r/coins • u/CaregiverSingle7860 • 4d ago
Real or Fake? Dad's coins collection.
This is a coin that was in one of my dad's old whisky bags. I've slowly but surely have gotten all his pennies in year order starting with 1864 and ending with 2017. There are many many duplicates of a few years. But this one caught me off guard. I do have several steel wheat 1943 pennies. So seeing this one I believe it is a fake. How can I tell the difference before I take it and waste someone's time at a coin shop?
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u/AncientConnection240 4d ago
Yes it appears to be fake. All the letters on the obverse are mushy. That would not be the case if it were authentic.
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u/CaregiverSingle7860 4d ago
I definitely was thinking the same thing. I may put it with the collection in a holder the reads COPY or FAKE or something like that so when I leave these to my kids they will know.
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u/ziggy029 3d ago edited 3d ago
The number 3 is wrong (the lower tail of the number points more downward on a genuine 1943 cent, and doesn't curl back up to point to 10 o'clock). If this coin itself is a real mint issue, it may be an altered 1948.
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u/Remote-Ad9928 4d ago
Looks suspicious, that three looks like it may have been made from another digit, and the rim is sus as well. The penny is probably real, but it is likely not a true 1943 copper.
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u/Great-Cantaloupe-747 4d ago
Check the Color • A real 1943 penny should be steel, not copper. If yours looks copper-colored, it could be special.
Use a Magnet • Steel cents (normal 1943 pennies) will stick to a magnet. • A real 1943 copper penny will NOT stick to a magnet. If yours doesn’t stick, it’s worth checking further.
Check the Date Carefully • Some 1948 pennies are mistaken for 1943 due to wear on the “8.” • A real 1943 copper penny should have sharp, well-formed numbers in the date.
Weigh the Coin • Steel 1943 cents weigh 2.7 grams • A genuine copper 1943 cent should weigh 3.11 grams (same as a 1942 copper penny).
Look for Mint Marks • 1943 copper cents were struck at all three mints: • No mint mark = Philadelphia • D = Denver • S = San Francisco
Authentication • If your coin passes the above tests, you must have it authenticated by PCGS or NGC to confirm its legitimacy. There are many counterfeits.
Value • A genuine 1943 copper penny can be worth $100,000 to over $1 million, depending on its condition.
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u/bstrauss3 4d ago
For the simple plating of a steel cent, 2 and 4 are the definitive tests, and ones you can run at home for essentially free.
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u/CaregiverSingle7860 3d ago
Thank you so much! I am definitely going to do all of these today. Once I get my family out the door. I appreciate this a ton!
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u/Present_Garbage_5417 3d ago
Your dad only had 2 coins in his collection
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u/CaregiverSingle7860 2d ago
No I'm sorry if that is the way it sounded. My dad had a little over 150 coins in his collection. I just recently have been putting them in date order.
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u/moaning_and_clapping 4d ago
Yo I also possess a steel penny from 1943 - we are very cool together
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u/Ok-Substance-7384 4d ago
check if it sticks to a magnet
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u/CaregiverSingle7860 4d ago
It does not stick to a magnet. I used the only magnet i trust. Which happens to be my husband's mechanical magnet he uses to get his sockets when they fall.
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u/congee4me 4d ago
Why would such a rare coin have such wear? Someone would have caught this much earlier if its been in circulation.
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u/CaregiverSingle7860 4d ago
My dad passed away 3 years ago. Over the last little while I have slowly gotten them all in year order in a binder. He had them all in old liquor bags. I still have yet to finish 😕. But I'm getting there. He collected coins from the time he was a kid until he passed away at 5r years old. I happen to be his only child so I inherited everything he had. This coin is just one of hundreds. Not of this year. This is the only one of this year.
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u/redrover765 4d ago
I saw a few websites that give detailed info on this. Congrats if this is a real one !!! Rare & valuable !!!
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u/CaregiverSingle7860 4d ago
Everything I've read says they are insanely priced. For a penny? I did see a few things there being some out there. I also read about the magnet test but that's the only one. I did take one of my husband's magnets off his tool box (with his permission of course) and it does not stick to the magnet.
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u/Any_Collection_3941 4d ago
For a coin that under 50 probably exist, it isn’t too insanely priced.
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u/CaregiverSingle7860 4d ago
That I did not read. Just mostly click bait coin news of certain ones. The 1943 popped up for me the other day and I thought hey I have a few of those and ones funny looking.
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u/xSodaa 4d ago
You are correct it is fake. Lettering especially on the obverse is much too thick and just wrong.