With a little qualification, you are correct. The 1943-D copper cent is just as rare as the 1944-S steel cent with a single one of each known. There are 2 1958-D D/D known so, therefore, it is not in the same category.
I know this isn't a wheatie but this is the king of rare lincoln cents out there it's in the smithsonian jazzcoins Joe
All Lincoln cents from 1944-1946 were struck on a planchet that a little bit different composition. The metal came from war salvaged sources...a lot of when ammunition casings that had been melted down. So, these do tend to have a slightly different tint...but it isn't rare. This is something you don't want to do. Cleaning your coins destroys any collector value they have. Don't clean them!
No, they didn't actually. No coins were ever struck from recovered metal. The idea was considered, but never actually happened.
Oh really, I thought it had been done (I read that somewhere). What accounts for the different metal composition from these years then?
I have been looking at all kinds of sites all over. I don't see may of the bronze penny. So in my eyes it is rare that it is made of bronze. Tumbling the coins was a joke people. LOL:goofer:
Apparently, I was incorrect with my information. I read that somewhere and the source was incorrect. However, cents from 1944-46 did have a slightly different composition as they didn't have any tin in them.
Because the mint changed the alloy because of war shortages. And yes, you will it printed and repeated many times over that the mint used recovered shell casings to produce the metal to mint the coins. But this is a myth, it never actually happened. The mint report of 1944 verifies this.
Did they just have left over planchets through 1946 then? The war ended in mid-1945 but was winding down earlier in the year than that. Why keep tin out of the coin through 1946?
A war shortage of tin? The composition was 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc. For 1944 to 1946 it is listed as 95% copper and 5% zinc.
Because it was still hard to come by. The war didn't end until '45 and even when wars end everyting doesn;t go back to normal right away - it takes a while. Yes, tin is what they could not get.