I Found a Zinc coated steel (Silver) 1948 Penny??

Question

Its in Very Good shinny condition, which makes me believe that it may have been coated. Any Thoughts would be great, are their ways to see if it is copper?

Answer 1

Are you sure it is 1948 and not 1943. Age and environmental damage can make the 3 look like an 8. If not then it has been plated with something or may have been dipped into a chemical. There are no 1948 zinc coated steel cents. After the 1944 steel cents showed up the mint made sure all left over zinc coated steel cent planchets and blanks were destroyed. There are no records of any of that date. The last cent proofs were made in 1942 and they did not start up again until 1950. Your coin may be from a science class or someone that was bored. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

most mom and pop jewelers can help you out there

Answer 3

this is the test for copper:

The easiest way to tell if your 1943 copper cent is merely a copper-plated steel penny is to test it with a magnet. If the magnet sticks to the penny, it's made of steel which has been dipped or plated in copper. Such a penny is worth about 15 cents as a novelty item.

If your 1943 copper colored penny doesn't stick to a magnet, then look at the date carefully (using a magnifying glass, if possible.) If the tail of the 3 doesn't extend well below the "line" of numbers, it is probably a cut-in-half 8. A very common fraud involving the copper 1943 cent is to cut away part of the 8 in the date of a 1948 penny. If the 3 in your date looks like half of an 8, your coin is not a genuine 1943 copper penny.