COIN FINDS: Die Cracked War Time Coins

My luck at finding old coins has improved a lot lately.

I’ve received two 1944 wheat pennies in Fine+ condition.

Also, one 1918 wheat penny in change from a local Subway restaurant; other than slight rim wear, it was in excellent condition.

I found two 1964 silver Roosevelts, one 1958 silver Roosevelt, and one 1962 silver Roosevelt – all Coin Star rejects.

And lastly, half a dozen pre-1964 Jefferson nickels.

Keep on collecting. They are out there.

Timothy A. Carley Sr.
Liverpool, NY

I have found a number of war nickels (1942-1945) with cracked dies but have found little written about them. Some have minor cracks, while some have major or complete cracks. Whitman’s Red Book doesn’t mention or include a price for cracked die nickels.

Also, I have found a few 1955-D dimes with a die crack extending downward from Roosevelt’s nose (drippy nose dime?). I can’t find any information on this dime.

Thanks for your assistance.

R. Martin
Tulsa, OK

I was born in 1934 and began collecting pennies when I was 5 or 6 years of age (1939 and 1940). I began by saving Indian Head cents, which at that time were still in modest circulation. Perhaps 1 or 2 percent of the pennies were actually Indian Head cents. Just enough to keep the satisfaction of a 5- or 6-year-old, as there were no finer coins than an Indian Head penny.

With the advent of World War II, the collection of all sorts of things became hobbies for many children. Hobbies became the replacement for toys. The manufacture of toys was replaced with the needs of the war. My collections included pennies, stamps, comic books, and match covers. But my favorites were the Indian Head pennies.

Probably half of my pennies have been passed on to eight grandchildren, but I still have a few hundred left. (I never did find one of those 1877 Indian Heads.)

Ronald E. Lesko
Farmington, NY

My dad was in Europe during WWI. He brought coins back from the countries that he was in. The coins were divided among us kids. I received the following:

Belgium: 1887 1 franc.
Britain: 1886 penny, 1916 penny.
France: 1919 silver franc, 1918 5 centime.
Italy: 1861 5 centime copper.
Greece: 1895 5 lepta.
Luxemburg: 1901 10 centime, 1913 10 centime.
Portugal: 1884 20 reis copper.
Germany: 1871 2 pfennig, 1906 1 mark, 1918 25 pfennig (Koblenz province).

This sparked my collecting. I have framed these coins and proudly display them on my wall along with many of my other treasures.
Love the “Coin Find” stories. Keep searching.

Ray F.
Meridan, ID

While ordering lunch one day, I received three Lincoln cents in change. They were placed in my hand obverse up, and all were blazing red uncirculated. My first thought was “nice new cents.” Yet as I glanced at them, one looked very different from the rest. I noticed that it had a much higher relief than the other two.

After taking a closer look, I found it to be a red uncirculated 1973-S business strike. The other two cents were red uncirculated 2016 cents. They looked very flat compared to the 1973-S cent.

Although I was pleased to have received a 44-year-old red uncirculated coin in change, I was amazed that its higher relief stood out as much as it did. The 1973-S cent looked like a true work of art. The 2016 cents were much less impressive.

David S.
Westbury, NY

My favorite U.S. find was in a foreign coin box at a local dealer for 25 cents a coin. I found a nice U.S. 2-cent coin that is in my display of obsolete U.S. coins.

David Elliot
Address withheld

Recently I received three 2017 cents in change at the local McDonald’s. To my surprise, the cents had a “P” mintmark. I never saw that coming.

LeRoy Claiborne
Woodbridge, Va.

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