The 1974 aluminum cent was a
one-cent coin proposed by the
United States Mint
The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...
in 1973. It was composed of an
alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...
of
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
and trace metals, and it was intended to replace the predominantly copper–
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
cent due to the
rising costs of coin production in the traditional
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
alloy
An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...
. Of the 1,571,167 coins struck in anticipation of release, none were released into circulation. To encourage congressional support for the new alloy, the Mint distributed several examples to
US Congressmen. When the proposed aluminum cent was rejected, the Mint recalled and destroyed those coins. However, despite the recall, a few aluminum cents were not returned to the Mint, and those coins may remain at large. One example was donated to the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
, while another was alleged to have been found by Albert P. Toven, a
US Capitol Police Officer. A 1974-D specimen was found in January 2014 by Randall Lawrence, who said it was a retirement gift to his father, Harry Edmond Lawrence, who was Deputy Superintendent at the
Denver Mint
The Denver Mint is a branch of the United States Mint that struck its first coins on February 1, 1906. The mint is still operating and producing coins for circulation, as well as mint sets and commemorative coins. Coins produced at the Denver Min ...
. Randall planned on selling it in a public auction, but the Mint demanded its return, saying that the coin was never authorized for release and therefore remains U.S. Government property. Lawrence (and his business partner at their coin store, Michael McConnell) ultimately surrendered the coin when the Mint showed that the aluminum cent had never been authorized to be struck in Denver, and there was no evidence that the coin had been a gift of any kind.
History
In late 1973, the price of copper on world markets rose to a point where the metallic value of the cent was almost equal to its
face value.
[Bowers pg 246.][Judd pg 319.] The U.S. Mint, which produces billions of cents annually, was faced with a potentially catastrophic operating deficit due to issues of
seigniorage
Seigniorage , also spelled seignorage or seigneurage (from the Old French ''seigneuriage'', "right of the lord (''seigneur'') to mint money"), is the difference between the value of money and the cost to produce and distribute it. The term can be ...
. As a result, the Mint tested alternate metals, including aluminum and
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
-clad steel.
A composition of 96% aluminum (with
trace element
__NOTOC__
A trace element, also called minor element, is a chemical element whose concentration (or other measure of amount) is very low (a "trace amount"). They are classified into two groups: essential and non-essential. Essential trace elements ...
s for stability) was chosen.
[Judd pg 285.] The composition was chosen due to its longevity on coin die
Minting, coining or coinage is the process of manufacturing coins using a kind of stamping, the process used in both hammered coinage and milled coinage. This "stamping" process is different from the method used in cast coinage.
A coin die is ...
use and aluminum's high resistance to tarnish
Tarnish is a thin layer of corrosion that forms over copper, brass, aluminum, magnesium, neodymium and other similar metals as their outermost layer undergoes a chemical reaction. Tarnish does not always result from the sole effects of oxygen in ...
ing. Although they were produced in 1973, they were struck using 1974 dated dies in anticipation of release into circulation in that year.
In an effort to gain acceptance for the new composition, the Mint distributed approximately three dozen examples to various members of the House Banking and Currency Committee and the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. Nine congressmen and four senators received examples, along with some Treasury officials.[ Additional specimens were given out by then Mint Director ]Mary Brooks
Mary Elizabeth Thomas Peavey Brooks (November 1, 1907 – February 11, 2002) was an American politician. She directed the United States Mint from September 1969 to February 1977.
Early life and education
Mary Elizabeth Thomas was born to John W ...
. Ultimately, the proposal was rejected in Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
, due mainly to the efforts of the copper-mining and vending machine
A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...
industries, which felt the aluminum coins would jam machines and cause other mechanical problems.[John P. Dorst MD, Thomas E. Reichelderfer MD, and Roger C. Sanders MA, BM, BCh, MRCP, FRCRP]
Radiodensity of the Proposed New Penny
Pediatrics
Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...
Vol. 69 No. February 2, 1982, pp. 224–225. Retrieved 2008-04-17. Opposition also came from pediatricians and pediatric radiologists who pointed out if children ingested the aluminum pennies, they would be difficult to detect using X-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
imaging because the radiodensity
Radiodensity (or radiopacity) is opacity to the radio wave and X-ray portion of the electromagnetic spectrum: that is, the relative inability of those kinds of electromagnetic radiation to pass through a particular material. Radiolucency or hypod ...
of the metal inside the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts was similar to that of soft tissue. In addition, the price of copper declined enough that making copper cents would again be economically viable and, conversely, made hoarding pointless. The idea of changing the cent's composition was not explored again until the 1980s, when, in 1982, the composition of the coin was changed to the current 99.2% zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
and 0.8% copper core alloy with a plating of pure copper, resulting in a 20% weight reduction.[Yeoman, Pg 119]
After the setback, the US Mint recalled the coins, but about 12 to 14[ aluminum cents were never returned to the mint. No oversight, record keeping, or statement that the coins had to be returned was made by the US Mint as examples were handed out.][ When the ]Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
and other government law enforcement agencies were called in to investigate, however, some congressmen either feigned ignorance or completely denied getting examples.[ The coins, which are considered government property, have been subject to seizure by the ]Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
, although the legality of the cent is questioned by numismatists. One aluminum cent was donated to the Smithsonian Institution for the National Numismatic Collection
The National Numismatic Collection is the national coin cabinet of the United States. The collection is part of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.
Overview
The National Numismatic Collection comprises approxima ...
. Since no examples have been put up for public or known private sale, it has been difficult to estimate their value.
