1972 D Steel

[lineop3]

Thank YOU wildman for an interesting subject...posting this question so we all can learn from it.

Aisha

[jcuve]

I cannot imagine how or why a LMC could have ended up being minted on something magnetic. That said I will reiterate what others have said and suggest you contact Mike D. by email or PM and see what he says. Someone would have to examine it. The fact that it is dull and has a loss of details does suggest some type of plating and just because it sticks to a magnet cannot preclude that as a possibility.

[Cdiddle]

This has been a very interesting thread and hope to know the results. Thank you for posting this Wildman and good luck. Also, a warm welcome to LCR.

[Rubenthelincolnguy]

Yep, they could certainly just not return it, particularly because the only 1974 aluminum not destroyed is in a museum, so another one would be catalogued as a counterfeit under grading agency eyes. They won't even bother to tell you if it was a true coin or not, just send you a notice you lost your coin. Nice 1972, I really hope is real, I mean, foreign planchet

[onecent1909]

I have seen lmc struck on a steel washer....a solid steel disk (planchet) ??? difently e-mail Mr Diamond...good luck....like to hear the outcome

[Wildman]

Thank everyone for your replies and interest in this coin. I'll post more info as I find out more about it.

This penny has always intrigued me to find out it's story. Now that I have shared it with the world I guess I'll have to follow through. Even if it is not what it seems to be, it will be fun solving the mystery.

Latest info is that it weighs 3.4 grams. It's heavier than I remembered.

[willbrooks]

I am guessing a lighter weight would have been more encouraging, but good luck!

[cents1st]

Check Mint records: SB USM Form 1047 for off-metal strikes. All Mints strick coins for other countries this year, pay attention to Liberia.

[Wildman]

Check Mint records: SB USM Form 1047 for off-metal strikes. All Mints strick coins for other countries this year, pay attention to Liberia.

Thanks for the info! I'll check it out.

[liveandievarieties]

pay attention to Liberia.

I think our government has done this for decades...

[snowman]

how is the rotation ? is it normal ??

[Wildman]

how is the rotation ? is it normal ??

The rotation is normal

I spent last night looking at foreign coins minted by the US and their metal content. I didn't find any coins struck on zinc plated steel except the coins in 1943. Without a "smoking gun" planchet in the mint records, I'll have to lean towards it being plated.

The things that keep me wondering are the weight and the look of the coin. It looks zinc plated, but is magnetic like nickel plated. Is it possible to have both? Could a bad nickel plating job take on the look of zinc? And to the weight issue, it seems like if you plated a penny enough to get it to 3.4 grams you would lose detail. The info I ran across was that plated coins didn't weigh much more than the coin did to start with. It could be on the high end but still within tolerance of the original coin. I found alot of zinc, nickel, and mercury plated coins in my search last night but no reference to their weight.

I also spent some time comparing coins I have that are magnetic with this coin. It is not as magnetic as pure nickel Canadian coins probably by half roughly. I still need to check it against a a 1943 steel.

So, no "smoking gun" either way.

[Maineman750]

it seems like if you plated a penny enough to get it to 3.4 grams you would lose detail.

Normal weight is 3.1 grams...so I would expect a lttle more weight..have you contacted Mike Diamond yet ?

[Wildman]

Normal weight is 3.1 grams...so I would expect a lttle more weight..have you contacted Mike Diamond yet ?

I may tonight or over the weekend. I have to head off to work to earn more Lincolns.

[liveandievarieties]

Plating would never add 1/3 of a gram. Perhaps multiple layers of thick chrome, but as the OP inquired, there would indeed be a loss of detail.

Personally, I think there are enough unknowns on this one that it should be sent to Mike.

By the way- Kudos to Wildman for approaching this with a logical mindset, doing research and considering resasonable posibilites. It's very easy to get caught ip in what we "hope" something is and ignore reality, much harder to hear others when it's not always what we want.