High chemistry 45 years ago. Just do an Internet search on how to turn a penny silver, or better yet, take the process one step further and turn it gold in color. Just chemistry that has been known since at least ancient Egypt.