Whats Your Worst Zinc Penny

coinman123

Silver Member
Feb 21, 2013
4,659
5,768
New England, Somewhere Metal Detecting in the Wood
🥇 Banner finds
2
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Teknetics T2 SE (DST)
Spare Teknetics T2 SE (backup)
15" T2 coil
Pro-Pointer
Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202
Fisher F2
Fisher F-Point
Primary Interest:
Other
What's Your Worst Zinc Penny

Zinc pennies are one of the biggest nuisances to metal detectorist, chances are you probably have a bad one, so why not see how bad some of them really are?

I have found a few bad ones, such as a zincoln with over 75% of the coin eaten away, it's in the shape of a "U"! I will try to get pictures, right now it's in my clad bag.
 

Last edited:

Msbeepbeep

Gold Member
Jun 24, 2012
15,787
24,131
MA
Detector(s) used
M-6, pro pointer, pistol probe
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have some really bad ones that are just crumbs but don't have pics of them, these I cleaned recently.
image.jpg
The coins far right bottom are the zinc core only no copper left on them.
 

Last edited:

lookindown

Gold Member
Mar 11, 2010
7,089
4,936
Florida
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
ACE 250,AT PRO, CZ21...RTG pro scoop...Stealth 720
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
My worst zincoln was so disintegrated that it didn't give a signal and I didn't find it. :tongue3:
 

68K

Full Member
Nov 19, 2013
130
140
Maryland
Detector(s) used
AT PRO
Pro Pointer AT
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I usually end up just throwing them away, unless I think they can go through a CoinStar. What do you guys do with the crusty corroded ones anyway? Can you turn them into a bank?
 

lookindown

Gold Member
Mar 11, 2010
7,089
4,936
Florida
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
ACE 250,AT PRO, CZ21...RTG pro scoop...Stealth 720
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I throw the crusty ones in the trash.
 

Msbeepbeep

Gold Member
Jun 24, 2012
15,787
24,131
MA
Detector(s) used
M-6, pro pointer, pistol probe
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
When coin star rejects them I will include them in my change then spend them at stores, so far no refusals .
The ones that are in pieces I'm going to glue on something to decorate it.
 

NWMP

Hero Member
Nov 20, 2009
591
503
Riding a unicorn in the Saskatchewan mountains
Detector(s) used
Tejon, AT Pro, Simplex, Legend, and I still go home with a hand full of clad and junk some days.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
In the last few years before we discontinued our clad penny in Canada, it was basically made of the same junk, and rotted the same way. Hopefully in a few more years these corroded chunks of hell spawn will have vanished.
 

BigWaveDave

Gold Member
Nov 22, 2013
9,323
16,998
Mountain Maryland
🥇 Banner finds
2
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
4
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Pro, AT Max, Minelab
Equinox 800
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
The worst Zincolns are the ones that I put in my Whitman blue book 25-30 years ago in mint condition, and have since begun to corrode. I hadn't looked athem in 20 years, then I was like WTF!!!:BangHead:
 

Back-of-the-boat

Gold Member
Apr 18, 2013
6,891
8,524
California
Detector(s) used
AT GOLD/Garrett /C.Scope cs4PI/Garrett(carrot) pro pointer/ 5x8 double d coil and sniper coil/Lesche digger/Lesche "T" handle shovel.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I usually end up just throwing them away, unless I think they can go through a CoinStar. What do you guys do with the crusty corroded ones anyway? Can you turn them into a bank?
I roll them up and tell the bank they are bad.The bank told me no problem they send them in and don't use them in their trays .
 

68K

Full Member
Nov 19, 2013
130
140
Maryland
Detector(s) used
AT PRO
Pro Pointer AT
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I roll them up and tell the bank they are bad.The bank told me no problem they send them in and don't use them in their trays .
Thanks. I think I will start doing that. It's better than throwing away money!
 

Diggin-N-Dumps

Gold Member
Sep 9, 2009
6,046
3,781
Fort Worth,Texas
Detector(s) used
CTX 3030 / AT PRO / Etrac w/ NEL
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I roll them up and tell the bank they are bad.The bank told me no problem they send them in and don't use them in their trays .

Thats the Best bet. Ive looked into sending them back to the mint, But the hoops you have to jump thru and paperwork, its better to let the bank do it
 

OP
OP
coinman123

coinman123

Silver Member
Feb 21, 2013
4,659
5,768
New England, Somewhere Metal Detecting in the Wood
🥇 Banner finds
2
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Teknetics T2 SE (DST)
Spare Teknetics T2 SE (backup)
15" T2 coil
Pro-Pointer
Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202
Fisher F2
Fisher F-Point
Primary Interest:
Other
The worst Zincolns are the ones that I put in my Whitman blue book 25-30 years ago in mint condition, and have since begun to corrode. I hadn't looked athem in 20 years, then I was like WTF!!!:BangHead:

I have to admit, that's ironic.

I know of people who put silver eagle bullion coins in coin folders, and a year later they are brown with tarnish. This is not the nice natural toning, if you send them to a grading company, they would come back as "Artificially Toned"
 

OP
OP
coinman123

coinman123

Silver Member
Feb 21, 2013
4,659
5,768
New England, Somewhere Metal Detecting in the Wood
🥇 Banner finds
2
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Teknetics T2 SE (DST)
Spare Teknetics T2 SE (backup)
15" T2 coil
Pro-Pointer
Bounty Hunter Pioneer 202
Fisher F2
Fisher F-Point
Primary Interest:
Other
My worst zincoln was so disintegrated that it didn't give a signal and I didn't find it. :tongue3:

Probably in 50 years, every zincoln dropped between 1982-2014 would have disintegrated and be part of the dirt. LOL
 

Diggin-N-Dumps

Gold Member
Sep 9, 2009
6,046
3,781
Fort Worth,Texas
Detector(s) used
CTX 3030 / AT PRO / Etrac w/ NEL
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Probably in 50 years, every zincoln dropped between 1982-2014 would have disintegrated and be part of the dirt. LOL

seems like a great plan from our Gov...they already made paper money, why not make money that denigrates too!...Which is Why im huge on giving that shiii back to them
 

jeff of pa

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 19, 2003
85,923
59,718
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
no way to pick just one

DSCF0001.JPG
DSCF0002.JPG
 

AugustMoose87

Sr. Member
Sep 10, 2014
443
264
Longmont, CO
Detector(s) used
Gold Pan, Sluice, Hand Dredge, X-Terra 30, X-Terra 705, Sand Shark
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I wish I would have taken a picture when I dug it up, but I dug one on a freshwater beach that was a concrete like mass of sand. It was definitely what the detector was reacting to, and I was thinking there was a lead fishing weight in the middle of it or something. So I broke it apart, only to find a penny inside, now in 3 pieces.....
 

RJ55

Bronze Member
Jul 2, 2014
1,449
1,186
western NC
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
XP Deus/Garrett Pro Pointer II
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Take your pick.

photo.JPG
 

TSCOM

Jr. Member
Oct 13, 2014
62
27
Georgia
Detector(s) used
Fisher F5, Tesoro Compadre
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
What's the years on those really bad ones?
 

Msbeepbeep

Gold Member
Jun 24, 2012
15,787
24,131
MA
Detector(s) used
M-6, pro pointer, pistol probe
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
AM87- I still have one encased in sand like concrete.
As for a readable date the really bad ones aren't readable too corroded. Most are probably dated after 1982.
Some of mine are in bits and pieces or just the black zinc core, no copper left at all. Those I think I'm stuck with.
 

Top Member Reactions

Users who are viewing this thread

Top