Here's the second coin. This coin is very interesting. It has almost a blueish tint to it. I'm thinking this has a Die crack error. It also looks like the S mark is either filled or a RPM? Would this have any extra value to it?
Most Die Cracks and Filled Dies on all denominations of coins are very common. Don't forget every coin struck from a cracked or filled die will be released from the Mint, as the Mint does not consider these as errors. The Mint doesn't like to make coins with cracks or filled dies, but because of the huge volume they mint each year (about 30 billion total) this is a low priority to the Mint. There are more coins with die cracks than there are collectors!
ok I see. So what about the color of this coin. It has almost a bright blue tint to it. Is this normal for an s mint proof?
Well maybe there not proofs. It's a 43 Steel penny Emergency issue. Says on the back there's a 43,P,D,S included in the issue Plus 1 Reserve. So I'm guessing the Blueish toned coin is the reserve. It has almost a mirror like finish to it.
This is what we would call a reprocessed steel cent. This piece has either been replanted with zinc or some other plating agent and is definitely not original. They would take nasty ugly coins and replate them to make then look nice and shiny and then sold in sets like the set your showing... they usually have a blue tint to them and unfortunately this really kills most of the value.
Well these coins have been tampered with to some extent/Look at the 1943d to the left it looks like copper so apparently they were tampered in some kind of way. The die crack looks like a retained die crack going from rim to rim and can bring a premium, but the coin has been messed with ,and the MM is Machine doubling. Sorry no value at all. JC
Well there all steel cents. I did use a magenet to make sure. In the picture the 1943 d does look copperish but it's really steel. Here's an example of what the set looks like. http://cgi.ebay.com/1943-Lincoln-Steel-Cents-Emergency-Issue-Collection_W0QQitemZ270253493026QQcmdZViewItem
With a little over a billion minted, I would say there should be plenty out there. I know I've got a pile of them.
"Reserve" is probably supposed to say "Reverse" because it shows the back of the coin. I used to get sets like these as presents when I was a kid and it would annoy me because they are so overpriced and often tampered-with coins. Now that you know to stay away from these types of sets, welcome to the board.
