If it is a silvery gray color, it is probably a steel penny. If it looks more like a common brownish penny, it may be one of the rare copper 1943 pennies. Pass a magnet over the coin. If the penny is attracted to the magnet, it is a steel cent, not copper. Weigh the coin.
Are there any 1944 Lincoln Wheat pennies left?
Michael, as Josh pointed out in the community, “The rare 1944 steel cent sticks to a magnet and looks silver in color. If your 1944 does NOT stick to a magnet and looks like a regular cent then your piece is relatively common and worth 5 to 10 cents.” It is believed that only 30 of these 1944 steel pennies are in existence.
Where did the 1944 Steel Penny come from?
Interestingly, there is a significant off-metal error from 1944, and that is the 1944 steel Penny – an inadvertent striking that presumably occurred when some 1943 steel Planchets were left behind in the hoppers that feed coin blanks through the striking machinery at the U.S. Mint.
Why was there no copper in 1944 one cent coins?
Because much copper was required for military purposes, it was decided that the one cent coins (pennies) of 1943 would not contain any copper. They were specified to be zinc-coated steel. For several reasons, this metallic composition was not planned for 1944 cents.
