Super interesting coin to say the least. I modified op's photo to point out my area of interest inside black lines.
Even if it was plated, how explain what's inside those lines? And why are they smaller ? Yet seeming replicas of those two letters ?
Perhaps it is a forgery and before it was plated they hand punched those two smaller letters believing the plating would conceal the deed. Given the M over M would be quite the feat. On second thought ,that wouldn't work either. They would have had to build up with copper, the area they intended to punch strike or the new letters would be incused. ?
I’m thinking not genuine (as in: fake). The EPU doubling has 2 different sizes to the lettering. I hope this isn’t too negative for you...Spark
the original poster who created the thread . In this case that would be you. Know thyself grasshopper.
Just my opinion...Looks like a Chinese counterfeit attempt gone wrong...Please prove me wrong. Good Luck!
Welcome to CT. I hope for your sake it is genuine. Wow, what a find that would be! But I have some doubts, although I make no claim to being an expert or close to it. The odds are against it. There are lots of fakes out there and very few genuine articles. The fact that it is magnetic is in its favor, but a plated steel counterfeit would also stick. The very weak strike is actually in its favor, in my opinion, since the equipment would have been adjusted for the bronze planchets in 1944, which require less pressure than a steel planchet. But a counterfeiter might also have been unable to reach the pressure required for steel. The doubling in E PLURIBUS UNUM looks suspicious, almost like a true doubled die. But it is hard to believe that a genuine doubled die would only be found on a single off-metal specimen, uncirculated, 76 years later. And would doubling that radical only show up in those letters on the edge? Again I'm no expert, but I would think not. Also, the general look and the luster just don't look right somehow to me. But like others have said, it might be worth sending it to a TPG. I hope I'm wrong.
Could you please post the coin in a vertical way to show the edge close-up? The planchets were originally punched from steel sheets that were pre-plated with zinc, so that obverse and reverse faces were bright , and the edge showing the steel core were dull grey color. Replated coins have the same color on the edge as on the faces. Thanks Jim
Doesn’t look right for a cent in circulation for these many decades. And the 4s don’t look right See the tips of the horizontal bars If it weighs 2.7 grams, I’d send it for TPG anyway But as Jim said, edge may tell the tale