Guess the Grades

The cent looks like a processed one.

 

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Care to explain?

I've had my share of Littleton reprocessed 43 Steels and this one didn't appear like those ones.

 

No. Sorry. The username was an unintentional coincidence.

 

Glad you're here, too!

 

66. 65. 20 66

 

Look at the edge of the re-processed steel, if it is coated and shiney: not an original cent.

JMHO...Spark

 

So I looked into this and NGC uses "altered surfaces" as a catch all term. Reprocessed would qualify, but it doesn't look like a processed piece to me. Mechanical manipulation (e.g. movement of metal, tooling, etc.) and chemical manipulation would be the other. My guess is that NGC had a problem with the latter and thought it was chemically or heat treated because of the color, but that is just a guess.

 

Welcome to CoinTalk Forum. I applaud your guess about NGC, your citing 3 ways they use "altered surfaces" is a great research result. But....

IMO, NGC has seen way too many of these re-processed steels, and know definitively the multiple differences between them and an original issue. When I first ran across these in 2013, I thought I had found an MS65. Upon closer inspection I found flaws in the dates and mint marks and, also, extra thickness in various locations. Then a thought occured to me: How did my brother end up with 27 of them? I should have had doubts as soon as I found more than 1, looking like that. Further research explained how they were made in 1943 and the last vestiges of my popped bubble dissipated.

Once again, good job researching and sharing...Spark

 

@Spark1951 - But don't all reprocessed cents have at least some loss of fine detail since it is basically recoating an existing piece? I also questioned it because the coin looks like it could have true mint luster. Luster is created from flow lines at the time of striking. Stripping and re-coating those would destroy that luster and create a fake sheen that looks nothing like normal luster.

 

You'll find some that are very finely re-plated, and others done less carefully, with obvious thick plating.

On another note, I found these being sold as a "novelty" coin on the internet for up to 3 dollars each. And Littleton Coin Co., a very highly regarded firm, uses these as hole fillers in wheat sets instead of a real steel.

One last thing: I contacted the U.S. Mint via their website, asking who authorized the re-plating. In a classic non-answer, they referred me to the U.S. Secret Service/Dept. of the Treasury.

Spark

 

Idk about the steel cent but that Nickel? Must be something Im not seeing in the pic. Im not the best with Nickels but seriously?