[masraum]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

During the WW2, nickle was a scarce war material, and the nickles were made of silver. They have a large mint mark on the back, and they have a dark color. I got one of those in change just a few years ago. I have a handful of them from when I was a kid and they were common. Pennies during WW2 were made of steel since copper was scarce, and needed for the war effort. Those would of course rust, and looked very different, so a lot of people kept them. I have not seen one in circulation since I was a kid.

As a kid I likely drove a local hobby shop nuts by browsing for hours looking for coins on display. I wanted an buffalo nickle, so I finally mowed enough lawns to buy the one I wanted, and in change they gave me some really worn buffalo nickles likely worth 6 cents each. I was thrilled. I know I still have them, but I have not looked at them in 30+ years as they are locked away.

I think the steel pennies were only made in 1943. I think I've got at least 2 or 3.