Curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing 1989-2025
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Magnetic, silver 1998 pennies and yellowish pennies ...what are they?
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.
! I found a fantastic 1998 penny that's also silver.
Dwight collins
Collecting - Pikeville Kentucky
January 30, 2023
Silver Pennies
on eBay
(affil link)
A. Hi Dwight.
It looks to me to be nickel plated, maybe nickel and chrome plated.
Luck & Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
A. I have a 1998 penny that looks silver as well but has a slight tint of copper. Kind of like when you wear fake silver and the silver starts to rub off and you see copper underneath? However what I did notice as I took a closer look at it: the L and I in liberty appear to be double stamped.
I am almost certain I have an error coin -- just thought I would post in case these silver looking 1998 pennies have a similar error.
Candie Salcido- West Covina, California
August 12, 2023
⇩ Related postings, oldest first ⇩
Q. I found a silver penny that is dated 1988. How can I tell if its silver or zinc? Is it valuable? What should I do with it?
Camille Vstudent - Franklin, Tennessee, United States
2005
A. Countless pennies have been plated by students for experiments, Camille. Countless pennies have been professionally plated as gimmicks and give-aways for various promotions. So finding a silver penny is like finding a raffle ticket: it could be slightly valuable but the odds are overwhelming that it isn't. Find an associate who collects coins or an exceptionally patient coin dealer, and bring them a smile and a donut. But I think you're unlikely to recover the cost of the donut.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Ed. note: We have also dealt with related 'silver penny' questions on threads 9941, and 19105.
Q. I am not a coin collector or knowledgeable at all in the metal-finishing field. I have been sent to this website by others in these fields, because the coin in question is a mystery to them.
I have a 1998 silver-colored penny. It is magnetic (see attached photos). I have heated it to see if it has been electroplated to obtain this color, told that it would turn gold when heated. It did not change color.
I have not weighed it or had it looked at by a coin shop. I have been told that it should weigh 2.5 gm if it is a real penny. I don't have the appropriate scale.
I have been advised to seek help from any local University, with an Engineering dept., about a metallurgy lab. I don't think one is in my area.
I am posting this with you in the hopes that you may guide me in the process of finding out the worth of the penny (one similar to this, in year and color, sold on eBay @ $125.00)
Thank you.
hobbyist - Davie, Florida, USA
2006
A. Plating shops nickel plate thousands of these at a time as a giveaway, Michelle, and nickel is magnetic. I've had nickel plated pennies, zinc plated pennies, gold plated pennies, and silver plated pennies. This penny is probably just nickel plated and unfortunately it's probably of no value (but it's a very nice professional looking plating job!)
But if you can't/won't weigh it, can't/won't have it checked with an X-ray fluorescence machine, have no engineering lab around, and can't/won't bring it to a coin dealer or jeweler for a look, how can anyone help you? List it on eBay for $125 like the one you saw, but I won't be bidding :-)
Good luck!
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
A. All that this is is a penny put into a pot of boiling water with galvanized nails. The zinc on the nails coats the penny. After that, if you hold the penny up to a fire, it will turn gold. It isn't worth anything but the cost of the nails plus one cent. Sorry.
Dan Smitthen- Phoenix, Arkansas
A. That penny most likely had the copper removed. it is possible. I have one as well.
Liam McAdam- Plainedge, New York, U.S.A.
Ed. note: Dan and Liam are correct about ways to make pennies generally silver-ish in color. But those techniques won't make it magnetic, nor this nice looking ... we still say it's nickel plated.
Q. I too have a 1998 silver penny. I chose to google it and was led to this website. I find it odd that there are a few of these around. As for the rest of it I too am stumped.
Ivan Krstanovich- Elkland, Pennsylvania USA
2007
Q. Hi guys, my name is Ed and I collect coins. Recently I found a 1998 penny that was a yellowish-silver color. It appeared to have had the copper plating removed. In England they have had problems with the plating peeling or wearing off of pennies, but I have heard nothing of this sort on US coins. Can you tell me what's going on with this penny and how to duplicate it? Thanks, Ed Thornton
Edward Thorntoncuriousity - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
2007
A. So many millions of pennies have been plated as promotional handouts, or plated by students and hobbyists, that the chance of finding a valuable rarity are about as good as finding a discarded lottery ticket that's a winner, Ed. But I have a few promotional give-away pennies that were gold plated a few years ago and have now faded to that color, so that would be my first guess. The gold is hopelessly thin.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. I have a 1998 penny that looks like it has been circulated since 1898. Funny thing is it's only on the front, the back is perfect. It weighs 2.5 grams and has the luster of a new penny front and back. Now here's the really weird part, the front actually looks indented instead of outward. It feels indented too. In God We Trust is into the rim around the top with the WE being about halfway in. It has many flaws under a 10x Loop. Has anyone heard of this? Is it a normal kinda accidental strike that got by. Would someone be able to do this and re-copper it? Any help would be appreciated.
Stuart Steveyhobbyist - West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, United States
April 10, 2008
Q. I also have a 1998 penny, but the whole penny is not silver in color.
What I find odd on this penny is that the copper is rubbed off in places and in these areas that the copper is gone the silver color is showing. Around the edges of the penny and points on Lincoln's head and face. On the back side also on the edge and the pillars on the building.
Jodi Bruce- oak harbor,Washington, USA
July 15, 2012
A. Hi, Jodi. Pennies are zinc blanks electroplated with copper. Sounds like this penny has suffered a lot of wear and the plating has worn through in spots. Fine sandpaper can easily remove the rest of the plating.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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