Rare Coins – Volume Two – 1943 Copper Penny
It Is Always Nice to Dream!
Wheat cents are commonly found in pocket change. Most are not worth much, but, there are a few that can fetch a significant amount of money if found. One penny that I am always on the lookout for (although I know I will never “just find” one) is the 1943 Copper Penny.
Back in 1943, the US Mint started using steel instead of copper for cents in an attempt to conserve copper for the war efforts. These cents are commonly known as “Steelies” and over a billion of them were struck and put into circulation in 1943 by the three mints. The Philadelphia mint alone produced about 684 million of the Steelies.
Although, production of cents was primarily steel, there were some bronze blanks that slipped into the production line and the 1943 Copper Penny was born. The members of the quality control team must have had the day off!
Do I Have a Copper Cent?
There are less than 20 known copper cents from 1943. They are classified as “Mint Errors” and since they were mistakenly put into circulation, there may still be some out there to be found. Obviously, the first thing to do is check the date of the cent. If you find one and think that it may have been printed on a bronze planchet instead of on steel there is one easy test. Simply take a magnet and, if the coin sticks to the magnet, it is a common copper plated steel coin. If, on the other hand, the coin doesn’t stick to the magnet you may have something worth exploring. If it happens to be the bronze cent, you could have a coin worth tens of thousands of dollars. I would suggest having the coin certified and graded prior to selling it.