What happened here???

[Tristan De Luna]

What happened here?

 

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[Charlie P. (NY)]

Acids in the soil?

In 1982 the US Mint went to a 97.5% zinc blank with 2.5% copper laminated surfaces

In 1996 the US Mint started to produce cents out of oatmeal and mud.

 

[Tristan De Luna]

Acids in the soil?

In 1982 the US Mint went to a 97.5% zinc blank with 2.5% copper laminated surfaces

In 1996 the US Mint started to produce cents out of oatmeal and mud.

Well learned something new today. Thank you for the info .

 

[PetesPockets55]

Acids in the soil? ......... In 1996 the US Mint started to produce cents out of oatmeal and mud.

You might be onto something with that "alloy".

The voids and hollow spots you are seeing on the coin is the underlying zinc core dissolving.

Zinc is considered a sacrificial metal to most other metals. That is a fancy way of saying it reacts to oxygen (galvanic corrosion) faster than most other metals. That is the reason zinc is used as anodes on boat motors and water heaters. It will dissolve before the other metals it is attached to.

 

[rebbel31]

"Zincolns" are notorious for rotting. I think there's whole threads on who has the ugliest.

 

[HuntH2002]

Environmental damage due to the high reactivity of the zinc content.

 

[smokeythecat]

If you lay one out in the driveway near the exhaust end of your car, it will eat it up quickly. Left on a parking lot next to the ocean, with ocean spray, only takes a day or two to really corrode it.

 

[Tristan De Luna]

If you lay one out in the driveway near the exhaust end of your car, it will eat it up quickly. Left on a parking lot next to the ocean, with ocean spray, only takes a day or two to really corrode it.

Mind blown.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

One of the parks I coin shoot uses a sprayed nitrogen fertilizer on the grass. Even two year old coins look like chewed oatmeal cookies.

 

[blauer]

Here is something I made from my own research (possibly inaccurate):

Metallic content for:

Indian Head pennies:
1859 to 1864 - 88% copper, 12% nickel
1864 to 1909 - 95% '' , 5% ''

Lincoln Head:
1909 to 1942 - 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc
1942 - '' '' , 5% zinc
1943 - zinc-plated steel
'44 to '46 - 95% copper, 5% zinc
'47 to '62 - '' '' , 5% tin and zinc
'62 to '82 - '' '' , 5% zinc
'82 to now - copper-plated zinc
(1982 included both types)

Jefferson nickels:
1938 to 1942 - 75% copper, 25% nickel
'42 to '45 - 56% '' , 35% SILVER, 9% manganese
'46 to now - 75% '' , 25% nickel

GOLD:
10K - 42% pure gold, 20% silver, 38% copper
12K - 50% '' '' , 15% '' , 35% ''
14K - 58% '' '' , 21% '' , 21% ''
18K - 75% '' '' , 15% '' , 10% ''
22K - 91.66% '' '' , 4.16% '' , 4.16% ''
24K - 99.9% '' ''

white gold - 81% pure gold, 10% nickel, 9% zinc
dental '' - 58% '' '' , 30% silver, 12% copper

SILVER:
Sterling - 92.5% pure silver, 7.5% copper
platinum silver - 66.7% pure silver, 33.3% platinum
German silver - 0% pure silver, 60% copper, 25% zinc, 15% nickel