It's a 1943 steel cent, but if you look close at the date, it appears the 4 is completely missing, although there is a faint impression of it. As far as I know, single digits don't normally wear off coins unless they are near the edge of the coin, not in the middle of the date. It may be hard to tell from the scans (it's much easier to see if your actually holding it), but any info on if this is an error or what else might have happened would be appreciated.
This is often the result of a detail on the die being filled with foreign material. In this case the 4. It is more often than not, grease that fills the detail. It is a fairly common error. In fact it is calle a "filled die error" and it doesnt command much of a premium since a it is so common.
Thanks for the info, didn't realize this was a common error. This is the first one I've seen (or at least the first I've noticed), although I'm not too much of an error collector anyway.
Also remember it was wartime and the mint was working overtime, so the die did not always get cleaned as often as today. Mintage alone on the 1943-p was 684,628,670 and d-mint 217,600,000 thats a lot of coins.
Don't be too sure about that bruce 1947, the mint still misses a lot of bad coins, This 2004 D is a good example of that, it has a very weak 4 in the date and the word trust in God We Trust is completely missing.
Remember Bruce, a fine toothed comb. A fine toothed comb my friend. The picky police are watching! Trying to be funny, Michael
That's my daughter doing her best "Daddy had to much coffee" look! Thanks for the kind words and glad we can bring some smiles. Michael
