Question:

1944 Steel Penny?

Is there any other way of testing whether or not you have a 1944 Steel penny that won't damage the penny. The magnet test doesn't seem to work cause even when I try to get a 2007 penny to stick to the magnet...it won't. So is there some kind of magnet needed? Like power wise or anything like that, if not then I need to know what are other ways of testing the 1944 penny.

Answer:

1944 Penny Steel
Weigh it. I'm not an expert on coins, but if the 1944 was 100% steel, I would expect it to weigh something different then modern pennies. Another test would be to measure the resistance with a micro-ohm meter. This is a specialized device that can measure resistance to a millionth of an ohm. Steel should have a different resistance than the metals used on other pennies. Here are some comments from wikipedia: In 1943, at the peak of World War II, cents of zinc-coated steel were made for a short time due to war demands for copper. A few (the U.S. Mint reports forty) copper cents from 1943 were produced from the 1942 planchets remaining in the bins. Similarly, some 1944 steel cents have been reported. Following 1943, salvaged ammunition shells made their way into the minting process, and it was not uncommon to see coins featuring streaks of brass or having a considerably darker finish than other issues.
1944 Steel Penny
This Site Might Help You. RE: 1944 Steel Penny? Is there any other way of testing whether or not you have a 1944 Steel penny that won't damage the penny. The magnet test doesn't seem to work cause even when I try to get a 2007 penny to stick to the magnet...it won't. So is there some kind of magnet needed? Like power wise or anything...

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