1944 Steel Penny By: Jon Gammon In 1943, copper to a hard hit due to the war and the government decides to use steel in its production of pennies. Well this only lasted a year because they found that steel didn't work very well and resorted back to using copper. Well during the production of both the 1943 copper penny and the 1944 steel penny, some of the blanks used to strike the coins got mixed in with the dates. The rare finds are the 1943 copper penny (not steel) and the 1944 steel penny ( not copper). A 1944 Steel Penny has been found!!! That's Right 1944 was the correct date. It was speculated that a 1944 Steel Penny could have existed, but there have not been many found. Or it could be that people may not be willing to part with them for their own reasons. So you say how can this actually be, well it is quite simple really, just like with the 1943 Steel Penny's that were made, there have been copper cents recovered for that year as well. When the Government decided to produce these coins and then revert back to the old way, some of the planchets (coin blanks) were struck with the new dies and sent through for circulation. In 1943 it is easy to assume that the coins being minted, the person in charge at the time could have passed a few copper blanks to test the dies and never removed them. Hence the production of the 1943 copper penny. Well the same is true with the new 1944 Steel Penny. When the Government resorted back to using copper for their coins, a few steel blanks made it through and were struck with the new 1944 dies. Well the few coins that have been found are very rare as well and have been fetching a hefty price as well. The pictures below are actual images of both the 1944 Steel Penny and the 1943 Copper Penny. Jon Gammon is the author and webmaster at The Coin Alley Visit www.thecoinalley.com to view related information on the Hobby of Kings.