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Is it legal?
Why do I see silver on the penny after it is elongated? Why are pennies hard to fit into the PennyCollector books? Can I use Canadian Pennies? How can I clean my elongated pennies? |
Why does the penny tarnish?
What do the small letters and numbers on the penny mean? Why are some EC's off-centered and have such long tails? Will the PennyCollector books turn my pennies green? Why are my coins curved? |
Is it legal?
We get this one all the time... Here's the official answer: YES...and No.
United States (YES): The United States Codes under Title 18, Chapter 17, and Section 331, "prohibits the mutilation, diminution and falsification of United States coinage." However, it has been the opinion of some individual officers at the Treasury Department, though without any indication of approval, the foregoing statute does not prohibit the mutilation of coins if done without fraudulent intent or if the mutilated coins are not used fraudulently.
United Kingdom (YES): It is also legal to elongate coins in the UK for the same reasons at it is legal in the US. A common misconception is that it is illegal to elongate the coin because it defaces the image of the queen, however, we have been assured by a collector in the UK that it is not against the law to flatten the Queen's head... so long as it is on a penny.
Canada (NO): Section 11(1) of the Currency Act states that "no person shall, except in accordance with a licence granted by the Minister [Minister of Finance], melt down, break up or use otherwise than as currency any coin that is current and legal tender in Canada." Furthermore, Section 456 of the Criminal Code of Canada makes it a criminal offence to deface circulation coins: "Every one who: (a)defaces a current coin, or (b)utters a current coin that has been defaced, is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction." The offence is not dependent on fraudulent intent.
-Royal Canadian Mint
Why do I see silver on the penny after it is elongated?
What you are seeing is zinc, not silver. Before 1982, the U.S. minted coins that were about 95% copper and 5% tin & zinc. Beginning in 1982, the proportion of each metal was reversed because the value of the copper in a penny was becoming more valuable than a penny. When you elongate a post-1982 penny, the elongation process will reveal the zinc below the copper. [See Collecting Tips]
Why are some pennies hard to fit into the PennyCollector books?
We intentionally make the sleeves tight in the PennyCollector books so that air will not get to the coins and tarnish them. However, because every penny from a different year has a different composition of metal, and machines can be set to varying degrees of pressure, the variances of the length of the rolled coins can be substantial. [See Collecting Tips]
Can I use Canadian Pennies?
Canadian pennies prior to 1997 were approximately 98% copper and 1.75 % zinc. From 1997 to 2001, Canadian pennies were modified and were minted as copper-coated zinc wafers. A recent scanning electron microscopic examination of a 2001 Canadian penny indicated approximately 96 % zinc. Today's one-cent coin, modified in 2001, should be made of copper-plated steel (94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper). So, a pre-1997 Canadian penny (aside from being illegal to smash in Canada) should give you a decent result after elongating.
Note:
Do not attempt to elongate a "Loonie" (the non-round coin). It will squish far too short and you will loose part of the design.
How can I clean my elongated pennies?
The best solution is to clean your pennies before elongating them. Post 1982 pennies are predominately zinc (see above) and once elongated the zinc can become noticeable as 'silver' streaks on the surface of the penny. Once the zinc is exposed it becomes difficult to polish since zinc tarnishes to a very dark grey appearance. That said, please visit our Cleaning Tips Page for cleaning solutions.
Why does the penny tarnish?
The copper in the penny is oxidizing (combining with the oxygen in the air) to make copper oxide. Although fairly resistant to corrosion, copper does oxidize slowly in air, and when carbon dioxide is also present, its surface becomes coated with a thick green film of copper-hydroxide-carbonate. The outer surface of the Statue of Liberty is made of copper, and this compound is what gives it its green color. Visit our Cleaning Tips Page for cleaning solutions.
What do the small letters and numbers on the penny mean?
