Lucky Penny 4 You

Take an Iron ( not copper ) penny add two small but Powerful NIB magnets
and you can assemble this fun conversation starter.
It's an easily wearable personal  iconographical boost.

Step 1: Tools & Materials

Only  One Tool Is Needed

This tool is your trusty computer,   which is necessary to buy the two NIB magnets.
I recommend you get ten of everything.............  your friends will love it.
And if your as old as the coin _{as I am} get 20 of each.


Materials Needed

First you need a clean 1943 iron penny.  This is available through a numismatist ( coin ) shop. 

1. I used to buy the iron pennies from Wonder Magnet.
2. More recently I would buy 50 at a time about 40¢ each last year from a local coin shop.

You need one NdFeB Neodymium-iron-boron Disc Magnet, 3/8 in. x 1/8 in.

1. Available from Forcefield Magnet

And you need one NdFeB Neodymium-iron-boron Disc Magnet, 3/8 in. x 1/16 in.

1. Also available from Forcefield Magnet.

Comments

[onrust]

In the spirit of your iron penny @ burning man........ I gave mine all away! Since, I have purchased some and its a very addictive activity. Anyone who spots it or asks about my "hat pin" gets one. Thanks again

[iceng]

I was all set to buy another hand out set of magnets an coins for this years burn
when they whacked the tickets for this year :-(

Now the best are not going, sad...

A

[onrust]

Whacked the tickets?

[iceng]

Unlike all years before, they random selected who could buy 2 tickets
this year, because they ran out of the desert authorities 50K limit..

Ex ample, The people who spend $40,000 to put up a free bar only got
half their workers ( impossible situation ) so they are not doing the bar.

This hurt every art project.... In the 11Hour the desert authorities relented
to permit 60K tickets Too Late for restarting major art projects. 
Several mini burn events already occur ed on Indian controlled land.

The whole event is whacked #¬þ

A

[onrust]

That's sad. Seriously sad.......BUT, how have the "Burning White Guy" events been going :)

[BLUEBLOBS2]

I have lots of these. They are a cheap and easy way to start a coin collection. Very nice 'Ible.
-BLUEBLOBS2

[iceng]

Yea, saw your page.  You do good stuff with monies.
I enjoy using UV to see the hidden fluorescent reflector strip in US paper.

I think what made this ible soar was the word LUCKY ,
and it didn't hurt to have one of my pictures placed as the first Pic
in Google's images for " Iron Penny "

Thanks for commenting.   BTW publicize your next ible on Facebook etc.

A

[BLUEBLOBS2]

Do you think any of my 'Ibles are worthy of being featured?

[onrust]

So, did they use the same dies to stamp the iron as they did the copper?

[Goodhart]

not very many copper ones were stamped that year, In fact, IIRC, they are worth a LOT if you have one.

[iceng]

I can attest to that rarity having spent four score years searching for a
copper 1943 penny and never found such a coin.

A

[canucksgirl]

Wow, you truly do learn something new everyday... I had to look up the facts on this "rare copper penny" and found some info that suggest an authentic 1943, copper U.S. Penny is worth $10,000 +

That being said, there are a lot of forgeries out there. Its considered an "error coin", because the U.S. Mint accidentally used the wrong planchet metal, but coins got out before the error was discovered.

I must be checking my coins more often.... even here in Canada, our coins are inundated with U.S. pennies.

[iceng]

Very true, But the iron pennies cost only 50¢ US

A

[Goodhart]

I think I read somewhere that only a few hundred may have been struck, and that most of them are in the hands of collectors....with maybe 6 or so in circulation if they haven't been destroyed somehow...

[iceng]

My research also confirms 6 are still unaccounted.  Good luck finding one.
I have often thought about using two simple servos to position pennies
to a viewable neural net algorithm which can reject improbable copper dates from my kilos of old copper.

A

[Goodhart]

There you go, with all that copper, you may very well hold a few of them :-)

[iceng]

No idea.
Maybe a numismatist will chime in.

[onrust]

I just had one in my hand! The girl at circle K had an odd penny that would not go through the machine. That's a heavy little sucker! It really is something to see.

[iceng]

Yea..... They do grow on you, I forget my iPhone more then the coin :-)

[onrust]

OUCH!.....bigger magnet? lol

[mrfixitrick]

This cool idea will also work fine with most Canadian coins. About 1/3 of Canadian pennies are steel and are magnetic, and all of the other coin denominations are too. The Euro is also magnetic.

[iceng]

Wow.... I do enjoy ibles all ways learning. I bet Canadian Steel coins don't Rust :-)

Thanks for the info M.

and steel is an alloy that consists mostly of ferrous iron.

A

[IncrediblyCondensedBlackMatter]

iron = ferrous. thats why it's periodic symbol is Fe "ferrous iron" is a bit redundant, theres no such thing as "non-ferrous iron" also, steel is a mix of iron and carbon. most "iron" made back in the day was actually really crappy steel, because steel is made by introducing air to iron while it's molten. also, they will rust, but not if theyre handled regularly, because the oils in your skin protect them, the same reason pennies in the US get dark but usually arent totally green.

[iceng]

Thanks for the note.
I got into a bit of a heated argument about "Iron coins"
and I agreed not to call American or Canadian coinage by the "I" word.

Now, I can only call Euro coins as Iron.

As you know Fe is attracted to magnets.

