I was searching a bag of old pennies and happened to notice a 1943 D penny that appeared to be copper but unsure since it was some what dirty. I measured the coins and it was 0.747" in Diameter and 0.057" in thickness which seems to fit. I used a strong magnet and it would not adhere to the coin. I knew that counterfeits were made by copper plating the steel ones. Under 10 power magnification the edge shows a cooper appearance with no sign of steel of layers. Would appreciate responses.
Does it ring? From the photos, it looks like some sort of cast counterfeit given the rough surfaces and the lack of detail on the high points of the design. If it is genuine, it's been on the ground and had some corrosion removed from the surfaces.
I agree with Mr. Milton. Looks cast. Either way, either counterfeit or plated. Not genuine. 100% confident.
It looks pretty nice and close to the real deal, and the little craters could have been caused by corrosion. Some signs of corrosion in the fields on the obverse seem to furthermore prove that it has been corroded. It has the right shape for the date and mint mark and placement of details, so I'm saying it could be real. Don't jump to conclusions though. I think you should visit your local coin shop and ask them if it is real. If they say yes and they offer a price to give you, decline it because they probably want a good deal from you. You should also contact someone like the Penny Lady or other people that basically specialize in pennies and are well respected in the community. Make sure to not touch the coin with your fingers because if it is real, you wouldn't want to lower the value by possible scratching it or wearing it down more. So first try contacting someone respected (include measurements and weight in the mail) and then go to a coin shop or coin shops with good ratings near you. If neither person says "yes it is real", then give up any hope of being rich soon. If one or even both of them say "yes it is real", then be happy and try to contact a grader at PCGS or NGC. Keep us updated on what people say, because it would be quite nice to help you get a rare coin authenticated. Welcome to CoinTalk by the way!
The shape of the date does not prove anything. The Chinese are taking real coins, often with problems, and using them to make the copy dies for their ... "creations." The things have the diagnostics for the real die varieties because they are copies of the real thing, but they are still bogus.
Here is mine. This is even more convincing than his. 100% not genuine. (Plated). There are some errors that many of us don't need to show anyone else because we are the local experts. Most dealers know very little about Mint errors, and often have junk trays and boxes loaded with damaged coins they think are errors. The local coin shop is not the place to go. It is here.
I'm only going by what I see and how the Chinese are making copies of U.S. coins that are fooling collectors and even the Third Party Grading services. I will add that the color and the odd looking corrosion around the word "LIBERTY" are consistent with other Chinese fakes I have seen, although this 1943 copper is not as well execuated. Here are a couple Chinese fakes. This "1803 half cent" is no good, despite that fact that NGC graded it. It's already been proven to be bad. Ditto for this "1806 half cent." it's no good.
Thanks for all of your comments and help, I mistakenly used a pencil type magnet and inadvertently used the wrong end in my stupid excitement. On recheck, it is apparently plated as pointed out. Thanks again for all of the replies and accept my apology for my error.
