I have 2 steels that I was curious about. The 1943 has what I am guessing is a die break. Just looking for the correct term. And the 43D looks like a RPM but I can't find a listing. Could this be abrasion doubling or a rpm?
Nice finds The 1st Cent looks to be a Retained Die Break The 2nd Cent must be a RPM (But I'm no RPM specialist )
There is a rather significant RPM for the 43-D, but is in a different direction. If your coin has been "reprocessed" (re-plated), this often gives the appearance of doubling. If unsure, take a look at the edge.
@BooksB4Coins what exactly am I looking for? All of the coins surface carry the same texture and smoothness. How else would I determine reprocessed?
Is the edge steel or plated? Oftentimes one can easily tell from photos if a cent has been reprocessed, and I'm guessing yours has due both to the doubled appearance of the mintmark as well as the softer look of the lettering, but I just cannot trust my eyes as much as I used to and wouldn't want to lead you wrong.
But exactly what is "normal"? Normal 1943 cents are made from zinc clad steel and from the sides you can sometimes see the difference between the zinc cladding and the steel core, kind of like seeing the copper on the edge of a clad dime. I'll see if I can find a picture. Yours looks quite homogeneous.
One thing I haven’t seen any body mention is plated over rust pock marks. Your second coin appears to have this “tell” on Abe’s shoulder and it was a big rust spot to boot! You will find these on almost ALL reprocessed 1943 cents. I might take 40X magnification but their there! If they were perfect specimens they wouldn’t have reprocessed them now would they? Reed
