Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ

Found a silver penny

Quickstart:
     It is so easy to plate pennies with zinc that elementary school children do it regularly. And pennies have also been plated with nickel, silver, or gold as novelty giveaways, possibly by the millions. Virtually all such strangely colored pennies are worthless. Still, there do exist super-rare minting errors which might be valuable.

Q. I have a 1977 silver Lincoln Memorial cent, no mm and it "DOES NOT" stick to a magnet. It weighs 11 oz./ 3 grams.
Can you tell me any info on it? I would certainly appreciate it.
Thank you in advance.

⇩ Related postings, oldest first ⇩

Q. I have found a silver colored penny. This is dated 1990d.

"Coin Collecting - Newbie Guide"
by Sam Sommer

on eBay or

AbeBooks

or Amazon

(affil links)

A. Hi Robert. Countless students have followed Tom Pullizzi's instructions for this science experiment, zinc plating copper pennies ... maybe some are getting into circulation? :-)

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. I found the same coin but it doesn't have copper on the edges!

A. Hi Scott. Take it to a coin shop if you wish, but don't get your hopes up -- people are plating coins all the time. The odds are very very high that it is worthless :-(

But you can plate one yourself in minutes with stuff you have on hand per Tom's instructions for the science experiment.


Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

1977 Silver Penny is Magnetic

Q. I have a 1977 silver penny. It is slightly heavier than a normal penny and it also sticks to a magnet, which a normal penny does not. However, there are some traces of a copper color on the rim/edge of the coin, but that's it. If anybody has any info about it, or has any idea if it may or may not be worth anything, please let me know.

! I've had the same 1977 "silver" penny since the mid 2000's, and it is also affected by magnets. I still don't know of its composition or value, but I've been collecting other old & uncommon/rare coins ever since. Very little info exists online about this illusive dime look-a-like, but it's good to learn that I don't have the only one.

Q. I have also found a silver penny, but was dated 1979... any info on this is appreciated. It has a few nicks in it, and the divots are silver too.

A. Hi Clark,
The divots were probably there before it was plated, and are therefore covered with the 'silver'. In addition to the many pennies zinc plated by students, possibly millions have been electroplated professionally for various promotional reasons. They are worth nothing.

There is always the chance in a million that it's valuable, so take it to a coin dealer if you wish, although the proprietor may chase you down the street with a broom :-)

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Q. I have found a silver penny, how much is it worth?

Gentle Readers:

This meeting place welcomes Q&As, photos, history, & interesting tidbits -- but it's not a consultancy.

Please engage with others

• When people show interest in each other's situations, the forum is informative, and fun too !

• If people post their own question but show no interest in others', it can quickly become a long string of unanswered questions

Q. I have a 1960 penny that is Canadian and it is either coated or just plain silver, zinc or nickel. Can you please tell me how to find out?

Thanks

"Pennies"

on eBay or

AbeBooks

or Amazon

(affil links)

Q. I have found a silver penny dated 1981. its lighter than a regular penny, and makes the same noise a quarter or dime does when dropped onto a hard surface.what can you tell me about this, and if it could be worth anything?

Q. I want to know how much a silver penny is worth because we were wrapping them and they were in a big tub and we found one.

Ed. note: We've tried to handle this 'silver penny' question here as well as on
thread 9941 and
thread 41407
and are confident more than 999+ out of a 1000 are student experiments or novelty giveaways, but trying to appraise a coin sight unseen doesn't work.

Q. I'm interested in what was said above concerning the science experiment that Pullizzi put together - coating copper pennies in zinc. I've done it before, and I've been searching around for it, but I can't seem to find any info on it. Can anyone lend a hand?

Ed. note: Here is the link to Tom Pullizzi's experiment.

Q. I just recently received an unmarked silver 1977 penny in some change from a restaurant. I didn't notice the color until I was home and took it out of my pocket. I have read your other questions and answers, so I guess my question would be is this penny a forgery?

A. Hi, John. I don't think "forgery" is quite the right word for what thousands of grammar school students engage in for their science projects every semester :-)

But I think the odds that this coin is a winner aren't much better than that a discarded lottery ticket you found in the trash is a winner. Still, ruling out the possibility requires an inspection by someone knowledgeable. There are coin shops in most good-size towns & cities.

Good luck, and regards!

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

Value of a silver 2004 penny

Q. I found a silver 2004 penny.
What is it worth