A brief study of 1943 wartime cents

@Mountain Man sent me a PDS set of 1943 steel cents that had been reprocessed. Since I have seen some collectors who are confused by these pieces, I though I might provide some basic facts.

In 1943 the U.S. Mint System issued steel cents that were coated with zinc in place of the normal coins in bronze. The reason was that copper was a key wartime material, and the mint was looking for a way to save it for the war effort.

The coin was a flop. People confused it with the dime, and the coin soon became unattractive in circulation after the zinc oxidized. I saved a few rolls of these coins from circulation in the early 1960s. Here are three examples.



The piece in the upper left is an example of how these coins looks were the zinc coating oxidized. It is dull and grey. the piece in the upper right is rusted. The coated the coins with zinc to prevent or retard this development. The piece at the bottom is typical of a circulated piece. Steel is hard, and for that reason these coins are seldom seen with a lot of "honest wear." I would grade this piece VF-30.

Here is what a pristine steel cent looks like. This piece is graded MS-66.



Here is a steel cent that has been "reprocessed" with a new zinc coating. This coin looks better in person, but my camera sometimes plays tricks with items like this. There are colors on the piece in the photo which really are not there.



To the untrained eye, this coin might look like a Proof. The mint actually considered making the Wartime Cent in Proof for about a nanosecond. If they had, that would have been a hoot!

As you might see, the reprocessed coins are too bright when you compare them with the real thing.

Finally I will show you this, a web that was left after the wartime cent planchets were punched out of the metal strips.



These relicts cropped up at coin shows in New England in the 1980s. Perhaps they were rescued from some scrap metal dealer who got them. I have not seen any offered for a number of years, although some must be out there for sale somewhere.

 

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One of the key ways that I use to identify if a Steel Cent has been replated is to look at the the edge. There should not be any plating on the edge of an original coin.
A replated coin will have plating on the edge.
None of these have been replated. They have that steel gray color, are not highly reflective and some show signs of the cut and shear that was acquired when the blanks were made.

 

Another thing I look for is Accidental Die Abrasion on the reverse of the coin. They will show up as a shinny spot on ether side of the top of the reverse.
It can only be found on some coins ( not all original coins will show this ) and it is a sure marker of originality. I repeat, not all original surface coins have these marks.


https://www.error-ref.com/accidental-die-abrasion/

 

Thank you @johnmilton... I always appreciate your informative posts.... Since this is a thread about the steel cents, is it reasonable to assume that the reprocessed cents would not display any mint luster. I have a hard time seeing luster on a cent these days anyway....

 

Good information from both @johnmilton and @alurid. Thank you both for the post.

 

Pretty

 

These coins can't have mint luster perse. They have a dull shine from the zinc coating. If you strip off the zinc, the steel underneath might be bright. When I was kid, I scrapped off the zinc with steel wool, per the instructions of my 6th grade teacher, who was obviously not a coin collector, and found that. I still have that coin somewhere, but I'd have to find it.

 

@johnmilton , @alurid
would you kindly give me an opinion on this one. It is the only one I have and always wonder if it is a reprocessed version or not. The edge is so vastly different

 

The photo of the edge looks to have rust on it, due to that I would speculate that it is not a replated coin. I should also state that it looks like both sides have been treated with a rust removal chemical of some kind.
And Expat, if you would like an upgrade give me a PM.

 

You're talking here about the reprocessed cents, right? I've definitely seen original steel cents with luster.

The zinc layer deposited during reprocessing is smooth; it doesn't show the flow lines that cause luster, because it's too thick.

Your teacher was a dud. The suggestion should've been to dissolve the zinc layer with a mild acid, or with a lye solution. (A strong base like lye will dissolve zinc, but it won't affect steel.) No, I'm not trying it on any of my steelies -- although I definitely have some that are already damaged enough to make fair targets.

 

Look at my MS-66. I guess you could call that luster, but I've never seen "a blazer" unless it's been messed with. Zinc is a lousy coinage metal. Just look at the modern cents.

 

Great posts by all. The information and the photos are great. Thanks to all.

 

Preaching to the choir, believe me.

Not unless I'm forced to. Ick.

 

Being zinc plated is not the worst problem with this coin. IMO.

 

So would you experts say these are reprocessed? Would really appreciate your opinion.

 

I have all three of the wartime pennies. My grandfather found them in change. They are shiny not corroded. Well one is not so shiny a little corroded.

 

Well, Lets put it this way. Is your 'P' is silver, your 'D' is gray and your 'S' is blue. There is a good chance all three have original plating.
Have you checked the edges?

 

I'm not sure those sets were ever produced with anything but reprocessed cents. Nobody wanted to buy cents that weren't "shiny", and reprocessing made them "shiny" as new, maybe shinier.

 

No I have not checked the edges. What would i be looking for?