Almost Uncirculated
I have a steel penny but the year is wrong. Is this a fake penny?
Steel was temporarily used in place of copper in 1943, the US desperately needed copper for the war effort. I have a shiny silvery penny dated 1974. Did someone at the mint make a typo?
What’s also funny about the penny unlike all my other ’43 pennies is that there’s no trace of rust. In fact, it has almost no ferromagnetic properties at all!
At first I thought I found a near-uncirculated ’43 penny, which would be worth about 50 cents to a collector. It looked like new. But upon closer inspection it had absolutely no rust or oxidation whatsoever I got a bit suspicious. It failed the magnet test but displays very slight ferromagnetic properties like aluminum. I’ve never heard of pennies being minted in aluminum before.
I remember a few years back I found foreign coins that were made of aluminum, I’m wondering did someone forge a fake 1943 steel penny and then got the years wrong?
It is theoretically possible to have a steel 1974 cent. Examples of test cons, catalogued as Judd J2152, were struck in bronze-plated aluminum. However, it is almost certain that what you have is not one of these. Had the bronze worn off, the steel left showing would not appear shiny, and, of course, would immediately stick to a magnet.
Judd J2151 is the test coin struck in aluminum. Over a million were produced in 1973 with dies prepared for the 1974 issue in anticipation of release to the public. However, authorization for the aluminum cent was withdrawn and the few sample copies distributed to certain congressmen and US Mint officials were recalled. Not all of them were turned in, and an estimated dozen or so remain unaccounted for.
These coins are illegal to own. Do not consider this to be legal advice, but as a practical matter, the 1856 Flying Eagle cent had something very similar happen to it. Made as a test coin to replace the US large cent, authorization of the pattern wasn’t granted until the 1857 issue. Again, test coins that were distributed were never turned in, and these coins are also technically illegal to own. But they come up for sale in major auctions every so often and I’ve never heard of a government seizure of any of them. Should you actually have one of the rare aluminum 1974 test coins, and someone from the government tries to take it, I would cite the 1856 Flying Eagle as precedent for you, as a collector, to have the right to keep it.
But that’s getting a little ahead of ourselves. First, let’s see if what you have is really aluminum. You will have to weigh it, and you’ll need an accurate metric scale. The Judd J2151 should weigh .937 grams. It is composed of 96% aluminum and the balance trace metals, which can explain why yours displays a hint of magnetism, and makes me think you might have the real thing. If it passes the weight test, I would submit it to PCGS, the leading coin authentication service. At this point, grade is less important than authenticity, since these are so rare. To date, just one example has been certified by PCGS, as a Mint State 62 (after having been previously slabbed by ICCG as AU-58).
If it fails the weight test, there is another possibility. Does the coin appear to be fully struck? Does any of the lettering appear to be ‘right up against’ the rim? If so, check to see if the coin measures the correct 19mm. If it’s slightly smaller, just under 18mm, it is probably a ten cent blank that accidentally got into the penny dies. Dimes usually will not stick to a magnet due to the high amount of copper overcoming the magnetic properties of the smaller amount of nickel.
If it passes all of the tests for being an aluminum penny, write down a detailed description of how you came into possession of this coin. If your possession has no connection to an original source (like a relative was a friend or even a relative of a US congressman or someone that worked at the mint), this can also help you to keep the coin, should it turn out to be genuine. If you did obtain it through a chain of individuals that leads back to the few who received these coins, you may have to surrender it.
As for value, there is no established one, because none has ever been sold publicly. However, if you have one, and it’s genuine, and you’re allowed to keep it and offer it for sale, it will be big news in the trade publications. I would expect that you would receive more than one private offer for a very high amount of money, but should that not happen, I think a well-publicized auction with one of the industry giants would see a six-figure bid.
Good luck with it.
My US Silver Dollars. Part 1