Why is a 1944 Steel Penny called a Steel Penny?

The 1944 steel penny is known by various names – the Steely, Lincoln penny, wheat penny, etc. These nicknames are used because of the material and appearance of these coins. Back in the day, bronze was popularly used for making coins in the US. But copper, the pure metal from which bronze is made, was required by the military during wartime.

Was a 1944 Penny a copper penny?

The 1944 steel penny has just about as much interest swirling around it as does the 1943 copper penny — an error coin of the opposite kind. In this case, brass Lincoln cent planchets from 1942 likely remained in the coin hoppers and were fed down the line to be stamped with 1943 Lincoln cent dies!

Why is a 1944 wheat penny so rare?

This makes the 1944 steel wheat penny incredibly rare and hence valuable. The only other penny which was crafted using zinc-coated steel is the 1943 Lincoln penny. But these coins are much more common as bronze was being reserved for the war and hence no pennies were manufactured using copper during this time.