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 Replies: 13 / Views: 1,879 |
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New Member
United States
3 Posts |
Hi Y'all, I'm new to coin collecting, I've inherited a very sizable amount of coins from my grandfather, and I'm trying to continue what he did while also downsizing the collection to something I can wrap my brain around. Unfortunately, my father found bass playing a more interesting hobby than coins, so he doesn't know anything about the collection or what is in it. Today, I came across a series of pennies that look like they are steel, or some other silverish metal. WW2-era pennies, which doesn't surprise me(Grandpop served in WW2, Korea, and Vietnam.). Any experts here that can give me some background on these fellas, and if they are any worth while keeping around? Sorry for bad pic quality: All three are 1943, one is a D and one is a S. The third is blank. Not sure what that means. Thanks for the help, and first post whoo!  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
819 Posts |
What you have is a set of zinc coated steel pennies from 1943
1943 D is Denver mint
1943 S is San Francisco mint
1943 is Philadelphia mint.
the mint used steel because we needed the copper for the war.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4212 Posts |
What I'd find interesting, is what's in the folder. Just wondering, is it complete?
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Moderator
 United States
14463 Posts |
 with both comments and  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
One of my favorite coins. I have over 4,000 of those. Many have been plated with either Chrome, Tin, Zinc and even Copper. They were originally Zinc coated Steel. Unfortunately back then they didn't know how to make a decent long lasting steel like today's Stainless. So as the Zinc wore off, those pennies started to Rust. Yours appear to be Uncirculated. Nice coins. |
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New Member
 United States
3 Posts |
Thanks for the info, chipjones! Zinc coated? That's pretty interesting. They look really brand new as well, so that makes them shine more.
fioti, it's a book for Lincoln Head Cents starting 1941. First coin is 1941 blank one. Philadelphia, right? Grandpop has them filled all the way to 1969D.
Thanks Fuzzy317!
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
Carefully remove them from their present holder . If those staples rust it might transfer onto the coins and they will eventually rust also . DO NOT scratch those coins when removing staples .Congrats on the inheritance . keep at it and stay with us for all your questions .  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
650 Posts |
Please, read up on how to handle coins (by the edges only) and don't try cleaning or polishing coins, that ruins their value.
Welcome to the club.
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New Member
United States
3 Posts |
I don't know how long they have been in their present holders, but the staples have no rust on them at all. I'll see about getting some special coin holders for them soon to put them in. Thanks for the advice T-BOP!
Can't clean coins at all, batboy? Alright, didn't think they were that sensitive to wear. Speaking of value, what do y'all think these three are worth in their condition? I'm not planning on selling these guys I think, but would be nice to know for future insurance plans perhaps.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
650 Posts |
There is about only one thing I would ever use to clean a coin, acetone. Fingernail polish remover was mostly acetone back in the day. If you hunt around and read the labels, you can still find acetone based finger nail polish remover.
The reason you should not touch the coin surfaces is because your hands and fingers have a little oil that can eat into the coin and damage it's luster on uncirculated coins. It's will sometimes leave a fingerprint on the surface that you'll never be able to remove. Now this might not matter too much to a worn circulated coin, but to higher grade coins it can drop the grade down a notch and lower the value.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
891 Posts |
Its great to see you are carrying on for your Grandfather. It becomes a bit addictive, and you will learn a lot on this site. |
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Bedrock of the Community
 United States
12477 Posts |
I'm in a fairly similar situation and definitely needed the acetone (pure from the paint section, not nail polish remover) for many because they had been improperly stored. Yours appear to be okay and I wouldn't recommend any cleaning for the three steel cents. 2x2 Saflips for storage are a little on the high side, but I trust them. They fit nicely into pages to hold 2x2s that you can keep in a 3-ring binder. Please do post more of the collection especially if you have any questions.  In Memory of Crazyb0 12-26-1951 to 7-27-2020
In Memory of Tootallious 3-31-1964 to 4-15-2020
In Memory of T-BOP 10-12-1949 to 1-19-2024
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Moderator
United States
188052 Posts |
to the Community! |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
Quote:
Unfortunately back then they didn't know how to make a decent long lasting steel like today's Stainless. They know how, but that wasn't what they were after for the cents. They needed a cheap readily available metal that wasn;t restricted by the WPA (War Production Board).. Higher grade steels would have been more expensive and they were in more demand elsewhere during the war. The low grade steel they used for the cents was cheap, abundant, and not restricted by the WPA. (Most stainless steels contain Nickel, chromium, or both and both of those materials were restricted.) Edited by Conder101
01/30/2017 08:31 am
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Replies: 13 / Views: 1,879 |
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Posted 01/27/2017 8:45 pm
