Fake penny I found in change.

[coalfire]

Has anyone ever heard of Fake US penneys? I found this in some change from Walmart. It is a 1989 penney. It looked odd so I got out my loop and saw it is not copper but copper plated. Alot of the surfave is still copper colored, but the surface looks granulated. The metal underneath is silver colored. The edge that is supposed to be flat is slightly rounded. The phrase "One Cent on the back is actually missing it's raised features on the ON and part of the first E.
Any help would be great.
~Z~

 

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[wildrider]

Probably not fake, just made out of cheap ass materials.

They corrode and wear real bad. I had one that looked almost silver colored due to lack of copper I guess.

Burt

 

[coalfire]

I really don't think it is real. It feels a bit light and sounds off when dropped. But then who am I to judge coins. Then again
~Z~

 

[Jeffro]

All cents since 1982 are copper plated zinc.

 

[stoney56]

I'd say it's real. Probably just a weak strike or was one of the last ones struck before they changed the dies and as Jeffro stated, it's just copper plated zinc. There's no money to be made in counterfeiting common date memorials.

 

[eagle77]

Maybe its one of the coins from Canada that is spying on us!? Get the tin foil j/k

 

[Cerulean]

It really helps to know that pennies made after 1982 are only copper plated.

Congratulations... it's a roadkill penny. This is a textbook description of a post-1982 copper-plated zinc cent that's spent time in being driven over repeatedly in a parking lot. The copper outer layer gets ground away by tire-on-asphalt action, particularly near the rim, exposing the silvery granular zinc exterior. If the coin's doubly unfortunate, the exposed zinc will react with water and bubble outward from where the damage is, making the coin all but indentifiable as a penny.

I see them often, some of the ugliest pennies ever. I try to rehabilitate them as best I can into recognizable penny form, and I hope the Mint destroys them whem they find them.

 

[coalfire]

Thanks for all the help! I just thought it was me. You all taught me something new.
Respect,
~Z~