You need to know its mint mark and condition. There are lots of web sites where you can look up coin values. However if the coin has been "reprocessed" (cleaned and replated), which was common in the 1950s and 60s, it's considered altered and is worth keeping only as a curiosity piece.
In general, a so-called "reprocessed" steel cent will still be very shiny even though it's been exposed to the atmosphere. A genuine zinc-coated steel cent will be somewhat dull in sheen unless it's been preserved in uncirculated condition.
More importantly, most reprocessed cents came from circulation so the design will exhibit wear despite being shiny and new-looking at first glance. The dies used to strike steel cents were specially hardened so uncirculated (or moderately circulated) coins will have very sharp and well-defined features.
if the 1943 sticks to a magnet, and its brown from copper, then its counterfeit. If it doesn't, it also could be a counterfeit. if you look closely at the date, it could be 1948 with half of 8 carved out. If it doesn't look like that, then it is a error coin and is worth around $20,000
$1.75 to $6.25 in average circulated condition.
If it sticks to a magnet then it is not copper. If it does not stick to a magnet then take it to a collector to be evaluated. It could be worth a lot of money.
The 1943 Lincoln cent is zinc coated steel not nickel and copper.
zinc pennys are silver....
You can tell if a penny is made out of zinc or copper by the date on the penny. If the date is before 1982 then the penny is 95% copper. Pennies dated 1983 or later are 97.5% zinc with a thin copper coating.
With the exception of cents struck in 1943 and 1944, modern cents were composed of copper zinc and tin. In 1982 it was changed to zinc with a plating of copper.
Lincoln cents were struck on zinc coated steel planchets in 1943 only, the color often appears to be silver.
No. It is steel coated with zinc.
The 1943 Lincoln cents only weigh 2.70 grams and are made of zinc coated steel and will stick to a magnet.
All modern pennies are made out of zinc. If you are thinking of a 1943 steel penny that is a very common coin that is worth at most a dollar. If you have a 1942 steel penny that is a misprint error made by the mint and is very valuable. (be sure to have it certified by multiple sources including NGC) I hope that this helps.
The 1943 Lincoln cent is zinc coated steel not nickel and copper.
1943 pennies are not silver. They are zinc coated steel. Copper was saved for war effort.
Most are worth around 10 cents. If it's still shiny with its zinc coating, it could go for upwards of a dollar.It's not nearly as valuable as most people think. In average circulated condition, it's worth about 10 cents. If it still has the original zinc coating, then the value goes up to around a dollar.
It's Zinc coated steel and is valued at 3 to 5 cents for average coins
The coating is zinc, the core of the coin is steel. Zinc was used to reduce corrosion.
No, with the exception of the zinc coated steel penny of 1943, the first zinc penny was struck in mid-1982 and all US cents dated 1982-present are zinc with a thin copper coating.
They were not made out of lead. They were made out steel coated zinc.
It is made of steel with a zinc coating to prevent rust.
The most rare and valuable American penny is the 1943 bronze Lincoln cent. It is estimated that only a few of these coins were minted in error, as the U.S. Mint was supposed to be producing coins using zinc-coated steel that year due to metal shortages during World War II. These rare 1943 bronze cents can fetch prices of over $1 million at auctions.