Rare Find or been fooled - Need Help

[robroy]

Tonight I'm either a lucky fellow or a smuck who had a dirty trick played on him. I need some help because I cannot post a picture of what I found. But I am going to be taking this coin to the local coin shop sometime tomorrow.

Anyway let me describe what I found in a Brinks' box that I almost returned out of frustration over the lack of copper pennies.

I found a 1947d penny that has no wheat back. There are a couple of things that don't quite measure up so I'm not sure of what I have.

1: The coin weighs in at 28 grams versus 30 grams for a full 1973 penny.

2: The is no wheat back as I said but the depth when compared to the '73 seems undersized.

3: The back of the coin is completely smooth and show no sign of resizing and there is no indication of a rolled edge.

I would like to believe that I found something special because I have never seen the like of the coin that I've found. What would you guess that I have. Have I been duped or do I have a find?

[RichardPenny43]

50 years ago...someone had too much free time and sanded the back of a penny.

[jacer333]

I don't profess to be any type of expert, but I would say it is highly unlikely this is any rare error.

[robroy]

I don't think that it is much of an error either. I'm just wondering what this is or how it could have come to be like this. Somewhere in the coins 65 years life span someone must have tinkered with it to bring it to the state that it is in.

I was just trying to see what people could have thought of this supposedly rare find. However, I do intend to bring it to a coin dealer friend just to see his expression.

[slickeast]

If it weighs 28 grams, that is one heavy penny. It should weigh 3.1 grams. Since it weighs 2.8 grams, somehow .3 grams have been removed.

[inflationhawk]

About 10% of the coin was sanded away.

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

Please do not take this the wrong way....try to google "how are pennies minted".....once you learn the process it helps you to know what an error can or cannot be. It is an amazing process if you didn't know!

Someone please correct me.....can you have the front, or obverse, without having a the back, the obverse? I say impossible because of the minting process. Now the opposite way.....YES. A capped die will produce a blank front, obverse, while have a very stong back, the reverse.

Guys help me out!

[JobIII]

would you post a picture? I believe i found a similar example (1918 D) with a completely smoothed flat reverse. didn't weigh mine.

[justoneguy]

I too found a 1947 cent.
Mine is a "s" mint without any back,
However mine weighs in at a hefty 3.33 grams

1947s cent.jpg (87.25 KiB) Viewed 305 times

1947 penny blank reverse.jpg (62.17 KiB) Viewed 305 times

[TheJonasCollegeFund]

I too found a 1947 cent.
Mine is a "s" mint without any back,
However mine weighs in at a hefty 3.33 grams

1947s cent.jpg

1947 penny blank reverse.jpg

Gee...sure looks like it's coated with something!

Kinda obvious????

[tinhorn]

The rolled edge is created as a separate step before the penny hits the die. If the edge is missing on just one side, it was purposely removed.

[inflationhawk]

I too found a 1947 cent.
Mine is a "s" mint without any back,
However mine weighs in at a hefty 3.33 grams

1947s cent.jpg

1947 penny blank reverse.jpg

Gee...sure looks like it's coated with something!

Kinda obvious????

Coated with about .23 grams of something.