1943 1C, steel (11) - from my grandfather’s collection

Bnwoodward

Hey guys new to the channel here just wanted to see what these pennies were worth of anything 1943 one cents steel. They look like they’re in pretty good condition.

bsshog40

I'm not seeing one that doesn't look plated to me. Could be the pics.

coinbuf

I am sorry to have to inform you but all of those coins have been reprocessed. That means the coins were plated years after they were minted. Reprocessing of steel cents was very common; the zinc coating was worn off easily and then the coins would rust which people didn't like for general commerce or to collect. Plating the coins made them more pleasing for the general public and easier for dealers to sell.

Several of the coins in your photos show the rust corrosion eating its way through the plating material. Reprocessed coins like this have no numismatic/collector value.

TomB

I agree with the first two responses. Although the image quality is not great, the coins in question appear to be replated or reprocessed (same thing), which was a very common thing to have done in large quantities to steel cents years after they were released into circulation. This effectively kills their numismatic value, barring other factors.

Bnwoodward

Thank you exactly what I was looking for, good honest advice

Bnwoodward

And just to be clear, the nine pennies below in the picture are all plated because my grandfather was in the World War II 1943 … the ms looking ones were in special little packages that he had stapled together and dated

Bnwoodward

@Bnwoodward said:
And just to be clear, the nine pennies below in the picture are all plated because my grandfather was in the World War II 1943 … the ms looking ones were in special little packages that he had stapled together and dated

291fifth

1943 P-D-S zinc plated steel cents were struck in large quantities and continued to be commonly found in circulation until the mid-1960s. During the 1960s large numbers were replated for sale to collectors. The replating was not done by the US Mint.

Greenstang

The best way to tell whether a 1943 cent has been replated is to look at the edge. If the edge is dull and shows steel, then it is OK. If the edge is shiny like the surfaces, then it has been replated.

BStrauss3

@Bnwoodward said:
And just to be clear, the nine pennies below in the picture are all plated because my grandfather was in the World War II 1943 … the ms looking ones were in special little packages that he had stapled together and dated

No

This set looks to be a mix of original and reprocessed coins. The ones to the left of the red line have the flat appearance of original coins. The ones to the right have the shiny chrome-plated appearance.

It's not definitive from the photo - there were cent reprocessed with zinc - that's why you check the edge.

The reason is that the original zinc plating was of the entire sheet of metal, from which the blanks were cut. Nothing on the edges.