IRC 2204 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 This is a 1943 Penny that I just had a metallurgy test done on. It turned out 99.9% Cu and 0.1% Se (Selenium). I was wondering if any of the experimental coins at the end of the War Era before restarting Shell casing in1944 mint may have been accidentally nearly pure Copper? I have Roger Burdette's book Pattern and Experimental Pieces of WW II and it's not mentioned but it sounds like there were a lot of tests being run at that time. He comments that Pure Copper was used to "sweeten" the Brass shell casings to get the proper alloy. The Reverse has soft lettering similar to the NGC Graded, Stacks Bowers Auctioned Penny at the AM of AMERICA. I welcome any feedback, I'm a newbie so not sure how this really works. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coinbuf Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 99% sure it is a fake, the look is all wrong. I'm not an error guy but I am a longtime Lincoln collector and I have never heard of any coins being coined by the US mint with the metal composition you listed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbbpll Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 I'd go 99.9% on it's fake. Look at the pits on the surfaces of Liberty and the date and the lapel. The US Mint didn't make dies that crappy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l.cutler Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 The experimental coining materials were an attempt so save copper that was needed for the war effort. It really wouldn't make any sense to experiment with an alloy that used more copper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWB Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 The illustrated piece is a fake. Everything about the piece is wrong. No selenium was used at the US Mint. It is one of several common impurities in commercial copper, and has been for centuries. Normal alloy for the WW-II period was 95% Cu, 4+% Zn and enough tin (Sn) to be detectable to comply with law. Not comprehensive analysis of new cents from 1940 to 1949 has ever been done, but the mint was not a stickler for perfect alloy in the cent - nobody really cared. Hope you like the book! RWB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James_OldeTowne Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 Definitely appears to be counterfeit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conder101 Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 110% sure it's a fake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...