2714

1944 1C--Struck on a Steel Planchet--AU53 NGC

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:19,500.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1944 1C--Struck on a Steel Planchet--AU53 NGC
<B>1944 1C --Struck on a Steel Planchet--AU53 NGC.</B></I> 2.74 gm. The Philadelphia steel cent errors of 1944 are more numerous than their 1943 bronze cent counterparts, offering collectors a wider range of opportunities to acquire an example. Lange (2005) speculates that a handful of residual planchets were left in tote bins at the end of 1943 and mixed with shellcase blanks in 1944. The use of excess steel planchets to strike two franc emergency issues for Belgium, which took place at Philadelphia, likely exacerbated this condition and may account for the higher population of P-mint 1944 steel cents compared to their branch-mint counterparts.<BR> The briefly circulated example offered here is predominantly steel-gray with elements of deeper slate at the margins. The luminous surfaces show few marks overall, though a handful of wispy disturbances visit the obverse and reverse fields. An attractive representative of this famous off-metal error, a fascinating reminder of a dynamic chapter in the history of the Lincoln cent.<BR><BR><B>Coin Engraver:</B> Victor D. Brenner<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)