Expert: Ronald Fern - 8/11/2011

Question
QUESTION: How can it be possible? But its True? Did I strike it RICH?
Please tell me..any advise, history,..I have heard hundreds
of Wheat Pennys dropping on my Marble floor..  This ONE sounds
DEAD even more DEAD than a ZINC Penny!!! Incredible.. its in
fair to Good condition on the Marking are there.... God Bless.

ANSWER: Hi Mirza:

Thanks for the opportunity to answer your question.

With odd or unusual coins, you always need to provide as much information as possible or photos, to help pinpoint what you may have. It may be possible that you could have a coin struck from a left over zinc-plated steel from 1943. The steel cent is the only regular-issue United States coin that can be picked up with a magnet.

The cent struck in 1943 was made of zinc-plated steel. It was struck at all three mints: Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. Coins from the latter two sites have respectively "D" and "S" mintmarks below the date. Problems began to arise from the mintage. Freshly minted, they were often mistaken for dimes. Magnets in vending machines (which took copper cents) placed to pick up steel slugs also picked up the legitimate steel cents. Because the galvanization process didn't cover the edges of the coins, sweat would quickly rust the metal.

For more information, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_steel_cent

The 1943 zinc-plated steel cent weighs 2.7 g. A normal copper cent (struck from 1944 to 1981) weighs 3.1 g (0.097 troy oz), and is 19.05 mm (0.750 in) in diameter. It is 1.55 mm  (0.061 in) in thickness. 1982 had both copper-plated zinc and copper cents struck. How does your coin compare?

Your coin may just show normal wear and discoloration, be altered in a fire or from some chemical, etc. Altered coins have no added numismatic value. Unless the coin is on a 1943 blank (grey in color), it likely a minor type of error, if real, and not worth a significant premium.

Sometimes you can think you have a real error coin. Here are examples of coins either being altered or damaged.
See link: http://coinauctionshelp.com/page15.html
See link: http://conecaonline.org/content/OhNo.htm

You may want to check Ebay listings under US coins in the error category to see if your coin is listed and what it is going for.

You may also want to check out these links on real error coin values:
http://www.coinsite.com/html/USErrorPrices.asp
http://www.minterrornews.com/priceguide.html

If you live close to a local shop, they should offer an opinion as to the value at no charge. Always try and get at least two opinions and try and deal with PNG dealers if possible. If you should decide to sell your items to a dealer, remember they will offer about 50% to 60% of the retail value. Here's a link to find one in your area: http://www.pngdealers.com/dealersearch.php

Please remember to go to the experts site to rate this answer. And check the nomination box on the rating page below any comments you may have.

Thank You and Good Luck in your collecting.  


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I Thank you for such timely/intelligent response.This is a 1947 usa penny,in fair condition.Does not stick to a Magnet.When I drop it on
a Marble floor,its sound DEAD,NOT like a another 1947 or any Wheat Pennys
of that era.NO Melodic sounds.Drops like a Zinc Pennys.Has some rust on
the back and seems like the Printing was shallow in comparison to other
coins from that era.Turely,you are right! Weight it!It should come out as
at least 3.0 grams or what if its in the 2.5-2.7 grams range? Then what?
If this coin is other than that proper weight ...does that make it valuable? for collectors? I stopped cleaning it due to it may damage what already their in its original marking etc! Its odd coin,due to even your hands one can tell its extra light for that era.Look foward to your response.God Bless America!

Answer
Hi Again Mirza:

If it weighs less, it is possible it may be struck from a rolled thin planchet or possibly a split before or after striking planchet. Here is how to tell which of these it may be.

Rolled thin: If coining strips are not rolled properly coins which are the wrong thickness are
produced.  If too much pressure is used when rolling out the strip you can end up
with a planchet strip which is too thin. If the rollers are out of alignment on one side, a tapered planchet is produced. This means you end up with a planchet that is thicker on one side and thinner on the other.

From Lincoln Cent Resource: "A split cent planchet is usually the result of deep laminations due to poorly mixed metals or
impurities." See: http://lincolncentresource.com/Errors/Split_Planchet.html

Split before struck: "If a coin splits before striking, the result is usually a weakly struck coin due to the fact that the split planchet is too thin to fill the space between the dies."  

Split after struck: "If a coin splits after striking, the result is usually a coin that is fully struck on one side, and may or may not show a phantom strike on the other due to pressure."

Hope this helps to identify what you may have. Well circulated examples of any of these would likely be worth $5 to $10 to interested collectors.

Please remember to go to the experts site to rate both answers. I hope you feel I should be nominated for top expert of the month. Only about half of the people asking questions even bother to read my replies. Half of them rate me. I do not get paid for this. It is my attempt to pay back the hobby for the wonderful education I've received through coin collecting. Check the nomination box on the rating page below any comments you may have.

Thank You Again and Continued Good Luck in your collecting.