This contemporary counterfeit U.S. coin is the only known variety struck on a steel planchet. This should not be too surprising given the hardness of steel compared with standard coin metals and alloys. There are currently 2 documented examples of this variety.

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Some countries have produced steel coins. For example, the U.S. produced zinc-coated steel cents in 1943. Other countries have used stainless steel for currency, the earliest being the 1939 Albania 0.50 Lek. Italy also minted the 50 and 100 Lire coins from the 1950s onward.

 

Nevertheless, this Barber half dollar counterfeit may be the earliest example of steel being used as a planchet to strike a coin, genuine or counterfeit.