The Rare Material

When Lutes discovered the coin in 1947, even though the second world war was over, the US was still in a state of war with Germany and Japan. As a result, the government was producing tons of ammunition. The issue was that copper was needed to produce shell casing, telephone wires and bullets along with other weapons.

Scarce Copper

Considering the scale of production of ammunition, copper was slowly becoming scarce all around the US which ultimately resulted in the government putting a ban on copper. This meant a ban from using copper for civilian use as well as a ban from using copper for producing coins. All of it was put to an end.

Valued Possession

With copper being banned for coin production, the value of Lutes’s possession was increasing by the day. The coin was one of the rare ones because it was made of 95% copper and 5% zinc. These were produced accidentally and there are only a few coins like this in the world. However, he was still unaware about just how precious his little finding was.

The Ford Fiasco

A few years had passed since Lutes found that special coin. It was just another day filled with mundane activities when Lutes came across the news that car magnate Henry Ford would give a new car to anyone who could give him one of the 1943 copper penny. Lutes decided to contact the Ford Motor Company but was told the rumor was false.

The Inquisitive Factor

His curiosity did not die, instead, it made him reach out for the case behind his wall, where he kept his coin collection. He wanted to know more about the coin that he stumbled upon all those years ago. He wanted to know where it came from, whether his instinct about the coin was precise or not. 

The US Treasury

In order to find out about the origin of his coin, Don Lutes Jr. decided to write a letter to the US Treasury Department hoping they would be able to provide him with some answers. The process of writing did not take him long as his head had all the questions prepared. Lutes sent it out and waited eagerly for a response.