2005 P Minnesota quarter Very Strange

[checkman]

A coworker came to me with a quarter that he had just found in his pocket change. It looks like a different metal and lacks the copper clad edge. At first I figured it was just plated, but I agreed to check it out in detail. The measurements show it to be a little heavy, but what is really strange is that it is mildly magnetic. Any ideas?

 

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[willis7]

chrome plated or some other similar plating

 

[checkman]

Thats what I thought, but it is easily picked up with a weak refrigerator type magnet. I would think that would require an extremely heavy nickel plate which should show up in the dimensions. I wonder what other nondestructive tests I can try.

 

[huntsman53]

You can remove a little bit of material either from between the reeding on the edge (low spot between the high points, from the top of a reed or both to see if there is a hint of Copper. Considering that Digital Micrometers can be somewhat unreliable if not zeroed correctly or continue rolling the wheel/dial with your' thumb even after the blades have touched the surface of the coin or back it off a little once it has touched the surface of the coin, I believe that the coin is within tolerances as far as diameter and thickness are concerned! The coin has the appearance that it was either dipped in a Silver solution or coated with Mercury and I base this on the look of the surface of the fields. If so, then this could explain for why the coin is 0.17 of a gram overweight. Since the coin might be coated with Mercury, I would advise to never taste it or place it in your' mouth and make sure to wash your' hands after handling it.

One final note! You could compare the ring of the coin when slightly dropped onto a hard surfaced table or counter top compared to a pre-1965 Silver Washington Quarter to see if they sound the same or are different. Silver Dimes, Quarters, Halfs and even Silver Dollars have a distinct Silver ring to them! If the ring of the coin is dull, then I would say that it was dipped or coated.

Frank

 

[willis7]

it's a 2005 p quarter so it's not silver plus it's magnetic so it's not silver plated or mercury coated it's down to just the ferrous metals that it could be plated with like chrome or pure nickel

also I think if it was dipped in mercury it wouldn't resemble a quarter any more, I may be wrong about that but I think it reacts the same with copper as it does with gold and aluminum