Has there ever been a silver penny minted?

Question

It would have been minted in the early 1970's

Answer 1

No. In 1943 or 1944 the government minted steel pennies because the copper was needed for the war. The steel pennies look silver, but they're not. The government hasn't minted any silver since 1964.

Answer 2

There are some borderline fraudulent operations like a thing called "The New York Mint" which has no affiliation with the US mint but presents itself as an official entity, that will occasionally mint fake things and sell them as special coins and sometimes go so far as to make it sound like these bogus strikings are legal tender.

I would not put it past a shady outfit like that to silverplate a penny and sell it for some outrageous price, like $49.95, calling it a "newly discovered" series of pennies from the US mint that were never put into general circulation.

No matter how bogus it looks, the suckers beat the doors down to throw their money at worthless junk like this.

PS: contrary to the posting above, the US mint HAS minted plenty of silver coins, albeit for collectors, as in the proof 90% silver sets of the 50 State Quarters program, which has been ongoing since 1999, and the .999 fine silver American Eagles 1 oz bullion coin, every year since 1986, which not only is legal tender but can be used to fund an IRA and is available in a silver proof coin directly from the US mint or as uncirculated silver coins from authorized resellers.

Answer 3

They minted zinc coated steel pennies in 1943, I did read an article about pennies being struck on dime planchettes . They would only be silver if prior to 1964 ( the final year for solid silver coins). I have a penny that is coated with some sort of silvery coating myself....It looks good ...but not struck by the mint this way. And this applies to coins in "circulation" only.

Answer 4

There is a very interesting article regarding that question. I hope this could help you out. Good Luck!

David

Answer 5

man,dragonmomof3 is smart.