Question about 1943 Copper Penny Submission

[VictorianPl]

I've never submitted a coin before.  And I'm new to all this.  That being said I'm an antique dealer, I typically only sell any coins I acquire at low book, ungraded at my shop.  Then I ran across this guy in an old Whitman penny book from 1949.  There were other coins in it as well, but appeared to stop collecting in 1960.  Hand written labeled holes were empty past the 1960 date.  What I can tell you about the 43 is, non magnetic, weighs 3.1g, doesn't appear to have an altered date.  The coin dealer I took it to put it on his x-ray machine which showed it was 99% copper 1% zinc and tin.  I know it's supposed to be 95% copper 5% zinc and tin.  That being said he couldn't rule out it was real or fake.  He was at the same % as me, 5%.  But he told me to submit it to find out for sure.  I'm skeptical, but dreaming, it's in my nature. I'm a bit confused about the tier system for submission.  Do I pick a low tier and submit it as a fake? Or do I have to claim it as an upper tier coin when I submit it and have to pay $250 for them to tell me it's a fake.  Feeling a bit confused on what to do here, any help appreciated.  Btw, face pictures were taken in sun, back was inside. Thanks, Matt

[Jason Abshier]

Best thing to do would be to email or call NGC they will help you over the phone with a more depth explaining how to submit this coin ....

there are fakes out there I’ve heard of skilled counterfeit changing a Lincoln cents from earlier and later years like 1913, 1948 they look very original and weight is dead on making it look like their real deal ! Most of the time it’s a fake ....

your best bet is to call NGC ask they will tell you what to do , on here most of us are collectors we try help in anyways we can and most of us do not own a “Real” 1943 copper cent so we would not really be able to tell you how to submit this if it’s real or not ...

[Jason Abshier]

To me it looks a little off , observe of coin looks a little pitted or dirty , the date looks flat in appearance , however the reverse of coin looks normal 

[Karma1]

Lock that baby in a safe until you figure it out.......Coins are easy to be misplaced ...and people will steal from you. Friend or foe. 

[Mohawk]

1 hour ago, VictorianPl said:

I've never submitted a coin before.  And I'm new to all this.  That being said I'm an antique dealer, I typically only sell any coins I acquire at low book, ungraded at my shop.  Then I ran across this guy in an old Whitman penny book from 1949.  There were other coins in it as well, but appeared to stop collecting in 1960.  Hand written labeled holes were empty past the 1960 date.  What I can tell you about the 43 is, non magnetic, weighs 3.1g, doesn't appear to have an altered date.  The coin dealer I took it to put it on his x-ray machine which showed it was 99% copper 1% zinc and tin.  I know it's supposed to be 95% copper 5% zinc and tin.  That being said he couldn't rule out it was real or fake.  He was at the same % as me, 5%.  But he told me to submit it to find out for sure.  I'm skeptical, but dreaming, it's in my nature. I'm a bit confused about the tier system for submission.  Do I pick a low tier and submit it as a fake? Or do I have to claim it as an upper tier coin when I submit it and have to pay $250 for them to tell me it's a fake.  Feeling a bit confused on what to do here, any help appreciated.  Btw, face pictures were taken in sun, back was inside. Thanks, Matt

I really wouldn't spend the money to grade that coin.....I'm sure it's a fake.  The date,the Liberty and the Lincoln bust do not look right to me at all and this coin is very much like several fake 1943 Bronze Cents that we ran across when I worked at a coin shop.  The composition is also a big problem as it's way out of tolerance for any cent alloy made by the U.S. Mint.  I highly doubt that such an alloy would have been employed to strike cents, especially in an era when they were trying to get away from using copper in coinage as much as possible.  It's important to note a few things here.  First off, it's very easy for people to acquire old Whitman folders from the 1960's and even earlier and fill them with coins.  Also, even if the collection was assembled in the 1950's or 1960's, the 1943 Bronze Lincoln Cent has been faked for a very, very long time.  There are not many rare coins that non-collectors would be knowledgeable about, but the 1943 Bronze cent is one of the few and it is definitely the most famous among the small number of such coins.  The relatively heavy damage that the "coin" has suffered is another problem.....many counterfeiters will purposely damage their creations to cover the hallmarks of their work and to add the appearance of legitimacy of their creations.  After all, if it circulated, it has to be real, right?  There are way too many red flags with this one.