I really cannot determine the shape of the spot to the East southeast of the mint mark. Maybe it could be a gouge in the metal before the coin was struck. Or struck through a foreign object... or simply a cracked die that caused the S to fill. It has been my experience in searching cents that S's are notorious for filling in when struck. Just some thoughts to toss around, maybe to jog someone out of their stupor between coin searches... jeankay
The outer layer of Zinc on 43 P,D,S cent's are recoated to make them look new. Looking thru a loup and sometimes with the naked eye there easy to tell. Rhubarb
I used a loop, I can't tell. I'm new at this so I don't know what I'm looking for. I would say that it is reprocessed, based only on the fact that the bag of "unsorted" coins it came in had some copper cents that were cleaned, and none of the steel cents has the shine this one has. Thanks again.
Looks like the inside of the upper loop of the "S" may have chipped off the die, most likely through use. Although with the other markings in that area some Mint employee may have dropped something on it. Result would be the same. And I'll agree with "reprocessed". Even high grade '43s don't look very shiny, but I've seen some reprocessed ones that look like proofs. Very pretty but basically the numismatic value is gone. Thing is, what do you do with '43s when the zinc coating has been breached? Put them in the junk box or reprocess, your choice.
Zinc cents / Steel Pennies 1943 Here are two zinc coated Lincoln cents in my hoarde. One 43p is from a roll of uncirculated zinc. The other coin which is much shinier is a reprocessed zinc. From what I understand, when the 'steel pennies' came into the public they did not get a very warm welcome and were greatly rejected. Many of the coins wound up in bags in the far reaches of a bank vault or collectors hoards. Sometime later some private companies purchased a batch of steels and had them re-coated to make them bright and shiny so they could use them as bait for whatever they were selling. The original steels did get their share of oxidation even in bags in vaults, and some had gotten rusty. The companies were known to either clean or not clean the coin before re-coating. Either way the top layer would flake or peel away from the original coin leaving one with a very unpleasant little piece of metal. Thanks to all the great coin collectors that know a great deal more about coins than I could ever learn on my own, I have been able to pick up on some of the little nuances of coins that shape my collection. To all of you, "You are greatly appreciated"! jeankay
The generous sharing of knowledge and assistance on this board definitely promotes this hobby. I just dabble in coins, have little knowledge, but feel comfortable asking any question here knowing the people on this board are willing to help. Thank you.
