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1944 Steel
| Weight | 2.7 g |
| Diameter | 19 mm |
| Mint | Philadelphia |
| Strike | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | Off-metal error; struck on 1943 steel planchet, extremely rare |
| Edge | Plain |
| Alignment | ↑↓ Coin |
| Composition | Zinc-coated Steel |
| Melt value | — |
| Designer | Victor D. Brenner |
| Collector's Key ID | CK-546 |
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Other recorded varieties for 1944:
External references
The 1944 steel cent is one of the most famous error coins in American numismatics. When the Mint switched from steel planchets back to brass (shell-casing) planchets in 1944, a small number of steel planchets from the previous year's production remained in the hopper and were fed into the presses alongside the new brass blanks. The resulting coins are 1944-dated cents struck on steel planchets, a wrong-metal error that produced a coin in the "wrong" color and composition for its date.
The 1944 steel cent is the mirror image of the 1943 copper cent error: in 1943, leftover bronze planchets produced copper cents in a steel year; in 1944, leftover steel planchets produced steel cents in a copper year. Both errors resulted from the same cause (planchets from the previous year remaining in the production system during the changeover), and both are major rarities. Approximately 25-35 examples of the 1944 steel cent are believed to exist across all three mints.
Authentication is critical. Genuine 1944 steel cents are magnetic (a magnet will stick to them) and have the silvery-white appearance of the 1943 steel cents. Counterfeiters have produced fakes by altering 1943 steel cent dates to read 1944 or by plating 1944 bronze cents with zinc to simulate the steel appearance. A magnet test eliminates zinc-plated bronze fakes (genuine steel cents are magnetic; bronze cents are not), but altered-date fakes require closer examination. Third-party certification is essential for any 1944 steel cent.
Reference data only — not an appraisal.
| Grade | Description | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| G-4 | Good (G) | — | — |
| VG-8 | Very Good (VG) | — | — |
| F-12 | Fine (F) | — | — |
| VF-20 | Very Fine (VF) | — | — |
| EF-40 | Extremely Fine (EF) | $20,110 | $23,205 |
| AU-50 | About Uncirculated (AU) | $24,225 | $27,950 |
| MS-60 | Uncirculated (MS) | $40,715 | $46,975 |
| MS-63 | Choice Uncirculated (MS) | — | — |
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