Small Coin

[fyrffytr1]

I found this Sunday afternoon at a local park that has been in existence since 1912. There is a barely discernible bust on one side that resembles Lincoln and the other side is blank. I wonder if it is just a clad cent that is deteriorating or something else. There is still a rim on it and as you can see from the pictures it is smaller than a penny.
The other item is a wheel off a Sampson toy and probably dates to the early 30s.

 

[RobW]

It looks like a penny to me too. Though it does seems smaller than a typical penny. What's on the back?
Can you clean the coin up to get rid of the corosion

 

[coinnut]

It may be a penny that was minted using a dime blank, but it does look smaller than that. Other than that it could have been a promotional coin and not something made at the mint. is it copper ? Does it have a reeded edge? There are mini sets of US coins that were minted as novelties, but I thought they were smaller than that.

 

[Tony Two-Cent]

To me, it looks like a Lincoln cent that has been altered. Possibly someone tried to take a penny and alter it so it would work as a dime in a vending machine. That would explain the smooth reverse, as they would have to make the penny thinner as well.

 

[giant056]

There's definitely not any zinc in it cause with that kind of corrosion it would be toasted and gone.

 

[coinnut]

To me, it looks like a Lincoln cent that has been altered. Possibly someone tried to take a penny and alter it so it would work as a dime in a vending machine. That would explain the smooth reverse, as they would have to make the penny thinner as well.

Well if the reverse ends up being blank, then they scraped the back side only. That would work to narrow it down to dime size. The only thing that troubles me about it is that it appears to have a rim, like a regular planchet would have prior to striking. Does the reverse have a rim also?

 

[Tony Two-Cent]

Now that I look at the top photo again, it actually looks smaller than a dime. A real mystery!

 

[giant056]

Now that I look at the top photo again, it actually looks smaller than a dime. A real mystery!

It's almost like someone trimmed the outer edge and peened the edge to make it look like a smaller coin, if the Lincoln is the same size as the regular copper cent its possible that's what someone did ???

 

[coinnut]

It's almost like someone trimmed the outer edge and peened the edge to make it look like a smaller coin, if the Lincoln is the same size as the regular copper cent its possible that's what someone did ???

Yeah, it does look like that. Does it have a date on it (or a partial one)? That red looking corrosion is mid 40's in my area. Possibly a bored service man?? I don't know, but a cool looking item none the less.

 

[Longhair]

Lots of strange things happen to coins, pennies in particular. I've even cut pieces of them to braze with, so one spun down to fit a purpose like a washer or bushing isn't a big stretch.

 

[fyrffytr1]

Thanks for all the replies. To answer your questions; it is as thick as a regular penny but smaller than a dime.The edge is smooth but corroded so it may have been reeded at one time. I cannot see a date but there appears to be some letters across the top of the obverse and i think I see some on the left side of the reverse. The corrosion is the only thing retaining the bust. I actually chipped a very small piece off while using a toothpick to clean it. Here are a few more shots of it. The first one shows it on a dime and the second is the reverse.

 

[KYBuzzBox]

It may be a penny that was ground down and used in an old fuse box that had the old cylinder type ceramic fuse's (1900-1920's). I have seen my grandfather grind down pennies and use them in the old barn and hen house fuse boxes in the sixties when the old 1920 ceramic fuses were no longer available.

 

[fyrffytr1]

That is an idea to be considered. Thank you.

 

[tanacat]

Wow that could be it! I love this site esp for learning tricks of the trade in the 'ol days