I really need some expert advice on this one. I recently purchased a couple 1943 steel pennies. I wanted a BU penny for a year BU year set I'm putting together. This is want I recieved. Can this truely be a double die or can someone be up to no good? I only payed a couple of dollars for the coin. What do you all think?
I dunno, looks like an RPM to me, but I can't find this one listed. Does it show any signs of doubling elsewhere on the coin ? Maybe you can answer it yourself if you look through these listings - CLICK HERE
Confused I didn't find any other doubling on the coin. I'm staring to wonder if it isn't a fake of sorts or has been doctored. I don know? What does RPM mean/stand for? There where no connection to this coin at that web site. Thanks just the same though.
Hi, The coin is not Uncirculated. It has been reprocessed to look new. The coloring is way off and the surface does not look right. The doubling can be a result of the process used to reprocess the coin or it could be a form of mechanical doubling. Definitely not die doubling. Also can't be an RPM which stands for RePunched Mintmark. The coin has no Mintmark Have Fun, Bill
You beat me to this Bill. I was posting to say that this had been replated when your post popped up. Also, these things were plated in zinc to begin with and will show the same "doubling" that modern zinc plated cents exhibit. Kind of a phantom doubling. Something to do with the layer of zinc, I'm no chemist. Happy hunting, Michael
I Quite Agree I knew something wasn't right and this I believe explains it. There are areas of the coin surface that look doctored/resurfaced. I also agree that the coin surface fails to represent mint finish of any type I have ever seen. Thanks everyone for your support. I keep recommending this site to my fellow coin club members and now I have a personal story to tell how CoinTalk members have helped with my Numismatic education. Thanks again to all. :hail:
The doubling exhibited on the Date of your 1943 Steel Cent could be actual doubling, or as a result of the reprocessing or both! Many 1943 Steel Cents have some sort of doubling on the Date from actual Doubled Die doubling to Machine Doubling which is identical or very similar to the doubling on the 1953-P and 1955-P "Poor Man's Doubled Die" Cents. I have seen many 1943 Steel Cents that had varying types of doubling on the Date or elsewhere on the Obverse that was there before the reprocessing but because they were reprocessed, their value and collectibility was totally destroyed. An "RPM" is reference to a Repunched Mint Mark and your 1943 Steel Cent does not have an RPM since it was minted at the Philadelphia Mint and there is no Mint Mark! Frank
As a person that has about 26 rolls of those silly 1943 Lincolns cents I'd like to say that there are numerous ones that look similar to yours. Not a double die for real but appears to be a simalar type of worn die like the famous Poor Mans 1955 DD. I am not sure but think since steel is not as easily stamped out as copper or similar soft metals, zink, tin, silver, gold, etc. that the die wore out at a greater rate and left these slightly doubled looking coins. I once went through all mine very carefully some years back looking for the doubled D mint mark on the 1943 but none there. I really like my copper plated ones.
DUH !! Of course it's not an RPM What I meant to say was that it's possibly a repunched date. But now that I think of it, that may not be possible either. For the life of me I can't remember when they stopped punching the date into the dies by hand Anybody else remember for sure ?
I would guess around the turn of the century (1900). Mint marks were still hand impressed into the dies for much, much longer...Mike
What you have looks like machine (strike) doubling. I can't comment on the surface of the coin, but it does strike me as odd...Mike
