Indian Head Penny Question

[pamlicopanther]

I found an Indian Head Penny while detecting in the river recently and I am trying to get some information on it. I am in the process of lightly cleaning it to bring out the date. It looks to be an 1860. What is confusing me is it does not seem to be copper. It looks like gold. Were these made in gold? I read they were made in bronze, but not in 1860.

Any Indian Head experts out there with some information?

Thanks.

 

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[tarpon192]

the red book would tell you the composition of your coin.
1860 indians were made of copper/nickel.
no gold indians that i know of. if it was gold it would come out the same color as the day it was lost, and require very little cleaning if any.
spanish gold is found on the east coast of florida sometimes and they have been buried for almost 300 years in saltwater and sand. it is found looking like the day the ships sank in 1715.
silver is a different story.
good luck.

 

[Rooter]

Hi Panther, It's not unusual at all for IHC's to take on a gold color when they have been cleaned (especially the earlier ones). I guess the composition of the copper is different during those years than later Lincoln cents. I wish they were gold as I have about 100 of 'em that look like that.

 

[pamlicopanther]

Hi Panther, It's not unusual at all for IHC's to take on a gold color when they have been cleaned (especially the earlier ones). I guess the composition of the copper is different during those years than later Lincoln cents. I wish they were gold as I have about 100 of 'em that look like that.

That makes sense. This one actually had a gold color when I pulled it out of my sand scoop. Maybe the sand rubbing it brought out the gold color. It is a nice coin either way. Wishful thinking on my part that it was gold.

 

[DiggerDave in Pa.]

Hi Panther, It's not unusual at all for IHC's to take on a gold color when they have been cleaned (especially the earlier ones). I guess the composition of the copper is different during those years than later Lincoln cents. I wish they were gold as I have about 100 of 'em that look like that.

That makes sense. This one actually had a gold color when I pulled it out of my sand scoop. Maybe the sand rubbing it brought out the gold color. It is a nice coin either way. Wishful thinking on my part that it was gold.

I have found a few like that in the water. The ones I found didn't even need to be cleaned. They came out nice and shiny like gold. DD