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PreservingThePast
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1572 Posts |
 Posted - 06/28/2009 : 14:40:21
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This is the second strange thing to happen to me this week while searching coins.
On Friday I was able to get by the local coin shop for a very brief visit. He had an old Red Book from the 1950s that I had about 5 minutes to quickly glance through....really, really cool to do so if you happen across any of these older Red Books. Quite eye opening!
Something caught my attention about the wheat cents from 1944 - 1946 being made from used shell casings from the war. Does anyone on here know much about this? I don't have a Red Book, only a Blue Book and it does not have any info on this. I have tried to do an internet search today about this and with my limited abilities because of slow dial-up have not been able to learn too much. I am seeing conflicting info though. One place says from 1944 - 1945 they were made from this "recycled" material. Another place says 1944 - 1946. I had never known this about these pennies before and for some reason I find it very intriguing.
Now, the second coincidence comes into play. I open my first roll of pennies to search all the while thinking about these "war" pennies and wondering if I have ever found any of those dates without having to go through my notebook or physically search the coins. The first few pennies spill out into my hand and the last one is a wheat so of course I have to stop and look at it immediately and it is a 1944. I got goosebumps all over.
Thanks in advance for any info about these wheat cents that anyone can provide me with.
Enjoy.
BTW...one search I came across was trying to sell 50 of these pennies in a small chest, etc. for $19.95! Are they really that special???
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Country
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3121 Posts |
 Posted - 06/28/2009 : 16:16:25
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A little bit of history in this article (perhaps the same one to which you allude).
"In 1944 and 1945, the mints produced billions of the shell-case cents which, at a glance, looked just like the pre-war bronze cents. However, many had colorful greenish and yellowish streaks, or even thin black lines.
Later analysis showed that the ingredients in the explosives, such as phosphorus and manganese — even in minuscule traces — can discolor the alloy. Even today, most "brilliant uncirculated" specimens of 1944 and 1945 cents show these colors."
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The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.
– Theodore Roosevelt
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Edited by - Country on 06/29/2009 15:52:25 |
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highroller4321
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
2648 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2009 : 22:05:45
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| Basicly to save costs they recyeled used shell caseing and made pennies out of them |
Copper Penny Investing
www.portlandmint.com |
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scooter
Penny Pincher Member
240 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2009 : 22:35:42
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| very intresting |
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buyingsilvers
Penny Collector Member
441 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2009 : 06:31:26
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| makes sense. shell casings are brass, just like copper pennies. The % may be different though. |
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Cody8404
Penny Hoarding Member
USA
602 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2009 : 15:14:47
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One other thing.
To reduce costs in 1943 they used the steel cents.
People hated them. They got mixed up with dimes, they wore out way too fast and they rusted very fast.
The solution to both not take away from the war effort, but still provide cents that looked right was the 1944-1946 used brass cents.
The word is they really don't know where the brass was used or how it got to the mint. |
Awake, O kings of the earth! Come ye, O, come ye, with your gold and your silver, to the help of my people, to the house of the daughters of Zion, to the help of the people of the God of this Land even Jesus Christ. |
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Market Harmony
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1274 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2009 : 15:27:14
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You must be logged in to see this link.
This could make $25,132 in pennies, but is the equivalent of about $27060 in copper value. $10,000 deposit, with $150 starting bid 
Typical cartridge brass is 70% copper, 30% zinc |
goto the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org |
Edited by - Market Harmony on 06/29/2009 15:29:33 |
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Country
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
3121 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2009 : 15:28:54
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History of the 1943 Steel Cent
"By the end of 1943, the three Mint facilities had produced 1,093,838,670 of the one-cent coins. The copper released for the war effort was enough to meet the combined needs of 2 cruisers, 2 destroyers, 1,243 flying fortresses, 120 field guns and 120 howitzers, or enough for 1.25 million shells for our big field guns."
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1943 Copper and 1944 Zinc Cents
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---> Come to the new and improved realcent: http://realcent.org
The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.
– Theodore Roosevelt
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Edited by - Country on 06/29/2009 15:58:10 |
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PreservingThePast
1000+ Penny Miser Member
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2009 : 16:53:07
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Thanks for all of the links so far. If anyone else has any, please keep them coming. Really interesting stuff!
I went back to searching a few more rolls last evening and I went from having goosebumps at finding the one 1944 penny to having my hair practically stand on end. The first three rolls of pennies I searched last evening had one 1944 coin (different mint marks) in each roll. So that was four rolls in a row with a 1944 penny. No one told me that searching rolls of coins could be spooky. Was that somewhere in the fine print that I missed???
I decided that if thinking of a coin would make it appear in a roll then I would try to imagine an IH in the next roll I searched. No such luck--didn't find any IHs.
Enjoy. |
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Second Strange Happening This Week...
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