On some pennies you will find small numbers and letters near the catch notch. The letters indicate the company that engraved the die. For Instance, 'LE' stands for 'Lodestar Entertainment' (our company's former name), 'PC' stands for 'PennyCollector' (our new name), 'E' stands for 'Eurolink Manufacturing Corporation', etc. The numbers indicate the sequence in which each coin was produced. In our company, Sea World was the first location to have a custom coin made, and that coin has no number. Next came Six Flags (02), Universal (03), Busch Gardens (04), and so on.
Why are some EC's off-centered and have such long tails ?
The good news is that you are not doing anything wrong to make the pennies off-centered. The bad news is that you CAN'T do anything to make them ON center. If the design comes out partially off the penny, then it is a machine maintenance issue and the coin slot needs to be adjusted to align with the die. All pennies will be horizontally off-centered to one degree or another. The left side will always be on the edge because of the catch notch. When the penny first comes into contact with the die, a catch notch is made which guides the rest of the penny through the roller. So, the left side of the design is always right on the edge of the penny.
The right side of the design will usually have a tail of varying length based on the pressure that the die is exerting on the penny. This is adjustable so if there is an unusually long tail, this means that the pressure should be reduced on the machine.
That said, the length of the tail also depends upon the coin that you use. A pre-1982 copper penny will typically be shorter than a post-1982 zinc penny because zinc is softer than copper and will elongate more. However, you could run 50 copper pennies and each might have a slightly different tail length because the amount of copper in the pennies will also vary. Some collectors like a long tail, some don't. So your best bet is to decide what you like best and use copper for short tails and zinc for long tails.
Will the PennyCollector books turn my pennies green?
Is it possible that the your coins could turn color after a period of time in a penny book? Anything is possible, but this is very unlikely. Here are tips to keep the coins looking like the first day you made them:
Why are my coins curved?
Around here the s-shape is affectionately known as "potato chipping". It's all about how the die design takes the copper. The rolls have a contact point which is constant for each set. The only variable is the die engraving itself. We've spent hours trying to develop a device that would output the coins flat. We were successful at doing this with zinc coins on some presses, but the coppers are more resistant to being shaped as they come. The best that we can suggest is to reshape them after rolling.
We get this one all the time... Here's the official answer: YES...and No.
United States (YES): The United States Codes under Title 18, Chapter 17, and Section 331, "prohibits the mutilation, diminution and falsification of United States coinage." However, it has been the opinion of some individual officers at the Treasury Department, though without any indication of approval, the foregoing statute does not prohibit the mutilation of coins if done without fraudulent intent or if the mutilated coins are not used fraudulently.
United Kingdom (YES): It is also legal to elongate coins in the UK for the same reasons at it is legal in the US. A common misconception is that it is illegal to elongate the coin because it defaces the image of the queen, however, we have been assured by a collector in the UK that it is not against the law to flatten the Queen's head... so long as it is on a penny.
Canada (NO): Section 11(1) of the Currency Act states that "no person shall, except in accordance with a licence granted by the Minister [Minister of Finance], melt down, break up or use otherwise than as currency any coin that is current and legal tender in Canada." Furthermore, Section 456 of the Criminal Code of Canada makes it a criminal offence to deface circulation coins: "Every one who: (a)defaces a current coin, or (b)utters a current coin that has been defaced, is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction." The offence is not dependent on fraudulent intent.
-Royal Canadian Mint
Why do I see silver on the penny after it is elongated?
What you are seeing is zinc, not silver. Before 1982, the U.S. minted coins that were about 95% copper and 5% tin & zinc. Beginning in 1982, the proportion of each metal was reversed because the value of the copper in a penny was becoming more valuable than a penny. When you elongate a post-1982 penny, the elongation process will reveal the zinc below the copper. [See Collecting Tips]
Why are some pennies hard to fit into the PennyCollector books?
We intentionally make the sleeves tight in the PennyCollector books so that air will not get to the coins and tarnish them. However, because every penny from a different year has a different composition of metal, and machines can be set to varying degrees of pressure, the variances of the length of the rolled coins can be substantial. [See Collecting Tips]
Can I use Canadian Pennies?
