Whats going on with this penny?

[turtlefoot13]

What's going on with this penny?

Hi All,

I have a change find that I got today that has be confused. Let me state, I don't know a whole lot about coins, so this might be common. This penny has a VERY thick edge (that is almost beveled in appearance) and is also has a larger diameter than a regular penny. I thought at first someone had been working on it like they used to do to make rings out of quarters, halves etc. until I realized it was larger in diameter not smaller in diameter. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Doug

 

[Broken knee]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

TF, It looks like a bezel to me.
Broken Knee

 

[Wldbil]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

TF, It looks like a bezel to me.
Broken Knee

I agree, I think someone was trying to put in a bezel to be used as a charm or key chain.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

It looks worked with a spoon. Can you take a pic one on top of another?

 

[Tuberale]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

Hi All,

I have a change find that I got today that has be confused. Let me state, I don't know a whole lot about coins, so this might be common. This penny has a VERY thick edge (that is almost beveled in appearance) and is also has a larger diameter than a regular penny. I thought at first someone had been working on it like they used to do to make rings out of quarters, halves etc. until I realized it was larger in diameter not smaller in diameter. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Doug

You may have found a rarity, Doug. Using my U.S. Coin Digest as a guide, you may have a planchet variety identified as I-B-13 Oversize Planchet. Coin Digest calls this a "Rarity Level 7, Values: $250 up." I'd advise taking it to a coin dealer, and seeing if they agree. It is necessary to accurately weigh the coin before going further, preferably in grams.

 

[turtlefoot13]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

It might be a bezel but I don't think so. Here is why:

1. I looked at it under fairly high magnification and the super thick rim is part of the coin, not something put on.

2. The crazy rim has copper "wash" or "plate" on it in places like the rest of the penny. Where it is gone, you can see the white zinc metal there. I honestly think that the penny is a weird error of some sort.

Is there any record of oversized zinc/copper blanks or is there a chance that two penney blanks got in the die at the same time causing the weird edge?

Doug

 

[turtlefoot13]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

It looks worked with a spoon. Can you take a pic one on top of another?

That's what I originally thought until I saw it was larger than a regular penny. Give me a couple of minutes and I will get a few more pics up. I will try to get an "in focus" pic of the back too.

 

[turtlefoot13]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

You may have found a rarity, Doug. Using my U.S. Coin Digest as a guide, you may have a planchet variety identified as I-B-13 Oversize Planchet. Coin Digest calls this a "Rarity Level 7, Values: $250 up." I'd advise taking it to a coin dealer, and seeing if they agree. It is necessary to accurately weigh the coin before going further, preferably in grams.

Do you know if there are any pics of an oversize planchet on the net anywhere?
Doug

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

Do you know if there are any pics of an oversize planchet on the net anywhere?
Doug

Heres an oversized dime on eBay but the pics are not conclusive IMO.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280377066529

To help prevent error coins from leaving the mints or even from being produced in the first place, each coining facility has installed riddling devices. These are mechanical sifters that cull out undersize, oversize and mis-shapen planchets and coins. In theory, this should prevent all but normally-sized and normally-shaped coins from leaving the mint, but the evidence found in the error coins themselves proves otherwise. Though most of the errors that manage to pass through the mints’ quality control stations are of approximately normal configuration, some wildly oversize or mis-shapen pieces do escape. This is sometimes no accident, as mint employees have been caught selling error coins to collectors and dealers for a nice profit. The U. S. Mint is very aggressive about prosecuting this crime, but the high value assigned to rare error coins remains an incentive for mischief.

 

[turtlefoot13]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

Okay, I cannot get a decent pic of the penny on a penny to turn out but here is pics of the penny with the micrometer. I have also included some more close-ups of the edge and the like.

 

[TxTim]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

It may have been stuck, rotated and slightly flattened on the rim in an industrial coin counter or sorter.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

If its an error, its a good one. Great camera and photography skills.. I can see the VDB clearly in focus.

 

[turtlefoot13]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

If its an error, its a good one. Great camera and photography skills.. I can see the VDB clearly in focus.

Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it. The camera is a discontinued 3.2mp camera that is around 5-6 years old. I bought it because of the macro capabilities. They show up on ebay from time to time and usually sell for $50.00 or so.

Thank you everyone so far for all of the input.
Doug

 

[l.cutler]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

It is definitely a bezel or a ring of some kind pressed onto the coin. There is no way i the minting process that could happen.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

If its an error, its a good one. Great camera and photography skills.. I can see the VDB clearly in focus.

Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it. The camera is a discontinued 3.2mp camera that is around 5-6 years old. I bought it because of the macro capabilities. They show up on ebay from time to time and usually sell for $50.00 or so.

Thank you everyone so far for all of the input.
Doug

Whats the brand name? I use Sony Mavicas with the old floppy disc. Only 1.3 MP but with a good Macro lens. Can be purchased on eBay for $20-$30.

 

[turtlefoot13]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

The camera that I am using is a Konica-Minolta Dimage z10. There is one on an online auction for more than what I paid for mine new! I have seen them go for as little as $30.00, but on average they sell for around $50.00. It has an 8x optical zoom also. It also has filter threads. The lower iso settings are good but on the higher iso settings, the images have a lot of noise. I have printed very nice 8x10's with it. PM me with any questions or if you would like some links to some online galleries that I have with images taken with this camera.

Doug

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

The camera that I am using is a Konica-Minolta Dimage z10. There is one on an online auction for more than what I paid for mine new! I have seen them go for as little as $30.00, but on average they sell for around $50.00. It has an 8x optical zoom also. It also has filter threads. The lower iso settings are good but on the higher iso settings, the images have a lot of noise. I have printed very nice 8x10's with it. PM me with any questions or if you would like some links to some online galleries that I have with images taken with this camera.

Doug

Thanks. I am happy with Sony Mavicas I use for eBay but I will check it out.

 

[turtlefoot13]

Re: What's going on with this penny?

I've considered getting a Mavica more than once but I would have to get an external 3.5" floppy drive. I have a system designed basically for video and still imaging. It's got a great DVD burner and can read just about any memory card made but it doesn't have a 3.5" floppy drive. I do have an older system that has a 3.5" drive but the drive is erratic at best so it would not be reliable.

Doug