I Think I Found my First Cent Struck on a Foreign Planchet

[kookoox10]

So I went through some old rolls of 1955-S cents I've assembled through the years and came across an example that I think was struck on a foreign planchet. Without the aide of a scale, it makes a really dull "steel cent" sound in comparison to a regular copper cent (drop test). Aside from weight, how do graders/error experts determine which country's planchet these were struck from? I've seen slabs notating the specific country's plan like Honduras or Columbia. Any help you guys can offer will be great.

And on the side, I don't have a pennyweight machine to measure grams. But this find has me curious and i might have to purchase one over the weekend. I'll update the thread as I find out more information.

[duece2seven]

I would PM B.J. Neff, Willbrooks,or Mike Diamond on this. Very interesting subject!

Tracy

[kloccwork419]

Depends on what country's coins were being struck at that time and mint. I would go get a cheap digital scale and weigh it. Sound can sometimes be confusing.
In the meantime do this :https://www.cointalk.com/threads/a-g...ication.55647/

[jfines69]

This will be an interesting outcome... Let us know what you come up with!!!

[Roller]

Pictures, weight and not words or guesses might help.

[willbrooks]

Diagnosis requires 2 things: knowledge and tools. You need knowledge to know what the specs should be, and the tools to measure your find against the established parameters. A "dull" sound is enough to get your attention and know there is something afoot. However, as brilliant some of the people here are, nobody can attribute your coin as an off-metal error based on this. There are myriad reasons why a coin can sound differently when "pinged." It could be struck on rolled-thick or rolled-thin stock, or plated, or altered, etc. Or it could be a legitimate struck on off-metal error. You found an anomaly. That's awesome. Now follow through with diagnostics. Check the weight to the hundredth of a a gram. Check the thickness with calipers. These will also give you information, but not an answer with a 100% degree of confidence. The only way to be certain of a coin's make-up is to use x-ray spectroscopy. This is an expensive procedure to have done on the outside, or to purchase the equipment yourself. On top of that, even if you find your coin is outside mint specs for composition, we all know alloy mixtures can vary, especially in this era, which is why we have lamination errors, and woodies, etc. There is also some inconsistency in the reports of what brass/bronze mixtures were used and when they were used. I think it would be difficult to assume they were consistent. I started to dabble in this field for bit, but quit on it. It is generally too costly to verify the exact make-up of a cent, and then to try to match it to the various foreign planchets struck by the U.S year to year, while realizing the fluctuations in practical make-up varying from targeted specs, etc. It's a tough sell, but it can be done. Like roller said: if you can't even weigh or measure your coin, then we cannot even begin to speculate, much less verify.

[onecent1909]

NOTE: take your coin to a Pharmacy that you know, Ask them to weigh it.
Or Try a Pawn shop. They should have a digital scale.

Coin World August 23, 2004 and August 30, 2004
List of foreign coins made from the U.S. Mint

1954 Costa Rica 1 and 2 colones (Stainless Steel)
........Dominican Republic Centavo (Bronze)
....................................Peso (Silver)
1955 Venezuela 25 centimos, half bolivar, and bolivar (Silver)

That is the list, every possible wrong planchet used by the mint to strike coins in 1954( it would be left over ) and 1955

So a planchet for a 1954 Dominican Republic Centavo (Bronze) that was left over and used in 1955 is the only option.

[GrumpyEd]

Look close at the surface to see if it was acid dipped. Acid dipped cents lose weight and get thinner and make a strange clanky noise compared to normal ones so look for any sign of orange-peel texture that could be from acid.

[BadThad]

You can also take the coin to a place like O'Reilly's and they'll measure it for you with a caliper.

[mustbebob]

I firmly believe any serious collector needs to have a scale on hand. They are very inexpensive and can help you determine a lot of things. My suggestion is to get a scale. The eBay link below shows some as inexpensive as $3.67. Another suggestion, buy a decent scale if you can afford to, but there really isn't a reason why everyone here shouldn't have one.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2055845.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xgram+scale.TRS0&_nkw=gram+scale&_sacat=0

[onecent1909]

To tell you the truth without a scale, and the weight, I do not think this is a foreign planchette
For You I hope I am wrong