coin collecters expertise needed, help

I have a 1943 penny one of the silver looking ones, in my hand its feels a different weight but thats probably my imagination and it is probably a fake, anyway where does one go to get a penny authenticated. This one is so valuable there are a lot of fakes out there and I would like to know how to tell if mine is real or fake, if perhaps this penny is the real thing would it have a different weight than a regular penny? I live in a small town and there are no collecters here and also this penny is supposedly worth over 110,000.00 last one found sold for 111,000.00 or something like that in 1999. I called the US mint and they were no help whatsoever.

In 1943, US pennies were made from a steel mixture. This was to conserve copper for the war effort. Not to many forgeries or errors are known about, except that a few of the 1943 cents were minted on copper planchets. These are very rare.

If you could post a scan of your cent I would be more than happy to take a look at it for you.

There were hundred of millions of these cents made, so they are not too valuable. Forging one of these cents would not be very profitable. Is there something that you think is strange about this coin besiodes its weight?

Ark

My cousin and I used to have cigar boxes full of those.
We called them "Lead Pennies" even though they were steel.
If you have a copper one, THEN you have something..

I collect coins and have a few of the steel pennies. There not worth much but still are neat.

The penny I have is almost silver looking and I'm going to check shortly to see if a magnet will stick to it, will let you guys know.

Fun Facts

What's So Special About the 1943 Copper Penny?

According to the American Numismatic Association, the 1943 copper-alloy cent is one of the most idealized and potentially one of the most sought-after items in American numismatics. Nearly all circulating pennies at that time were struck in zinc-coated steel because copper and nickel were needed for the Allied war effort.

40 1943 copper-alloy cents are known to remain in existence. Coin experts speculate that they were struck by accident when copper-alloy 1-cent blanks remained in the press hopper when production began on the new steel pennies.

A 1943 copper cent was first offered for sale in 1958, bringing more than $40,000. A subsequent piece sold for $10,000 at an ANA convention in 1981. The highest amount paid for a 1943 copper cent was $82,500 in 1996.

Because of its collector value, the 1943 copper cent has been counterfeited by coating steel cents with copper or by altering the dates of 1945, 1948, and 1949 pennies.

The easiest way to determine if a 1943 cent is made of steel, and not copper, is to use a magnet. If it sticks to the magnet, it is not copper. If it does not stick, the coin might be of copper and should be authenticated by an expert.

To find out about coin experts in your area, you may call the American Numismatic Association at (719) 632-2646.

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Mar 23, 2001
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[Edited on 14-9-2004 by goose]