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1943 Maybe Copper Penny? Not Stick To Magnet. Weigh 2.02gm Maybe Because Damage. Suggestions?

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Dearborn's Avatar
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 Posted 04/24/2025  10:22 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Dearborn to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I don't think that the magnet for the charger may not be strong enough.
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 Posted 04/25/2025  08:03 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sunflower1 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply



My car mag is able to attract four 1943 steel pennies. ( In picture) But will not attract the 1943 copper penny. It's a pretty strong magnet. The acetone did not help make coin clearer. I would love to get it graded. It is a collectors choice. Maybe someone will be interested. It's not the worse I've seen.

I was thinking about PCGS or NGC. Get it insured and send. If you feel these two Companies will not be interested in grading this damaged coin. Would you recommend a reputable coin service that does?
Thanks
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Dearborn's Avatar
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ratman4762's Avatar
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 Posted 04/25/2025  10:16 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add ratman4762 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
IMO the same corrosion that obliterated Liberty and other devices and rendered them unreadable did the same to the date.

Quote:
I was thinking about PCGS or NGC. Get it insured and send. If you feel these two Companies will not be interested in grading this damaged coin. Would you recommend a reputable coin service that does?
I think just getting a major TPG to slab it as a 1943 copper "genuine" would be a major (highly unlikely) WIN for you.
Edited by ratman4762
04/25/2025 10:18 am
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 Posted 04/25/2025  4:17 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sunflower1 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Ok. Appreciate the inputs.
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JimmyD's Avatar
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 Posted 04/25/2025  4:26 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add JimmyD to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
You need to soak it for at least 24 hours to get results
when it is that bad.
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fortcollins's Avatar
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 Posted 04/25/2025  7:11 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add fortcollins to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I'll post a guide for the number 4 variations on the 1940-1949 cents. There's a guide floating around, but it's copyrighted. I'll make one from my coins, so that it's available for use.

In general, all eleven of the number 4s are different. What varies from date to date are:
E-W distance of the 4 from the 9
N-S positioning of the top of the 4 relative to the 9
Whether the top outside angle of the 4 is pointed, blunt, or flared
Whether the left outside angle of the 4 is pointed or blunt
Whether the right crosslet end is long or short and whether it is squared, angled, or flared
Whether the bottom crosslet end is long or short
Whether the arch (the open area inside the 4) is tall or squat

Yes, really. That's way too much info about a 4, but it is enough to identify the date without any of the other digits.
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 Posted 04/25/2025  11:51 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sunflower1 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I goggled this.".Yes, it's possible for a 1943 copper penny to be struck on the wrong planchet and weigh 2.00 grams. This is a known mint error where some 1943 Lincoln cents were mistakenly struck on leftover bronze (copper) planchets from 1942." (This is good to know as well. This gives me hope.) Could this be a wrong planchet on the1943 penny or do you feel it's just deterioration and damage? It is thinner than a normal penny weighing 3.11 g. More like a dime.
I'm working on getting neodymium magnet.
This will erase any of my concerns.
I will resoak penny
If it is truly copper. then what? Would it still be a problem because of the date not being clear enough?
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Hondo Boguss's Avatar
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 Posted 04/26/2025  12:54 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Hondo Boguss to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
Could this be a wrong planchet on the1943 penny

The US did not mint any coins for other countries in 1943 using a bronze planchet near the size of your coin.

Quote:
or do you feel it's just deterioration and damage?

It's just deterioration and damage. It has lost mass from circulation and then being buried in an acidic environment (most likely).

Quote:
If it is truly copper. then what?

Then you figure out what the date really is, because it's not 1943.
People have been searching for copper 1943 cents since, well, 1943. Large cash sums were offered for them. The odds that one escaped detection while extensively circulating are effectively zero.
Inordinately fascinated by bits of metal with strange markings and figures
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 Posted 04/26/2025  04:10 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add lcutler to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
It just doesn't look like a 1943 to me at all, the final digit appears to be a 2 or possibly a 7 but not a 3.
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 Posted 04/26/2025  1:10 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Sunflower1 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply







Since this coin wasn't what I thought, I decided to slightly clean the date area. These are the final results.
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fortcollins's Avatar
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 Posted 04/26/2025  2:33 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add fortcollins to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
The latest photo gives a little bit better view of the four in the date.

The arch of the four is relatively squat, rather than relatively tall. That limits date options to 1940, 1941, 1946. 1947, 1948, and 1949. Significantly, it eliminates 1943.

The left tip of the four is in the close position to the nine, as opposed to the normal (mid) and far positions. That limits dates to 1942, 1944, 1945, and 1946. This also eliminates 1943.

The crosslets are too damaged to see the details on them, but the right crosslet looks like a short crosslet. That limits dates to 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, and 1949.

The top of the four seems to be level with or more likely slightly below the top of the nine, as opposed to very high or high. That limits dates to 1940, 1945, 1946, or 1949. Again, that eliminates 1943.

The common year is 1946. That year had a "stiletto shoe" four, set very close to the nine, with the top of the four below the top of the nine. Compare your coin to a 1946 cent online, and I think you will see the similarity.

IMHO, you have a 1946 cent that has been through a tough life.

That's the best I can offer here. Thank you for posting this coin!
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Dearborn's Avatar
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 Posted 04/26/2025  4:09 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Dearborn to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
how can you even see the 4 in these new images? a bit funny that the OP posted much better images of the reverse than the obverse (the side we all really want to see well.
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 Posted 04/26/2025  4:43 pm  Show Profile   Check Brandmeister's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add Brandmeister to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Before you spend hundreds of dollars on a PCGS/NGC membership, I suggest that you spend ten bucks to buy a clip-on magnifier for your phone. That will allow you to accurately image the date so the folks here can help you. It's a must-have piece of equipment for coin collecting.
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fortcollins's Avatar
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 Posted 04/26/2025  6:28 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add fortcollins to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
how can you even see the 4 in these new images?


I cheated. I kept adjusting the image until I could get the diagonal of the 4 and 9-4 gap clear enough to compare it to my reference images. That was all I needed here.
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