70th Birthday Bash celebrated on September 21, 2013:
The classmates who attended the 70
th Birthday Bash received a
1943 penny. A special thanks to Arlene (Haspel) Fingerman for donating the pennies as well as a special thanks to Kathy (Buresh) Takacs for pursuing and alerting us to the history behind the 1943 penny. Arlene noticed some interesting grey 1943 pennies that her husband, Jerry, had received from his 97 year old uncle. Jerry was kind enough to polish them and the pennies were gifted to the classmates by the Fingermans. Check out the photo of this penny in the 70
th Birthday Bash Photo Album:
http://slp61.com/8/27-TRUE-27.htm
History of the ‘1943 grey colored penny’
The 1943 silver coated penny is a wartime issue made of steel and coated with zinc. During WWII, copper was so badly needed for the war effort (to make shell casings) that the U.S. penny was made of steel that year, which is why most 1943 pennies are silver colored. They are worth about $.12 to $.15 each in circulated condition and as much as $.50 or more if uncirculated.
Wikipedia extract:
Due to wartime needs of copper for use in ammunition and other military equipment during World War II, the United States Mint researched various ways to limit dependence and meet conservation goals on copper usage. After trying out several substitutes ranging from other metals [1] to plastics [2] to replace the then-standard bronze alloy, the one-cent coin was minted in zinc-coated steel. This alloy caused the new coins to be magnetic and 13% lighter. They were struck at all three mints: Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco.
As with the bronze cents, coins from the latter two sites have respectively "D" and "S" mint marks below the date. However, problems began to arise from the mintage. Freshly minted, they were often mistaken for dimes. Magnets in vending machines (which took copper cents) placed to pick up steel slugs also picked up the legitimate steel cents. Because the galvanization process didn't cover the edges of the coins, sweat would quickly rust the metal. After public outcry, the Mint developed a process whereby salvaged brass shell casings were augmented with pure copper to produce an alloy close to the 1941–42 composition. This was used for 1944–46-dated cents, after which the prewar composition was resumed. Although they continued to circulate into the 1960s, the mint collected large numbers of the 1943 cents and destroyed them.
The 1943 steel cent is also known as the steel war penny or ‘steelie’. Due to wartime needs of copper for use in ammunition and other military equipment during WWII, the U.S. Mint researched various ways to limit dependence and meet conservation goals on copper usage. After trying out several substitutes to replace the then-standard bronze alloy, the one-cent coin was minted in zinc-coated steel. This alloy caused the new coins to be magnetic and 13% lighter.
Problems began to arise from the mintage. Freshly minted, they were often mistaken for dimes. Magnets in vending machines (which took copper cents) placed to pick up steel slugs also picked up the legitimate steel cents. Because the galvanization process didn't cover the edges of the coins, sweat would quickly rust the metal. After public outcry, the Mint developed a process whereby salvaged brass shell casings were augmented with pure copper, etc. Although they continued to circulate into the 1960's, the mint collected large numbers of the 1943 cents and destroyed them.
The steel cent is the only regular-issue U.S. coin that can be picked up with a magnet. The steel cent was also the only coin issued by the U.S. for circulation that does not contain any copper.