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So , You think you
have the Rare 1944 Steel Wheat Penny! |
Here as of late I have been
receiving more and more Emails from collectors and avid coin
hunters as to whether or not they have an authentic 1944
Steel Wheat Penny. Let me tell you that the chances
are even more rare that you may have actually found one of
these rare and very sought after coins. As I
stated in my article on the two error coins (being the 1943
Copper Penny and the 1944 Steel Penny), these coins were not
even supposed to go into circulation, and the only reason
why there is a small handful is these coins were probably
used as demo's to make sure they were minted correctly.
With the demand as high as they are, I have recently found
that there are quite a few ways to counterfeit these
illusive coins. The first way was to tamper with the
dates themselves and try to make the dates look correct.
However, I have found the second way even more entertaining.
People are electro-plating 1944 copper pennies to make them
look like 1944 steel pennies, and trying to pass them off or
putting them into circulation to make avid coin hunters
think they have found the illusive coins. So, how can
we tell if we have the right one or not. The best and
purest test you can do, without being destructive to the
coin is to place a magnet to the penny. If it sticks
and the dates do not look tampered with, I would take the
coin and have it certified and authenticated to make sure it
is still the real deal. If it doesn't stick to a
magnet, then you have one of those fakes out there.
Just know that the hunt for these very valuable coins are
spreading the nation like wild fire and chances that you
will actually find one is like winning the lottery.
If my research is correct, I believe that no more that 10-15
of these coins are going to exist, in both varieties.
Good luck on searching for these rare coins, and hope that
you will find one in your change. But before you get
excited about actually finding one, do the magnet test and
hope that it sticks.
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