Hey guys. Ive heard of these coins but have never even seen a pic. Has anyone ever seen or owned a 1943 copper penny or a 1944 steelie?
I 've seen '43s at coin shows but certainly never owned one. Never seen a '44 in person though and doubt I ever will. As for pictures, they're common enough. A simple Google search should up turn several for you.
I've seen only pictures of them, never in person. Like GDJMSP said, pictures are common of them. I can remember seeing Legend Numismatics purchasing a 1943-D on Copper for like $1.7 Million or so. Plus they had a 1944 Steelie for sale about 6 months ago and they were asking $75,000. I've never owned one as well and probably never will. Unless I strike it rich one day.
Grade bump for rarity using the excuse of a weak strike to explain it. Yeah, the coin was weakly struck. But the coin also has enough wear to grade an honest VF as well.
I've certainly seen copper 43s in person. I may have seen a 44 steel cent in person, but if I did, it didn't impress me enough to stay in memory, although they're rarer by degrees than the 43 coppers.
I think you are looking at a greaser. "Weak Strike" isn't going to fly. The presses were set for striking the much harder steel planchets so the pressure was significantly higher that would normally have been used for copper. A copper planchet should have been HAMMERED! And some areas of that coin ARE extremely sharp.