Canadian pennies prior to 1997 were approximately 98% copper and 1.75 % zinc. From 1997 to 2001, Canadian pennies were modified and were minted as copper-coated zinc wafers. A recent scanning electron microscopic examination of a 2001 Canadian penny indicated approximately 96 % zinc. Today's one-cent coin, modified in 2001, should be made of copper-plated steel (94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper). So, a pre-1997 Canadian penny (aside from being illegal to smash in Canada) should give you a decent result after elongating.
Note:
Do not attempt to elongate a "Loonie" (the non-round coin). It will squish far too short and you will loose part of the design.
How can I clean my elongated pennies?
The best solution is to clean your pennies before elongating them. Post 1982 pennies are predominately zinc (see above) and once elongated the zinc can become noticeable as 'silver' streaks on the surface of the penny. Once the zinc is exposed it becomes difficult to polish since zinc tarnishes to a very dark grey appearance. That said, please visit our Cleaning Tips Page for cleaning solutions.
Why does the penny tarnish?
The copper in the penny is oxidizing (combining with the oxygen in the air) to make copper oxide. Although fairly resistant to corrosion, copper does oxidize slowly in air, and when carbon dioxide is also present, its surface becomes coated with a thick green film of copper-hydroxide-carbonate. The outer surface of the Statue of Liberty is made of copper, and this compound is what gives it its green color. Visit our Cleaning Tips Page for cleaning solutions.
What do the small letters and numbers on the penny mean?
On some pennies you will find small numbers and letters near the catch notch. The letters indicate the company that engraved the die. For Instance, 'LE' stands for 'Lodestar Entertainment' (our company's former name), 'PC' stands for 'PennyCollector' (our new name), 'E' stands for 'Eurolink Manufacturing Corporation', etc. The numbers indicate the sequence in which each coin was produced. In our company, Sea World was the first location to have a custom coin made, and that coin has no number. Next came Six Flags (02), Universal (03), Busch Gardens (04), and so on.
Why are some EC's off-centered and have such long tails ?
The good news is that you are not doing anything wrong to make the pennies off-centered. The bad news is that you CAN'T do anything to make them ON center. If the design comes out partially off the penny, then it is a machine maintenance issue and the coin slot needs to be adjusted to align with the die. All pennies will be horizontally off-centered to one degree or another. The left side will always be on the edge because of the catch notch. When the penny first comes into contact with the die, a catch notch is made which guides the rest of the penny through the roller. So, the left side of the design is always right on the edge of the penny.
The right side of the design will usually have a tail of varying length based on the pressure that the die is exerting on the penny. This is adjustable so if there is an unusually long tail, this means that the pressure should be reduced on the machine.
That said, the length of the tail also depends upon the coin that you use. A pre-1982 copper penny will typically be shorter than a post-1982 zinc penny because zinc is softer than copper and will elongate more. However, you could run 50 copper pennies and each might have a slightly different tail length because the amount of copper in the pennies will also vary. Some collectors like a long tail, some don't. So your best bet is to decide what you like best and use copper for short tails and zinc for long tails.
Will the PennyCollector books turn my pennies green?
Is it possible that the your coins could turn color after a period of time in a penny book? Anything is possible, but this is very unlikely. Here are tips to keep the coins looking like the first day you made them:
- Use pre-1982 pennies
- Do not let moisture get into where you keep the books
- Make sure the coins ar ecompletely dry before storing them
- And if the coins ever do turn a color you can always take them out and follow our Cleaning Tips to keep the coins looking good.
Why are my coins curved?
Around here the s-shape is affectionately known as "potato chipping". It's all about how the die design takes the copper. The rolls have a contact point which is constant for each set. The only variable is the die engraving itself. We've spent hours trying to develop a device that would output the coins flat. We were successful at doing this with zinc coins on some presses, but the coppers are more resistant to being shaped as they come. The best that we can suggest is to reshape them after rolling.
