How can you tell a real BU 43 cent from reprocessed?
Neil Gunderson
I have seen Ads of people selling 1943 BU steel cents. The ad says
"Reprocessed to look BU" It is nice they are honest about the coins,
but I've bought BU 1943 cents from other dealers that were sold as the
real thing. How can you tell the difference? I looked at the coins
with a ten X glass and they looked like other BU wheaties I've
purchased. What is the key to find out if it's reprocessed? Any
Lincoln Cent experts out there? Or good Lincoln cent Books?
Neil
Mr. Whaden N. Curtis
When a steel cent is "reprocessed" it is replated with a zinc coating.
Any nicks, scratches, wear or dings that where on the coin prior to
the replating will still be there, but they will appear to be "smoothed
over". It's hards for me to describe this in words. Best to look over
a coin you know has be replated with a 7x or higher magnification and
search for nicks, dings and if you study if for a while you will
probably see what I mean. Be carefull though, the coin can get nicks,
scratches, dings after it is replated too! So you may find some of
each type on the same coin.
Whaden Curtis
Mike or Karen Locke
A reprocessed cent will have a number of tell-tale differences:
They often have signs of corosion underneath the plating.
The plating has a slightly different color than on struck coins
The plating is usually "too perfect"
and most importantly:
The plating covers the edges. Original steel cents are bare
steel on the edges.
--
S'later, Mike & Karen Marie Locke kar...@rahul.net
Most things worth doing aren't easy.
Mike is EAC #4357, LSCC #1636, JRCS #841, ANA #R-170301, CCS #F11, SPPN
Visit our home page http://www.rahul.net/karenml for a coin book review,
coin want list, coin for sale list, 20th century US coin hub list, and
California fractional gold attribution/price guide.
Randy Flaming
In article <5pbarr$2c...@newssvr02-int.news.prodigy.com>, KMF...@prodigy.com
says...
If my memory serves me correctly, the 1943 steel cents were plated before
being blanked. Therefore they have non-plated edges. Reprocessed cents would
most likely have plated edges. The "look" is also wrong for the re-plated
cents.
--
Randy Flaming
Randy_...@HP-Corvallis.om.hp.com
Non-Circulating Legal Tender is not.
Tim Irvin
On Tue, 01 Jul 1997 01:58:38 GMT, mac...@netcom.com (Neil Gunderson)
wrote:
>
>I have seen Ads of people selling 1943 BU steel cents. The ad says
>"Reprocessed to look BU" It is nice they are honest about the coins,
>but I've bought BU 1943 cents from other dealers that were sold as the
>real thing. How can you tell the difference? I looked at the coins
>with a ten X glass and they looked like other BU wheaties I've
>purchased. What is the key to find out if it's reprocessed? Any
>Lincoln Cent experts out there? Or good Lincoln cent Books?
While it's hardly a "sure thing," if it looks shiny and bluish, then
it's likely to be original. If it looks silvery, with little or no
bluish tint, it's probably reprocessed.
--
Tim Irvin, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space, Sunnyvale, CA
email: timothy...@lmco.com voice: 408/756-4350 fax: 408/742-1170
********** all standard disclaimers apply **********
Lou Coles
Neil Gunderson wrote in article <33b862a0...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>...
>
>I have seen Ads of people selling 1943 BU steel cents. The ad says
>"Reprocessed to look BU" It is nice they are honest about the coins,
>but I've bought BU 1943 cents from other dealers that were sold as the
>real thing. How can you tell the difference? I looked at the coins
>with a ten X glass and they looked like other BU wheaties I've
>purchased. What is the key to find out if it's reprocessed? Any
>Lincoln Cent experts out there? Or good Lincoln cent Books?
>
>Neil
Neil, Many reprocessed cents look "too good" especially when you note
the lack of detail a normal 1943 cent in MS condition would show. Wear
on the repros is another good indication. As time goes by and you gain
more experience you'll be able to spot a repro just by the look and feel
of the field and it's appearence. A nice mintstate 1943's field surface
will
appear slightly grainy a desceptive repro will show a smooth field
surface.
Hope this helps . - Lou Coles -
>