43 S steel cent questions

nolimitz

A gal came by at work today with a 43-S steel cent. She had a couple questions I couldn't answer
1. are all 43 cents steel?
2. is the reverse wheat pattern on steelies different than Cu wheaties?
3. Would this be considered a common coin /variety? I did not see any signs of DDO under a scope.
4. Any valuation ideas? I'm on a penny collector.

She had what appeared to me to be a G to VG penny, passed the magnet test, obverse was a little rough w/ a rim ding and a bit of zinc
corrosion. The reverse was remarkable clean considering she found this coin on the sidewalk.
Thanks
Pete

JrGMan2004

That'd be a cool Sidewalk find. There were a few '43 cents struck on copper planchets, though i believe they are pretty rare, and worth quite a bit of money.

Sequitur

Worth a penny. MS67 will sell for around $55-65.

coinguy89

<< <i>Worth a penny. MS67 will sell for around $55-65. >>



If I posted a pic, you think you'd be able to tell if it was MS67?

lordmarcovan

1. Yes.
2. No.
3. Relatively, though the S-mint is the best of the steelies.
4. Depends.

You did the magnet test on what? A '43-S cent? Of course that would stick to a magnet- it's steel.

Probably worth very little, but indeed nice for a sidewalk find.

Sequitur

If I posted a pic, you think you'd be able to tell if it was MS67?

Perhaps. Post a pic, let's see what people think.

I have a bunch of PCGS MS67s, and I don't buy these from any other slabbing companies. Steelies jump way up in price at MS68. I like the high-grade steel cents, and am always ready to pounce on a high-luster examples.

I've found that great luster examples are more difficult to buy than mark-free, and it's hard to determine luster from photos.

coinguy89

Its not gonna work, to get the detail to tell if it was that grade. It was way over 50kb. Its okay though.

nolimitz

Please post a 67 pic, This coin was not 67 in my book but I'd like to see one.

Sequitur

Coinguy, send me the pic and I'll put it up -- send the highest-resolution picture you have.

coinguy89

<< <i>Coinguy, send me the pic and I'll put it up -- send the highest-resolution picture you have. >>



Like email or IM, cause right now, my email don't work, if you have AIM, i can do it.

coppercoins

<< <i>4. Any valuation ideas? I'm on a penny collector. >>



Hey!! You need to get off the penny collector!!

Cladiator

This is a PCGS MS67.

nolimitz

Doh! should have read I'm NOT a penny collector
and re: the magnet test, I could not tell if it was steel by look or drop sound, so.. nor did I know for sure what yrs steelies were made?

signed the penny idiot.

coinguy89

<< <i>This is a PCGS MS67.


>>



Mine looks better then that.

lordmarcovan

Steel cents were struck only in 1943. A few leftover steel blanks accidentally got struck into cents in 1944, but these are extremely rare (just as are the 1943 cents struck in copper by mistake).

Trust me- if it was found lying on a sidewalk, it ain't MS67, or anything near that grade.

Cladiator

nolimitz

Lord M
No it was not even close to 67. G to maybe VG at best.
Thanks All
Pete

Sequitur

Here's another MS67 steel cent that I pulled from my box. Cladiator, yours looks like a nice example. This one is marginal:

nolimitz

No offense but if that last one is 67, my friends may go as high as ms60. sorry no pics.

Sequitur

Well, remember I'm shooting on supermacro, so all flaws are greatly magnified. And why would I be offended? If I post a coin and people think it's the biggest POS on the planet, I hope they say so, as I'll take another look and reevaluate, be it a common steel penny or rare proof gold piece.

XpipedreamR

I don't understand...what are you asking?


In the first post, you called it G-VG. Now you just said it might be as high as MS60. Are you trying to price the coin?

Either way, it's a nothing coin, worth a couple cents at most.

Sequitur

Either way, it's a nothing coin, worth a couple cents at most.

Steel cents are nothing to get excited about, no matter how high the grade. There are millions of them around.

I like them for the history and condition rarity examples with luster look cool, hence I buy them.

XpipedreamR

<< <i>Either way, it's a nothing coin, worth a couple cents at most.

Steel cents are nothing to get excited about, no matter how high the grade. There are millions of them around.

I like them for the history and condition rarity examples with luster look cool, hence I buy them. >>











How DARE you!

nolimitz

Tough crowd tonight! not trying to price any thing was questioning my grading skills based on two or three very different PCGS 67 coins.
sheesh!
night all. I'm done

cladking

'43-S cents actually sell pretty well right now and can easily fetch $.25 wholesale.

These are zinc plated steel and last I heard there were three S mints known in
copper. There are eight or nine others, mostly Philly.

Smitty79

I found this one on the ground about ten years or so ago(long before I started collecting). I kept it just because I thought it was neat. I guess I'm easily amused.

lordmarcovan

Dang, I'm impressed. That's durn nice for an off-the-ground pickup!

I have gotten two steel cents in change over the years. One was a '43-S. The other was a Philly coin... I think. Both were severely rusted, which is probably why they continued to circulate. Funny how much a rusted steel cent can resemble a modern zinc cent that has been roadkill in the parking lot- both have a similar patchy brown-and-silver look.



<< <i>Lord M
No it was not even close to 67. G to maybe VG at best.
Thanks All
Pete >>



Even a G-VG has some coolness to it- just for the value of saying "check out what I found!"

Which brings me to a topic I have been posting rather excessively about lately, at the risk of becoming a bore: detecting. I have never found a steel cent in a quarter-century of detecting, despite having accumulated about a quart jar full of Wheaties from digging, and I wonder what one would look like after being buried for a while. Would it completely rust away? Are some of those pieces of junk I threw away the remains of steel cents? Hmm.

I have only once heard of anyone digging a steel cent, and that was under special circumstances. Somebody reportedly found a roll of mixed-date Wheat cents in the ground, still all together, though the paper wrapper had long since disintegrated. In the middle of the roll was a steelie. Its edges were rusty, but being sandwiched tightly between the other coins, and protected by a paper wrapper for a while, it had been somewhat protected. That is the only time I have heard of a detectorist finding one.

airplanenut

...and a COOL MS67

lordmarcovan

I have PCGS MS67 examples of both the 1943 and the 1943-S for sale in my coin booth, but no pictures of 'em.

merz2

There have been 1943 Lincolns foung on copper planchets from all three Mints.To date there are at least (12) known total.They do command a premium when sold.

lordmarcovan

A BIG premium, I'd say.

Seems I misspoke myself about having a '43 and a '43-S in PCGS MS67. Checked my list, and they are both MS66. I used to have both in PCGS MS67.

I have a raw MS63-ish 1943-D with some traces of doubling on the mintmark and the 3.

That IS a cool one you have there, Jeremy!

dimples

I have two mint rolls my grandmother saved at the time of issue. Some have what look like water spots. Is it worth while to send in for roll revue to slab 67s only. How much do they charge for this service. I was thinking of taking the best and make one roll to send in. Thanks!

Dan