Found a Gold Penny!
Let me start of by saying that this isn’t a detecting find but one of the many coins I find and pick up as make my rounds at school throughout the day. I saw this one and noticed before I picked it up that it had a weird gold tone to it. When I took it back to my office I noticed it had a pre-1982 date meaning it was a pure copper penny. I thought it may have been gold plated but after a bit of research and Googling I came up with this:
“How to make ‘Gold’ Pennies
In this activity, soaking the penny in the zinc solution actually coats the surface of the penny with zinc atoms. When the zinc covered penny is heated, the copper atoms of the penny and the zinc atoms coating the penny mix and turn gold in color. ... Brass, made in the activity above, is a mixture of zinc and copper."
So that or possibly being gold plated are my theories. Well, it may not be a big deal but I did find it interesting.
Let me start of by saying that this isn’t a detecting find but one of the many coins I find and pick up as make my rounds at school throughout the day. I saw this one and noticed before I picked it up that it had a weird gold tone to it. When I took it back to my office I noticed it had a pre-1982 date meaning it was a pure copper penny. I thought it may have been gold plated but after a bit of research and Googling I came up with this:
“How to make ‘Gold’ Pennies
In this activity, soaking the penny in the zinc solution actually coats the surface of the penny with zinc atoms. When the zinc covered penny is heated, the copper atoms of the penny and the zinc atoms coating the penny mix and turn gold in color. ... Brass, made in the activity above, is a mixture of zinc and copper."
So that or possibly being gold plated are my theories. Well, it may not be a big deal but I did find it interesting.