1942 Experimental Cent. Judd-2062, Pollock-Unlisted, RB 42-55 Uniface. Rarity-7-. Compression Molded Phenolic Resin Impregnated Paper, Red. Plain Edge. Specimen. Unc Details--Environmental Damage (PCGS).

18.8 mm, 1.2 mm thick. 6.4 grains. Obv: Bust of Columbia faces right, the portrait borrowed from the Columbian 2 centavo coin. The periphery is inscribed LIBERTY / JUSTICE with the date 1942 below. Rev: Blank. Deep copper-rose color dominates, although both sides exhibit swirls of variegated cherry-red and sandy-gold that are more prevalent on the reverse. Roughness to the texture explains the PCGS qualifier, although this feature is hardly distracting to in hand viewing and, in fact, it is the result of testing done on this piece by the National Bureau of Standards. So, too, are the marks seen on the reverse of the coin. These experimental pieces were made at a time when the United States Mint was looking for alternatives to copper for the cent, which was considered a strategic material critical to the nation's success in World War II. The dies that struck this particular type were prepared in the Mint, although the experimental pieces themselves were molded by contractors. Survivors from these tests in various plastics are rare, our multiple offerings in this sale representing a fleeting biding opportunity that is surely not soon to be repeated.

PCGS# 12250.

From the Bob Heisley Collection. Purchased privately from Jeff Kierstead Rare Coins, late 1990s.