By Cindy Brake for COIN WORLD

Detecting zinc-coated steel planchet imposters requires magnet, good eye

Distinguishing the elusive 1943 Lincoln copper cent from an imposter requires a magnet and a good eye.

In 1943 the cent was struck on a zinc-coated steel planchet rather than the usual 95 percent copper planchet. The United States was involved in World War II and copper was needed for the war effort.

The 77th Congress authorized the wartime cent with Public Law 815. The metal content of the cent changed from 95 percent copper and 5 percent tin and zinc to a low grade carbon steel base with a .005-inch thick zinc coating that was deposited electrolytically as a rust preventative.

No one knows for sure how, but a few – some speculate about two dozen – copper planchets were mixed in with the zinc-coated steel planchets and were struck with 1943 dies. The authentic 1943 Lincoln copper cents are highly prized.

In the 1940s rumors began about a genuine 1943 Lincoln copper cent struck in error. The first pieces were authenticated by acknowledged experts in the late 1950s.

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