In 1942 The Netherlands was occupied by Nazi Germany; the Dutch government had previously fled to London. The US minted coins on behalf of this "government in exile" to be used in non-Nazi-occupied Dutch territories, and if you look closely you'll see a "P" to the right of "1942" to indicate minting in Philadelphia. The palm tree to the left of the year indicates the penny was made for use in the Dutch territory of Curaçao, a Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela. There was a total of 2.5 million of these 1942 Dutch pennies minted by the US.
Size and coloring of the penny is very similar to the US penny (it's high copper bronze after all), but the coin has a reeded edge. When I saw the edge in the penny roll I thought I scored a dime, but this was a much more interesting find. This is a Dutch coin but it was minted in the US; maybe it's both foreign and domestic.
I can only wonder how this coin found it's way into my penny roll nearly 70 years after production, and am thankful for the enjoyment I received looking up its story. This find reminds me why I enjoy coin collecting.