While there are no Mint records of the 1974-D aluminum cent being struck at the Denver Mint, in an interview with ''Coin World
''Coin World'' is an American numismatic magazine, with weekly and monthly issues. It is among the world’s most popular non-academic publications for coin collectors and is covering the entire numismatic field, including coins, paper money, me ...
'', Benito Martinez, a die setter at the Denver Mint in 1974, stated he struck fewer than 12 of the experimental 1974-D Lincoln cents under the supervision of Harry Bobay, a Denver Mint production foreman. The strikes were made using regular production dies on aluminum blanks supplied from the Philadelphia Mint.
The coin is considered by a few numismatists
A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...
not as a ''pattern coin
A pattern coin is a coin which has not been approved for release, but produced to evaluate a proposed coin design. They are often off-metal strike (using metals of lower value to test out the dies), to proof standard or piedforts. Many coin col ...
'', but rather a ''rejected or cancelled regular issue'', despite being listed in pattern books.
Toven Specimen
In the February 20, 2001, edition of '' Numismatic News'', Alan Herbert reported the existence of an aluminum cent. It was attributed to US Capitol Police Officer Albert Toven, who had found the coin dropped by an unnamed US Congressman
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
on the floor of the Rayburn Office Building
The Rayburn House Office Building (RHOB) is a congressional office building for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., between South Capitol Street and First Street.
Rayburn is named after form ...
. When the officer attempted to return the coin to the congressman, thinking it was a dime, the congressman told him to keep it. This example was graded and certified by the Independent Coin Grading Company as "About Uncirculated-58" in 2005, but later certified as Mint State 62 two months later by the Professional Coin Grading Service
Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) is an American third-party coin grading, authentication, attribution, and encapsulation service founded in 1985. The intent of its seven founding dealers, including the firm's former president David Hall, ...
.
Lawrence Specimen
In January 2014, San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
resident Randy Lawrence discovered a 1974-D aluminum cent. The coin had been in the possession of his father, Harry Edmond Lawrence, a former deputy superintendent of the Denver Mint
The Denver Mint is a branch of the United States Mint that struck its first coins on February 1, 1906. The mint is still operating and producing coins for circulation, as well as mint sets and commemorative coins. Coins produced at the Denver Min ...
, who kept it in a sandwich bag along with other coins. Lawrence brought the coin to La Jolla
La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781.
La Jolla is surrounded on ...
coin dealer Michael McConnell, who estimated its value at a minimum of US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
250,000, up to $2 million or possibly more. On January 28, 2014, PCGS announced that it had certified the coin as authentic with the grade PCGS MS63 and certification number 28544237. Lawrence and McConnell planned to auction the coin in April 2014 after it toured the United States and split the proceeds; Lawrence planned to donate as much as $100,000 of his share to homeless programs. However, the coin had to be withdrawn from the auction pending the outcome of a request by the United States Mint
The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...
to return the coin.
The case proceeded after Judge William Q. Hayes denied the government's motion to dismiss
In United States law, a motion is a procedural device to bring a limited, contested issue before a court for decision. It is a request to the judge (or judges) to make a decision about the case. Motions may be made at any point in administrativ ...
on March 26, 2015, stating: “it is plausible that a Mint official, with proper authority and in an authorized manner, allowed Harry Lawrence to keep the 1974-D aluminum cent. Drawing reasonable inferences, it is plausible that Harry Lawrence lawfully obtained possession of the aluminum cent, giving Plaintiffs superior claim of title to the aluminum cent.” On March 17, 2016, Lawrence and McConnell surrendered the penny to the U.S. Mint to settle the terms of their lawsuit which was dropped. The Mint has reported their intention to display the penny as a part of U.S. Mint history. A 1974-D is stored at the United States Bullion Depository.
Other examples
Several other related examples are alleged to have existed at some point or another, including
*10 examples of a 1974-D aluminum cent, produced at the Denver Mint
The Denver Mint is a branch of the United States Mint that struck its first coins on February 1, 1906. The mint is still operating and producing coins for circulation, as well as mint sets and commemorative coins. Coins produced at the Denver Min ...
. Unlike the Philadelphia aluminum cent, these were actually minted in 1974.
* Examples produced in bronze-clad steel.
* 66 aluminum cents made in 1975 as trial strikings.
*At least 1 example of an aluminum Lincoln Wheat cent struck in 1942 to test a possible alternative composition to bronze for the following year. Unlike the 1974–75 aluminum cents, this coin appears to be legal to possess and was sold at Heritage Auctions
Heritage Auctions is an American multi-national auction house based in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1976, Heritage is an auctioneer of numismatic collections, comics, fine art, books, luxury accessories, real estate, and memorabilia from film, mu ...
in May 2009.
* Nonsense description trial strikings of various compositions.[
]
Notes and references
Further reading
* Bowers, Q. David. ''Official Red Book A Guide Book of Lincoln Cents'' Whitman Publishing
Whitman Publishing is an American book publishing company which started as a subsidiary of the Western Printing & Lithographing Company of Racine, Wisconsin. In about 1915, Western began printing and binding a line of juvenile books for the Hammi ...
(2008).
* Judd, J. Hewitt, Bowers, Q. David (editor), & Teichman, Saul (research associate). ''Official Red Book United States Pattern Coins: Complete Source for History, Rarity, and Values.'' Whitman Publishing; 9th edition (October 31, 2005).
* Pollock III, Andrew. ''United States Patterns and Related Issues''. Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc (1994).
* Yeoman, R.S. ''Official Red Book A Guide of United States Coins'' Whitman Publishing: 60th edition (2007)
{{DEFAULTSORT:1974 Aluminum Cent
Abraham Lincoln in art
Currencies introduced in 1974
One-cent coins of the United States