A

[Furball_Fidelis]

Our pennies do rust..and some iv'e even seen as allgreen because of the amount of copper in them....and I have some silver/zinc plated Canadian pennies as well and they still look like they're fresh from the mint...but I've also seen rusted quarter dimes and nickels...even the odd Loonie($1 coin) tarnished/rusted and I have some silver quarters somewhere as well and they're kept in sealed packages

[iceng]

Like your Avatar, impressed to meet a 50% best answer member.
As DabeAltis took me on.
Yea........ Canadian pennies Do Rust as well as the 1943 US pennies do,
but I hope not for a while at where I'm going to be tomorrow

[DabeAltis]

The author wrote: "I bet Canadian Steel coins don't Rust". I'll take that bet, I have several rusty Canadian coins which say you lose! I'm pleased you finally conceeded on the iron or steel debate. Quite simply, you were wrong. Yes, steel consists mostly of iron, but there's a big difference between the two and it's not just "a little carbon". Iron has copious amounts of carbon! Try handling some shavings where cast iron is being machined, that slick black powder left on your hands is graphite (carbon). You can fold a steel penny in half and it remains intact. Try that with iron and you'll wind up with at least two pieces. There are many types of steel and most are quite magnetic, even some types of stainless.

[dj_nme]

I'm sorry but you are mistaken about "iron"
What you have described is called "cast iron" and has more than 4 percent carbon in solid solution with iron.
Iron (or pure iron) has almost zero carbon in solution and is very ductile and soft.

A piece of iron the size and shape of a penny could be bent in half just like you describe a "steel penny" can be.

A piece of cast iron the size and shape of a penny would just snap and not bend at all.

Steel has less than 4 percent carbon and falls between iron and cast iron in it's properties.

[DabeAltis]

I stand corrected! Thank you.

[iceng]

While Cast Iron was never brought into this ible or this thread by me.
Please understand I have listened to the reason of many others before you
on this kind of Ferrous penny being in reality a Steel penny with a zinc flash.
I also agree the Canadian coins are also steel.

That just leaves the Iron Euro :-)

A

[mrfixitrick]

Newer Canadian pennies are either composed of 94% steel, clad with 4.5% copper and 1.5% nickel, or they can also be copper-plated zinc, similar to the US pennies made after 1982.

Canadian pennies made in 1996 or before are 98% copper, .5% tin and 1.5% zinc.

US pennies before 1982 are mostly copper, but after 1982 became copper-clad zinc.

[iceng]

Now I recall the reference I read said
_{"Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between}
0.2% and 2.1% by weight"
I like graphite it's as bad as silicone thermal grease ( white shaving creme )
on cleaning up.  You are very correct by volume carbon is a bunch. 

Thanks for reminding me what carbon did to the Japanese feudal sword !
After eliminating this continent all I have left is the iron Euro LoL :-D

Thanks for the fun.

A

[HaandYAndy]

I'm 73 and I never ever heard the "43" Penny called "Steelies" !!!! Back then we called them "Lead Pennies" because DUH, they looked like lead !! No copper pennies were struck,there is a urban ledgend that some wise acre employee ran a strip of copper through the dies and 9 or 12( which ever version you want to believe) were made. Supposedly,if you can find one, they're worth over a million dollars ! I heard of a guy that supposedly had one and the only way to verify authenticity is to Carbon Date it which involves biopsieing which destroiys the value,so that's out. I read that he somehow got it authenticated through Carbon Dateing without harming the coin. That's my story and i'm sticking to it !!!!!!!!!!

[iceng]

Pleasure to meet someone born before the Ferrous penny.

I'm impressed by being the first and right now only ible to get a comment
from HaandYAndy and thanks  for the memory Sir.

I guess we like call it what we learned first.  I did watch a program on the 43
where they reported less then forty of the 43 copper pennies were struck and
only eleven were accounted for at this time.

A

[monkeysinacan]

Yeah they are steel.

[iceng]

Your assertion has the ring of Wikipedea   "Steel is an alloy that consists 
mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight".

I have many Rust ridden pennies and no gentle way to clean the rust without
defacing the coin.
When thinking of steel the concept of stainless and poor magnetic properties
come to mind, however neither of these steel distinguishing characteristics
are presented in my favorite penny.
Based on this, I will continue to refer to this coin as an Iron penny :-)
Please tell me, what do you think now ??  . . . . .  A

[CobaltBlue]

Yes, I have a little to add here. monkeysinacan is trying to tell you that the American word for iron alloyed with carbon is "steel" and that American numismatists refer to these wartime pennies as "steel pennies." Inox, which we call "stainless steel" or just "stainless" is a separate material. Your skills in English are pretty good but please accept some guidance.

[iceng]

I did accept guidance.
Thank you, for the compliment.
Also read your comments enough to see you are not averse to having fun :)
I apologize if some feel I pushed the issue too hard.

A

[iceng]

OK you got me.  
 I fully accept yours and several others well intentioned guidance.
  It is Steel because of a little carbon :-)
   And yes 1943 steel pennies were coated with zinc, possibly accounting
    for the color in my pics.

Stainless is different then steel.

Did you talk with your numismatists and find out there are some Iron
Steel pennies made in the year before and after 1943 which are
worth more then pocket change.  Including a just a  few 1943 copper pennies.


A

[monkeysinacan]

I think its steel ^_^
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_steel_cent