1943 Steel Penny question

[dmckee17]

Has anyone ever dug any of the steel 1943 Steel wheat cents? I've dug wheaties that I couldn't say they were or weren't from the condition they were in but I never have for sure. I have pretty much every year but those. Did they all rust away?

 

[dahut]

n/t

 

[Bill in Texas]

Years back, when I lived in a different place I dug several, but I have not dug one wheat penny of any kind here. Bill in Texas

 

[Monte]

was with detectors I was using in the 1960s and early -mid '70s. Using models with even limited discrimination these are iron targets are generally rejected quite easily. I have a friend who found one in the spring of '87 with her Tesoro Silver Sabre, and didn't realize what she had found. The only reason she did was there was a later-date wheatie with it that she got a hit from. I probably got my last '43 'wheatie' with a discriminator about ten years ago, but it, too, was in a small coin spill with better conductors.

They have been found on rare occasion when hunting in an All Metal mode. I have seen some found in recent years that were pretty sad condition, as would be expected due to their make-up.

Monte

 

[Pookybear]

I found a 1943 steel cent last year while hunting an older park here in southern Oregon.It was about 3 inches deep and had very little rust on it.I was using aTroy X2 shadow with my disc set to allmost nothing.I had been getting very few good signals with my disc set below nickel,so I would not miss any gold rings.But after getting very few good signals I turned it down to nearly nothing like I generaly do in tot lots just to see what might turn up. Needless to say I was plesantly surprised.I really never thought that I would recover a buried one.I thought that they would all be rusted away by now.What a great hobby,one surprise after another.Ya gotta love it.

 

[campnagle]

Iv'e dug three. All from the same campground built by the CCC in the 30's One I thought was copper untill I put a magnet on it. I have read these are fakes but mine had been in the ground a long time but it is just copper plated so someone lost a fake?

 

[silversmith]

I agree, I use to find them occasionally in the early days using BFO detectors and later when using Gold Mountain TR's that didn't discriminate. Later when I bought the Judge ll, I used for years, I never found another one. I don't recall finding a rusty one either. You'd thing they'd go really quick.

 

[tab-nabit]

I nabbed a couple in the last year and one was in fair shape.
I also nabbed a few non-war pennies and they looked steel color - no copper coloration at all - odd

 

[fowlercharles]

of 'non-dug 43 steels back in 69. It was summertime, hot, just before Camille hit the Gulf Coast, and my wife and I owned a little corner market. I happened to notice as she was making change she was using an unfamiluar coin, so I asked her about it and she showed me a whole bunch in the cash register. I nearly flipped and explained to her they were no-no for making change. She said one of the regular guys had come in all hot and sweaty and bought a quart of cold beer and used the 43's to pay for it. I still have a handfull of them I saved but the wife sure made some folks some pretty unusual, and rare change that day. LOL!