Expert: Dan Moore - 7/14/2007

Question
QUESTION: I came across a Lincoln penny that sort of stuck out in a bunch of them because it was of an odd coloring.  It appears to be kind of a silvery color.  I decided to come online to try and find something out on it and came across this website.  The first one I read was fro someone named Josh about the very same thing.  His response came from someone named Dan.  I bought a book on coins and searched it and didn't see a thing about it.  Aren't they usually a copper color?  Any clues?

ANSWER: Hi Toni,

It was probably me that answered Josh's question -- I seem to remember it.

In the middle of 1982, the composition of pennies was changed from almost all copper to almost all zinc, with a thin outer copper layer.  So all pennies made after this are almost all zinc.

Sometimes the penny blanks do not get their outer copper layer, so they appear silvery colored -- the color of zinc.

This error is not extremely rare -- worth a few dollars for an average example.

It is also possible that somebody just plated your coin.  In which case it has no added value.

I hope this helps,

Dan



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm sorry, perhaps I should have mentioned it is a 1977 penny

Answer
For a 1977 penny, the options are :

1) most likely, it's been silver plated -- no added value.

2) rarely, it could be struck on a different planchet, like that for a dime or for a foreign coin.  It should weigh 3.11 grams -- if significantly different, you should have it examined first-hand by an expert.  Value a couple hundred dollars.

I hope this helps,

Dan