1944 Steel Penny I Dug Up At The River.

Boy that's a great find! I would sell something to get enough money together to send it to PCGS. It will be worth twice as much once you get it graded by PCGS. Don't be foolish, that's a real treasure.

Stop wasting your time here and pay for a professional opinion to get the answer you want.

Ok so without all the extra stuff, how many think I need to send it in and how many think it's nothing... Also what about the possibility the penny was stamped on too a Belgian franc coin since the mint produced them also, that year.

Wondering what the dealer said with coin in hand

That is exactly what copper looks like when it corrodes, either in water or not. Steel on the other hand would rust until unrecognizable. It is certainly your choice on what to do with it.

If it was me it would be going in a holder with the other ones I have. but that's just me

Well I didn't create the image. It was one I've been saving for years. Just never had a time to work it in. I completed my thought on the thread and it hit me later, to use that image. I have images that I've never used. I use them at the right time for a topic when it is the right time.

Corrosion can add weight, but when it progresses enough, portions of the coin are actually "eaten" away for lack of a better word. Now it is losing weight. It is not at all unusual for a coin to be a little light either, out of tolerance, but it does happen. Your coin just does not look like a steel cent. Steel does not develop a green "patina" it just rusts. It does appear as if the coin was in contact with a piece of iron or steel long enough for the rust from the other object to adhere to the coin causing it to have a magnetic attraction.

Various corrosion colors suggest copper oxides, sulfides hydroxycarbonates to me. Typical of ground burial, with ancient bronze coins.

A clear ring tone may well be impeded by the thick layer of corrosion salts, and the very rough surface.

There may be a cheaper way to get it tested.
Take it to a scrap gold jewelry buyer, or a bullion dealer.
They will most probably have a hand held XRF instrument
The will probably charge a fee or they may test fro free, out of curiousity.
Give that approach a try if you wish. However, I think it will most probably turn out to be an exercise in futility.

I think a few of us here in the CCF may have an example of a '44 Belgian 2 Cents; I have one myself.
That is how the U.S. Mint was able to use the excess planchets.

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As an interesting aside, the Statue of Liberty has an iron skeleton. It had a huge corrosion problem with dissimilar metals. That is why there was such an enormous cost involved in it's restoration. I remember reading an article in the National Geographic on it.