What is special about the 1943 penny?
Because of its collector value, the 1943 copper cent has been counterfeited by coating steel cents with copper or by altering the dates of 1945, 1948, and 1949 pennies. The easiest way to determine if a 1943 cent is made of steel, and not copper, is to use a magnet. If it sticks to the magnet, it is not copper.
Should I clean my 1943 steel penny?
Removing the zinc coating from a 1943 steel penny. If you have steel pennies with a kind of grey coating on them, that grey coating is zinc oxide and it means the coin is corroding. With zinc on steel, the corrosion can’t be arrested. You have to clean it off or it will continue to eat away at the steel.
How much is a 1943 d penny?
CoinTrackers.com has estimated the 1943 D Steel Wheat Penny value at an average of 45 cents, one in certified mint state (MS+) could be worth $12.
What steel penny is worth the most?
25 Most Valuable US Pennies
- 1.) 1944 Steel Wheat Penny – Worth $110,334.
- 2.) 1943 Copper Wheat Penny – Worth $85,782.
- 3.) 1856 Flying Eagle Penny – Worth $25,000.
- 4.) 1873 Indian Head Penny – Worth $10,000.
- 5.) 1858 Flying Eagle Penny – Worth $10,000.
- 6.) 1857 Flying Eagle Penny – Worth $7,000.
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Which is better a 1943 steel penny or a copper penny?
This is why the 1943 Lincoln Steel Penny is usually better minted than its copper brothers. The 1943 Lincoln Steel Penny was cast at three mints: Philadelphia (no mint mark), Denver (“D”) and San Francisco (“S”). The quantities produced for that year of 1943 at the various mints were: Philadelphia: 684,628,670 units.
Why are the planchets of the 1943 Penny rusting?
As the zinc coating wore off the steel core the exposed steel underneath began to rust. The manufacturing process for producing the planchets was also flawed. Mint workers first rolled a sheet of steel to the proper thickness. Next, the steel sheet was plated with zinc and passed through a blanking press.
What was the composition of the 1943 Lincoln cent?
The Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco mints each produced these 1943 Lincoln cents. The unique composition of the coin ( low-grade steel coated with zinc, instead of the previously 95%-copper-based bronze composition) has led to various nicknames, such as wartime cent, steel war penny, and steelie.
What kind of metal was used to make the 1944 Penny?
In 1944 the mint switched back to using copper to produce the pennies. Once again, the totes contained a few zinc-coated steel planchets stuck in the crevices. The coining presses then produced 1944 pennies on zinc-coated steel planchets instead of bronze planchets.
Is the 1943 copper penny made of steel?
Because of its collector value, the 1943 copper cent has been counterfeited by coating steel cents with copper or by altering the dates of 1945, 1948, and 1949 pennies. The easiest way to determine if a 1943 cent is made of steel, and not copper, is to use a magnet.
As the zinc coating wore off the steel core the exposed steel underneath began to rust. The manufacturing process for producing the planchets was also flawed. Mint workers first rolled a sheet of steel to the proper thickness. Next, the steel sheet was plated with zinc and passed through a blanking press.
The Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco mints each produced these 1943 Lincoln cents. The unique composition of the coin ( low-grade steel coated with zinc, instead of the previously 95%-copper-based bronze composition) has led to various nicknames, such as wartime cent, steel war penny, and steelie.
Why was there an error on the 1943 steel cent?
Another explanation credits the error to the production of 25 million Belgian two franc pieces by the Philadelphia mint after that country’s liberation from the Nazis. These coins were of the same composition and the same planchets as the 1943 cents, but they differed slightly in weight.
