1942 Cent Pattern - J-2079, Lincoln Aluminum

Coin Details

Auction Record

$199,750 PR66 04-23-2014 Heritage Auctions

Description

Judd-2079, Pollock-2269, is an aluminum cent pattern struck with standard Lincoln cent dies, distinct from the earlier J-2057 aluminum pattern in its die combination or finish. The "Lincoln" designation emphasizes that this piece uses the familiar Victor David Brenner obverse portrait and wheat-ears reverse of the regular Lincoln cent, as opposed to experimental dies that was used for some other compositions. Aluminum remained an attractive theoretical candidate throughout the testing program because it was abundant, lightweight, and strategically unimportant. The extremely low weight of an aluminum cent — roughly one-third that of a bronze cent — was both its most appealing feature (dramatic reduction in transportation and handling costs) and its greatest weakness (the coin felt cheap and insubstantial). The aluminum cent concept would return three decades later in the 1974 experimental program, when the Mint struck approximately 1.57 million aluminum cents before political opposition and Congressional action forced their recall and destruction.

Rarity Notes

R-6 to R-7. Very rare. Lincoln-die aluminum patterns are somewhat better documented than some experimental compositions but remain very scarce.

Cross References

Judd J-2079, Pollock P-2269; 1942 wartime cent composition testing program; aluminum; Lincoln cent dies; cf. J-2057 (earlier aluminum pattern), J-2149 (1974 aluminum cent)