1943 Copper Lincoln Cent

In 1943 the United States Mint switched Lincoln cent production to zinc-coated steel so that copper could be conserved for the war effort. A tiny number of bronze planchets left over from 1942 production apparently remained in the coining presses' feeder mechanisms and were struck with 1943-dated dies, producing coins that look like ordinary wheat cents but are made of the wrong metal entirely.

Because only a small handful of genuine examples are known across the three mints that struck cents in 1943, the 1943 bronze cent has become one of the most sought-after error coins in American numismatics. It regularly appears in stories about coins found in pocket change, fueling decades of public fascination and a steady stream of counterfeits and altered coins.

The coin's appeal lies in its simplicity: it looks like any other 1943 wheat cent at a glance, but its metal composition tells a very different story, one tied directly to wartime metal rationing.

The Lincoln cent, designed by Victor David Brenner in 1909 to mark the centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, normally used a bronze alloy of roughly 95% copper. Wartime demand for copper in ammunition and electrical components led the Mint to strike 1943 cents on zinc-coated steel planchets instead, resulting in the well-known 1943 steel cent.

During the transition, a very small number of bronze planchets from 1942 were inadvertently fed into presses and struck with 1943 dies at one or more of the three operating mints. These off-metal strikes went unnoticed at the time and only later attracted attention as collectors began sorting through circulated coinage.

Over the decades, the 1943 bronze cent has become a benchmark example of an accidental transitional error, discussed in numismatic literature and popular media alike, and it has inspired countless fakes made by altering steel cents or by re-dating 1948 bronze cents.

The obverse shows the standard Brenner Lincoln portrait with LIBERTY to the left, IN GOD WE TRUST above, and the 1943 date and mint mark (if any) below. The reverse features the wheat ears design used from 1909 to 1958, with ONE CENT and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The defining feature is not the design but the metal: a genuine 1943 bronze cent has a copper-brown color rather than the silvery gray of steel cents, and it is non-magnetic, whereas steel cents are strongly attracted to a magnet. Weight is also a giveaway, as bronze cents weigh about 3.11 grams versus roughly 2.7 grams for steel cents.

Because many fakes are created by copper-plating steel cents or by altering the date on genuine 1948 bronze cents, any suspected example should be weighed, tested with a magnet, and ideally examined by a professional grading service before being accepted as genuine.

Genuine 1943 bronze cents are extraordinarily rare and valuable, with confirmed examples from Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco all realizing six-figure to seven-figure sums at auction depending on mint mark, grade, and pedigree. Even a well-worn, authenticated example is worth a substantial sum.

Because the coin's fame has made it a magnet for fakes, value is entirely dependent on third-party authentication by a major grading service; an unauthenticated coin, however convincing it looks, carries little market value until verified. Given the astronomical value gap between real and fake examples, anyone who believes they have found one should have it professionally examined rather than assuming based on appearance alone.