No British coin is magnetic.
Actually, older (1971-1991) 2p coins are not attracted to a magnet and newer ones are. The reason is that the rising price of copper forced the Royal Mint to change the composition from bronze to copper-plated steel.
Many other countries that had low denomination copper or bronze coins also changed their compositions during that same time period or, dispensed with the coin coin altogether.
why dont you stick your hand in ones mouth and find out
It is magnetism. Remember, most metals don't stick to magnets. Iron (and steel), and cobalt and nickel do, but none of the other common ones do.
the ones that lift up when you put a magnet over them.
Yes. From 2000 to 2006 the majority of Canadian nickels were struck in plated steel but some were also made from an alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel. The steel coins will stick to a magnet but the cupronickel ones won't.
Probably not. You need a ferromagnetic material for a magnet to stick. There are basically three elements that are ferromagnetic: Cobalt [Co]; Nickel [Ni]; & Iron [Fe] (and some esoteric ones too). If the metal alloy that has been plated with silver to make the "silver plate" has enough of these then a magnet will stick, of these, only Nickel is commonly a component of alloys that are plated but often not in concentrations that are sufficient to make it obviously magnetic.
the ones that attract stuff
Some do. You can use a magnet to find out which ones (the ferrous ones will be magnetic).CorrectionIron is not used in modern coins because it's too brittle. Many countries however mint coins from steel, but it's almost always plated with another metal to prevent rust.
Ones Metal and Ones a magnet :D
The only US coins strongly attracted to a magnet were 1943 cents struck in steel instead of copper.All other US coins contain mostly non-magnetic metals such as copper, silver (up to 1964), zinc, etc. While pure nickel is attracted to a magnet, the amount used in most US coins is such a small percentage of the overall metal that the coins won't stick.
Please try the rest of the pennies in your pocket change.NO American cent will stick to a magnet except the steel ones minted in 1943. All the rest are either bronze (up to mid-1982) or zinc (mid-1982 to the present) and neither of those materials are attracted to a magnet.
A genuine U.S. silver dollar dated 1935 or earlier should weigh 26.7 grams, or slightly less if it's heavily worn. Also silver is non-magnetic, so a genuine coin won't stick to a magnet.
because that's what they do, stick to the ones who have power. At least the shallow ones.