Streaky metal mix

[RChris]

Can more experienced members tell me if this is a common phenomenon as illustrated on these 1920 & 1921 pennies?

I see Michael Gouby has a couple of 1920's listed as having a streaky metal mix.

[Gary D]

Can more experienced members tell me if this is a common phenomenon as illustrated on these 1920 & 1921 pennies?

I see Michael Gouby has a couple of 1920's listed as having a streaky metal mix.

I've never seen it quite like that but 1920 especially is known for it's streakness

[Coinery]

I wonder whether this is actually a metal-mix issue, as all the components showing circulation wear appear to be displaying normal-toned metal? The lighter colour appears to be seated in some obscure field (maybe poorly rolled planchet???)and device recesses. Really odd!

[davidrj]

I've never seen it quite like that but 1920 especially is known for it's streakness

Unusual, normally streaky rather than flecks

Nearly all the world bronze sets I've looked at (from a wide rangen of mints) show this phenomenon in some issues,

The Americans sometimes refer to "wood grain toning" but more likely poor quality control in producing blanks in my view

[Peckris]

Can more experienced members tell me if this is a common phenomenon as illustrated on these 1920 & 1921 pennies?

I see Michael Gouby has a couple of 1920's listed as having a streaky metal mix.

Yes. I have a 1920 and 1921 penny exactly like this, included in an auction lot from the 1990s. They are in a Whitman folder, and the previous owner has annotated the streakiness as being caused by the use of WW1 shell casings in the mix. He doesn't say where he got his information from, but it would explain why it only occurs on those two dates, and is quite unlike the kind of streakiness so often seen on high grade coins, where it seems to be a factor of the lustre. This is definitely a feature of the metal alloy used, and one can certainly imagine the top brass (pun intended) finding a sense of relief that "What do we do with all those...?" was solved so readily!

[bagerap]

" the previous owner has annotated the streakiness as being caused by the use of WW1 shell casings in the mix"

I've heard this explanation as far back as the 60s, but have never seen it in print.

[RChris]

Interesting report Peckris! And would explain it of course.....I have a few more examples of both dates but with much lesser degrees of streakiness (a word I probably never would have used had I not started collecting this stuff!). Thanks for all your replies.

[RLC35]

In 1944 to 1946, here in the United States, our government used shell cases to make small cents... they also acknowledged it. There was no streaking of the metal however, like the pennies you show, but the small cents were a slightly different color. Those coins were otherwise satisfactory, except for the slightly different color (hardly noticeable)

Edited April 13, 2013 by RLC35

[Peckris]

In 1944 to 1946, here in the United States, our government used shell cases to make small cents... they also acknowledged it. There was no streaking of the metal however, like the pennies you show, but the small cents were a slightly different color. Those coins were otherwise satisfactory, except for the slightly different color (hardly noticeable)

I'm assuming that the streakiness above wouldn't have been visible until the lustre wore off?

[Coinery]

In 1944 to 1946, here in the United States, our government used shell cases to make small cents... they also acknowledged it. There was no streaking of the metal however, like the pennies you show, but the small cents were a slightly different color. Those coins were otherwise satisfactory, except for the slightly different color (hardly noticeable)

I'm assuming that the streakiness above wouldn't have been visible until the lustre wore off?

It's hard to tell from the images, but looking between the crook of the first N in PENNY, and below the Trident Hand of Britannia, it looks as if the light-coloured material is all 'sitting' in deep pockets/flan flaws (for want of a better word). Also the unusual lines, radiating out from GRA across the bust, and the fact that the worn surfaces all appear to be uniform in metal colour, makes me wonder if there's more to it than meets the eye.

Is it a possibility that the flan has been atrociously rolled, leaving pits in the fields, and more shallow depressions where the devices have forced the metal into new form, and what we can see is lustre sitting behind in recesses and pits?

Only thinking out loud, as I can't get my head around how a poor metal mix, after being rolled into sheets, would manifest itself as 'flecks'???

[Peckris]

In 1944 to 1946, here in the United States, our government used shell cases to make small cents... they also acknowledged it. There was no streaking of the metal however, like the pennies you show, but the small cents were a slightly different color. Those coins were otherwise satisfactory, except for the slightly different color (hardly noticeable)

I'm assuming that the streakiness above wouldn't have been visible until the lustre wore off?

It's hard to tell from the images, but looking between the crook of the first N in PENNY, and below the Trident Hand of Britannia, it looks as if the light-coloured material is all 'sitting' in deep pockets/flan flaws (for want of a better word). Also the unusual lines, radiating out from GRA across the bust, and the fact that the worn surfaces all appear to be uniform in metal colour, makes me wonder if there's more to it than meets the eye.

Is it a possibility that the flan has been atrociously rolled, leaving pits in the fields, and more shallow depressions where the devices have forced the metal into new form, and what we can see is lustre sitting behind in recesses and pits?

Only thinking out loud, as I can't get my head around how a poor metal mix, after being rolled into sheets, would manifest itself as 'flecks'???

Yet it's weird that it should manifest for only those two dates, while at the same time there are enough examples to make it known 'feature'?