Where the
world gathers for metal finishing
Q&As since 1989


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Silver penny

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

Robert Baker
- Herrin, Illinois, USA
2001

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Well, now that about 6 zillion students have tried Tom Pullizzi's science experiment regarding zinc plating of copper pennies, maybe a few of them are getting into circulation? :-)

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2001

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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...

Clark Quackenbush
- Kissimmee, Florida
2004

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In addition to the zillions of pennies plated by students, countless thousands have been electroplated professionally for various promotional reasons. They are worth nothing.

Take it to a coin dealer, although the proprietor is likely to chase you down the street with a broom if too many of your friends have visited with similar pennies this month :-)

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2004

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

Phaedra Williams
office assistant - Fort Worth, Texas
2004

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It's worth what someone will pay, Phaedra. If they find it a curiosity, maybe a dime, but maybe not. Remember that the mint is able to stamp a blank out of zinc, copper plate it, and distribute it, all for less than $.01. So even if it was real silver plating, which it probably isn't, it could probably be done in volume for a few cents.

Hundreds of thousands of school children have zinc plated pennies, and hundreds of companies have zinc plated, silver plated, or gold plated them as give-aways. So, it is possible that you have a rare mint error, which might be marginally valuable, but odds are thousands to one against. Sorry.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2004

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2004
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

Nick Jajko
hobbyist - Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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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?

Crystal Druvey
education - Columbus, Ohio, United States
2004

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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.

Cai Y.
hobbyist - Quincy, Washington, USA
2004

Ed. note: This site is about industrial metal finishing, and is the wrong place for questions about the rarity and valuation of coins, folks. Sorry! We tried to handle this 'silver penny' question here and on threads 9941, 19105, and 35852 because of their possible relationship to student electroplating projects, but there is no point in posting hundreds of similar inquiries, that are getting further and further afield from our site's mission . . . and attempting an appraisal of a coin sight unseen would be silly anyway. Apologies but we're done here.

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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?

Christopher Badell
- Kansas City, Missouri, USA
2005

Ed. note: See our FAQ for Tom Pullizzi's experiment.