Posted 04/18/2022 4:28 pm
British grade I would say NVF but harshly cleaned and polished. You can find coins like this for next to nothing in any LCS junk box in the UK. It wasn't unusual to find pennies of 1945 to 1949 in VF or better condition in circulation right up to Decimal Day in 1971: there was a surplus of pennies after the War and none were issued for circulation in the UK from 1950 to 1960: some mint bags of 1940s pennies were salted away in bank vaults and not issued until the 1960s.
Incidentally, pennies of 1944-1946 were artificially darkened at The Royal Mint before issue, partly to discourage hoarding and also because the bronze alloy used in those years had a reduced tin content owing to a shortage of tin due to the German occupation of Malaysia. It may be that whoever polished this penny was trying to improve its appearance by removing the original Mint toning!
Incidentally, pennies of 1944-1946 were artificially darkened at The Royal Mint before issue, partly to discourage hoarding and also because the bronze alloy used in those years had a reduced tin content owing to a shortage of tin due to the German occupation of Malaysia. It may be that whoever polished this penny was trying to improve its appearance by removing the original Mint toning!
