# Counterfeit penny? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486 "2009-08-15T02:57:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wunderkammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2009, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/1 "2009-08-15T02:57:46Z")
I have a penny that’s not like the others. ([On](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2516/3822265188_5db0c0ee1d.jpg) [the](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3505/3822263554_449928934f.jpg) [right](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2590/3821459389_e0ea79bb6f.jpg).) It sounds very subtly wrong when I drop it. The edge is rounded and made greyish base metal that wraps around and covers a tiny bit of “United States of America”. The color is off, and the images are in very crude relief compared to the genuine article. It’s dated 1998 and weighs 2.46 grams when it should weigh 2.5. When I grab the edge with pliers, it scrapes off easily to reveal a bright and silvery base metal. No seam, even when I scraped off a full section of the edge. So it’s not a spy coin or a smuggling coin or an obvious magic trick, but what is it? I can’t imagine that anyone would bother to fake a penny in 1998, but it looks like someone did. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/2 "2009-08-15T03:05:59Z")
> [@wunderkammer](#): > > So it’s not a spy coin or a smuggling coin or an obvious magic trick Are you sure? I used to buy a gimmick from magic shops where a fake dime would fit in a fake penny and I’d spend them on accident. Throw it hard on a table or shake it in a glass and see if it comes apart. ---
**Author:** ![Manlob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Manlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manlob)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2009, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/3 "2009-08-15T03:07:29Z")
Looks like a penny that has tumbled around inside a washer or dryer for a long time. When it bounces around while tumbling it keeps impacting on edges and the rim becomes rounded and flared. This exposes the zinc inside the coin. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/4 "2009-08-15T03:08:27Z")
Maybe something like this: > [@](#): > > This coin was at one time encased in a “Lucky Penny” token. ther rim looks like that due to the crimping of the aluminum ring to it. > **[1956 D Rolled Edge and Rim Ring ERROR?](https://www.cointalk.com/threads/53182)** > > Any Idea what would cause this? Is this Rare? > \[IMG\] > \[IMG\] > \[IMG\] > > Thanks I expect the ‘greyish base’ metal is the zinc alloy which pennies are now made of. It should melt over a gas stove. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/5 "2009-08-15T03:08:34Z")
Pennies have been mostly zinc, with a copper plating, since 1982. Yours looks like it had the rim scraped somehow. ---
**Author:** ![wunderkammer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ed8c4c/32.png) [@wunderkammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wunderkammer)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/6 "2009-08-15T03:24:58Z")
Hmm. I’m thinking that the tumbled edge explanation is most likely at this point. I never imagined that tumbling could roll the edge like that, but it seems to be zinc (I scratched another newish penny, and it matched pretty well). Hurling it at the floor a few dozen times didn’t do anything. I was really hoping for a cyanide tablet or a microfilm dot or some tiny guerrilla art, though. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![Manlob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Manlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manlob)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2009, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/7 "2009-08-15T03:41:15Z")
I one had a handful of coins retrieved from inside a washer or dryer that had been tumbling around in there for a long time. I don’t mean in the the tub with the clothes, but the coins had fallen between the tub and the casing, possibly near the motor shaft (forgot the details). All those coins had rounded edges like the penny in the OP. The most extreme was a penny with a very flared edge and had been reduced to the diameter of a dime. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/8 "2009-08-15T20:16:24Z")
Besides, who the heck would want to go to the trouble of counterfeiting a penny? ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/9 "2009-08-15T20:24:11Z")
> [@KlondikeGeoff](#): > > Besides, who the heck would want to go to the trouble of counterfeiting a penny? In of itself a penny isn’t worth much, but if it’s a misprinted penny from the mint (or thought to be) it’s worth a lot to collectors (that is if it is a genuine real misprint) So you fake a penny and hope to pass it off as a misprint ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/10 "2009-08-15T20:51:52Z")
> [@wunderkammer](#): > > I have a penny that’s not like the others. ([On](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2516/3822265188_5db0c0ee1d.jpg) [the](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3505/3822263554_449928934f.jpg) [right](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2590/3821459389_e0ea79bb6f.jpg).) It sounds very subtly wrong when I drop it. The edge is rounded and made greyish base metal that wraps around and covers a tiny bit of “United States of America”. The color is off, and the images are in very crude relief compared to the genuine article. > > It’s dated 1998 and weighs 2.46 grams when it should weigh 2.5. When I grab the edge with pliers, it scrapes off easily to reveal a bright and silvery base metal. No seam, even when I scraped off a full section of the edge. > > So it’s not a spy coin or a smuggling coin or an obvious magic trick, but what is it? I can’t imagine that anyone would bother to fake a penny in 1998, but it looks like someone did. > > 😕 I see from your profile that you’re from Wisconsin. You may wish to contact a reputable coin dealer to get his or her reaction, or contact the U.S. Secret Service field office in either Madison, 608-264-5191, or Milwaukee, 414-297-3587. Be warned that, if the coin is counterfeit, the USSS will seize it without giving you another penny to replace it. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/11 "2009-08-18T13:29:47Z")
Yeah, good luck getting away with counterfeiting pennies. Once the Secret Service picks up your cent, they never stop. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/12 "2009-08-18T17:35:03Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Yeah, good luck getting away with counterfeiting pennies. Once the Secret Service picks up your cent, they never stop. And now that we all know about this, someone is sure to drop the dime on you. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/13 "2009-08-18T18:22:47Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > And now that we all know about this, someone is sure to drop the dime on you. And there’s no quarter given. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/14 "2009-08-18T18:26:26Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > And there’s no quarter given. NICKEL! There, I said it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/15 "2009-08-18T18:29:43Z")
> [@Flymaster](#): > > NICKEL! > > There, I said it. …and once said, you can never take that nickel back. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/16 "2009-08-18T18:30:12Z")
Actually, I’m not so sure the Secret Service would be too eagle to look into counterfeit one-cent pieces. (Now if we can work in a joke involving “trimes”, we can have the full set.) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/17 "2009-08-18T18:44:24Z")
I’m sure not going to buck the trend. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/18 "2009-08-18T20:19:31Z")
I can’t make heads or tails of this thread. But I’m bumping it so it will maintain its currency. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/19 "2009-08-18T20:54:02Z")
Naw, that penny ain’t worth two bits. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486/20 "2009-08-18T22:40:57Z")
Man, you folks don’t do things by halves, do you? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/counterfeit-penny/506486.md?page=2)