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ICG Certifies 1st Aluminum Cent


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wow! :ninja: The story seems plausible. The US Government's reaction will be interesting, since the mint did originally give the specimans to congress. I say let them keep it!

 

My first guess at an auction price- $2-2.5 million.

 

Now for the 64 Peace dollars...

 

Ciao, and Hook 'em Horns,

Capt-AWACS, Forum alpha breeder male

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i guess time magazine or something like newsweek or whatever had a picture of a 1967 D lincoln on the cover in 1967.... i never found out if it ever existed or not....

 

i vaguely remember hearing about this '74.. but not really, so i'll just say it's news to me ;) all kinds of good stuff hitting the news lately..

 

 

did i hear about a 1963 kennedy once upon a time.... ;):ninja: :shrug:

 

 

i wish i had a roll of aluminum 1974 pennies...

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Probably PCGS and NGC did not want to touch it with a ten foot sonic welder. It does not have the glamour of the 33 Gaudens and may still be confiscated by the SS. I guess they thought it would have more downside than upside potential and with the Ohio Coin Fund scam still fresh in the mind of the public this would be an instance of "bad press".

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Well Al cents are a new one on me...

 

Why the metal change? Was it to see if they could produce them more cheaply? But they figured Zincolns were better?

 

 

I never used to like Al coins but i've got to say i've warmed up to them alot recently ever since i branched out into German coins, with a hint of lustre they look kinda alright and they seem to wear alright. The weight of the coins seems to be their downside though. Although they deal with corrosion better than Cu based coins, which have a habit of turning nasty shades of furry green in the wrong conditions.

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From wikipedia:

 

During the early 1970s the price of copper rose to a point where the penny almost contained one cent's worth of copper. This led the Mint to test alternate metals, including aluminum and bronze-clad steel. Aluminum was chosen, and over 1.5 million of these were struck and ready for public release before ultimately being rejected. About a dozen aluminum cents are believed to still be in the hands of collectors, although they are now considered illegal, and are subject to seizure by the Secret Service. One aluminum cent was donated to the Smithsonian Institution.

 

The price of copper later returned to profitable levels, so that the Mint would not need to change the cent's composition until 1982.

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Wow, that coin is the ultimate loser in my book:

 

1. Struck in beer can material

 

2. Abe Lincoln on the obverse

 

Those are two irredeemable demerits, then strike three is:

 

3. Slabbed

 

It's outta here. ;-)

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Probably PCGS and NGC did not want to touch it with a ten foot sonic welder.  It does not have the glamour of the 33 Gaudens and may still be confiscated by the SS.  I guess they thought it would have more downside than upside potential and with the Ohio Coin Fund scam still fresh in the mind of the public this would be an instance of "bad press".

 

NGC and PCGS both have stated plainly that they would be more than happy to certify these coins or any others of questionable legality.

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Not saying it's not about profit, but if the cent contained more than one cent of copper it would not circulate for long - the aluminum cents might have made good sense  :ninja:

 

Most definately for sure; but you know, silver quarters and dimes still circulate in the US, after how long they have been gone. ;)

 

But most certainly aluminum pennies would have been really interesting. There are not too many countries that still mint aluminum coins, except poorer nations that are stripped out of all sorts of metals.

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