Expert: Jim Lawniczak - 5/22/2008

Question
I have a penny dated 1980 that is silver, well silver in color and it won't stick to a magnet so I'm not sure what to think of it! Can u help me explain this?

Answer
Laurie, this does confuse me a bit too.  Since 1982, U.S. cents have been copper coated zinc and zinc is silver colored.  Therefore, cents that look silver either weren't copper plated in the first place or the plating was taken off after minting.  But in 1980, the cents were copper which is not silver in color.  So if the is a 1980, there are a couple possibilities.  One, someone colored your cent with a silver colored paint after minting.  Look to see if there is an area that is not colored (even if very small).  Two, your cent was struck on a dime planchet.  That does happen and when it does the piece has some value as an error.  If that is true though, the piece will be small than a cent -- more the size of a dime.  To be sure, you would need to show your piece to an expert.  Hope this helped, Jim Lawniczak