What's So Special About 1943 Copper Penny? | U.S. Mint (2024)

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How much is a 1943 copper penny worth in mint condition? ›

The Rare 1943 Penny

If your 1943 penny is made out of copper, it is worth quite a bit of money, generally $10,000 or more! The reason is that the 1943 copper penny is an error coin. The United States Mint accidentally used the wrong planchet metal when striking the coin.

Prices have gone way up for the 1943 copper penny over the years. Back in 1981, an example of the 1943 bronze cent made national news when it sold for $10,000. Some 15 years later, another example sold for $82,500 at a 1996 auction. Today, 1943 bronze cents typically fetch between $100,000 and $250,000.

The easiest way to determine whether or not your 1943 Cent has collectible value—to see if it is possibly bronze rather than steel—is simply to test it with a magnet. If the coin is magnetic, then it is, unfortunately, the common steel version and is not valuable in most cases.

1943 Bronze Lincoln

"The most valuable Lincoln cent sold privately in 2010 for $1.7 million," said Stone. In order to preserve copper for the war effort, the U.S. Mint switched to making pennies from zinc-coated steel planchets, instead of the usual bronze coin blanks, Stone explained.

Nearly all circulating pennies at that time were struck in zinc–coated steel because copper and nickel were needed for the Allied war effort. Approximately 40 1943 copper–alloy cents are known to remain in existence.

The 1943 copper-alloy cent is one of the most enigmatic coins in American numismatics — and reportedly the most valuable Lincoln penny of all.

1943 copper cent

Examples were discovered after the War, with the first two in 1947, and another in 1958.

So for the past 30 years, pennies have been made with an alloy comprised of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper, but pennies minted before 1982 are 95% copper and 5% zinc. The price of copper has more than quadrupled over the past 10 years.

These silver-colored 1943 cents are not rare to come by, thus fetching low prices of 10-13 cents for circulated conditions and 50+ cents when uncirculated.

Most 1943 Lincoln pennies in worn grades (average condition) trade for around 10 cents to 25 cents apiece. Typical examples in uncirculated condition usually realize $1 to $5.

What year is a penny worth 1 million dollars? ›

Simpson, co-chairman of the Texas Rangers baseball club, paid $1 million for the finest known 1943-S Lincoln Wheat cent on a bronze planchet. All 1943 Lincoln cents were supposed to be made of steel planchets coated with zinc.

Value of a 1943 Steel Penny

They are worth about 10 to 13 cents each in circulated condition and as much as 50 cents or more if uncirculated.

1943 wheat penny worth a million dollars

$840,000 was paid for it at auction in 2021. A 1943 bronze Lincoln cent graded Mint State 63 Red was reportedly sold in a private agreement for one million dollars. However, the 1943-D bronze penny has the highest public price to date.

The famed error for the 1943 penny is the copper one, as the USA switched metals from copper to steel in order to conserve metal for their war effort.

how to identify a fake 1943 copper cent first, you have to check if its actually copper. Use a magnet, if it is not a 1943 copper cent it will stick to the magnet, if it is actually copper (not saying it's real) it will not stick to the magnet.

If your Lincoln Memorial penny has a date before 1982, it is made of 95% copper. If the date is 1983 or later, it is made of 97.5% zinc and plated with a thin copper coating.

The 1959-D wheat penny is one of the most controversial mule coins ever. It's worth $50,000!

You want to focus on hoarding pre-1982 U.S. pennies, which contain 95% copper content, making the coin at least twice as valuable as its 1 cent face value. (Post-1982 pennies are not worth collecting, as they contain only 2.5% copper content -- the rest is zinc.)

What is the Holy Grail penny? ›

This holy grail penny is a copper penny from 1943. That might sound normal to some, but the U.S. didn't make pennies out of copper in 1943. Instead, they were made out of steel coated in zinc. This was due to copper being used for other purposes during World War II.

There's a rare 1983 copper penny (a 1983-D penny) worth $15,000 -- you could find one in your pocket change! Here's what to look for + Other rare copper pennies.

In general, a 1944 Wheat Penny in good condition is worth about $0.15, far more than its face value, but one in mint condition can be worth up to $2.00 or more depending on how fine the condition is. The value of a 1944 Wheat Penny also depends on how many of the coins were minted.

The Mint switched over from striking copper-alloy to copper-plated zinc planchets sometime in mid-1982 as a cost saving measure – the copper-alloy planchets were too expensive to strike and the Mint was losing money.

The 1943 Steel Penny without a Mint Mark

These 1943 steel penny coins have the lowest value in all the grades. It's because the Philadelphia mint made the highest number. The coin can sell for around 0.15 USD when in a good state.

Try picking your coin up with a magnet. If your coin is attracted to the magnet, it is made of copper-plated steel (a fraud). If the magnet does not attract your coin, it may be made of bronze and you should have the coin authenticated to determine if it is the "real deal". In 1943, the U.S.

1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent: $1,000 to $2,000+

The 1955 doubled die penny shows heavy doubling in the inscriptions on the obverse side such as the word LIBERTY and the date. It is worth $1,000 and up even in well-worn condition, with uncirculated specimens taking $2,000 or more.

NATIONAL LUCKY PENNY DAY HISTORY

Benjamin Franklin designed the first American penny in 1787 known as the Fugio cent. Visitors to the Ben Franklins grave in Philadelphia leave one-cent pieces there for good luck.

The most valuable Wheat Penny ever auctioned is a unique 1943-D Bronze Cent, sold for $840,000. Other examples of valuable wheat pennies include the 1909-S VDB Lincoln Wheat Penny, the 1944 Steel Penny, and other variations of the 1943 Bronze Penny.

How much is a 1943 copper penny worth 2022? ›

1943 “D” Copper Penny

All the 1943 copper pennies from the Denver mint will sell for many dollars. At a G-4 rating, it can sell for at least 100,000 USD. You'll earn around 150,000 USD if the coin is in a fine state. PCGS rates them as having the best price of 1.5 million dollars in their highest mint state.

A 1943 wheat penny with no mint mark, Philadelphia mint, is the most common of the 1943 pennies and is worth around 15 cents in average condition and up to a few dollars for nongraded coins in fine condition.

The coin, mistakenly minted in copper in 1943, fetched $204,000, during a live auction at the Florida United Numismatics convention in Orlando. Heritage Auctions, which oversaw the sale, estimated the coin was worth at least $170,000.

Simpson, co-chairman of the Texas Rangers baseball club, paid $1 million for the finest known 1943-S Lincoln Wheat cent on a bronze planchet. All 1943 Lincoln cents were supposed to be made of steel planchets coated with zinc.

The War Effort and Metals

During World War II, the war effort required a lot of copper to make shell casings and munitions. In 1943 U.S. Mint produced the penny out of zinc plated steel to save copper for the war effort, so most 1943 pennies are silver colored.

If you find a 1909 penny with an S on the front and the letters VDB on the back at the bottom, it could be worth nearly $1,000.