Expert: Brad Swain - 4/10/2010

Question
Can you tell me the value of a 1943 deutche reich 1 is the value and I believe the mint letter is a D?  maybe a B hard to tell.  The coin is black and won't come clean with silver polish.  What is the metal and value?

thanks.

Answer
Hi Beth, There were 91.6 million of these zinc German 1 pfennig coins minted that year in Munich (D). Collector value may be worth about .10 with heavy wear to around .20 with moderate wear to maybe .50 with light wear.
The bad thing about zinc is that it develops white rust spots from contact with moisture in the air that will inevitably consume the coin and destroy any value it may have. Collectors will avoid most zinc coins that show any signs of white rust.
You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
Brad