I was rummaging through a pile of old Popular Mechanics and Mechanix Illustrated from 1963-1964 and came across this letter to the editor, August 1964. I was a little surprised to read it and thought you guys might get a kick out of it as well. Enjoy!
I can't believe the CRH folks didn't go crazy over this. Thanks for posting it. I know nothing about old coins, but had always heard these coins existed and were worth a fortune. Now I can quit searching...
I went over this on another thread. Here is the basic info. 1943 was the year of the zinc plated steel penny. When the run was started, there were some copper blanks still in the feeder and an unknown number of copper blanks were struck with the 1943 date. Also few know, but at the beginning of the 1944 run, a few zinc plated blanks were struck with the 1944 date. Watch out, we use to put have fun changing pennies in the old days by copper plating or dipping in mercury. A thin scratch on the edge rim will verify. Frank
I remember looking at every bloody penny for a '43 copper, and that was back in the 40's. By the 50's we'd given up. My friend must have a hundred pounds of 43's, he saved every on he got in change. I think I only have a couple now, three at the most. Haven't seen one for years.