1899 Indian head penny struck on a dime?

[Noel]

I have six of these Indian Head pennies. Five of them way 3.1 grams but this one here weighs 2.4 grams20180507_090157-0.jpg20180507_090230-0.jpg
Any value in this coin?

[VAB2013]

Environmental damage can cause a coin to weigh less than normal. That would be my guess. Let's see what the pro's have to say!

[Noel]

I suppose so. It has been in the safe at my dad's house since the 50s.

[VAB2013]

So, I guess it would be hard to know if it looked this way when it was put into the safe back in the 50's. I would think safes are moisture resistant to some degree, but I think the guys here put rice or silica packs in their safes to prevent moisture.

[Noel]

True. Time takes a toll on everything. Seems like the other five would have lost some weight too though.

[Petespockets55]

A couple of things.


I see very few denticles around the perimeter of this coin. Indicates corrosion or mechanical removal to me.
I see severe pitting and environmental damage. (Acid?)

Because of coin shortages there were actually some people counterfeiting Indian Cents. Shortage of change for commerce was a big reason for Civil War Tokens, Store Tokens and Hard Time tokens in the early to mid-1800s.

[jfines69]

It may have been a thin planchet to begin with then it was damage... I do not think there is enough missing to lose .7 grams (Nearly 1 gram) of weight??? I do not know what the nominal weight is on the IHCs!!!

[jfines69]

I moved your thread to Off Topic Discussion since it is not a Lincoln!!!

[GrumpyEd]

Not struck on a dime, they were silver.

It looks like loss of weight from damage/wear/corrosion.

It is the type 2 design so that means it's 1886 or later, could be a 99 as you think but it's tough to see for sure in the pics.

[Noel]

Better pictures. Looks silver to me.
CameraZOOM-20180507090258825.jpg

[GrumpyEd]

On my screen it looks more like copper color but silver patina can be any color.

You could do a tiny scrape on the rim, it's already damaged.

[Noel]

I'll give her a scrape when I get back to the house. Is this pain even worth the troubleCameraZOOM-20180507164815047.jpgCameraZOOM-20180507164843044.jpg

[enamel7]

Better pictures. Looks silver to me.
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Looks copper to me. If it were on a dime planchett the entire coin would be silver.

[jfines69]

Always worth the pain You never know what may be found... To me your coin looks copper... The areas that are off color appear to be from verdigris and other contaminants stuck to the coin!!!

[Petespockets55]

... To me your coin looks copper... The areas that are off color appear to be from verdigris and other contaminants stuck to the coin!!!

Well said Jim. My thoughts exactly.