- 1943 Steel Wheat Penny Value Coin Values
- 1943 Steel Wheat Penny Value
- 1943 Steel Wheat Penny Value 2019
- 1943 Copper Wheat Penny Value
- 1930 Wheat Penny Value
Get the best deals on 1943 Steel Lincoln Wheat US Small Cents when you shop the largest online selection at eBay. 1943 US Steel Wheat Penny Cents Roll = 50 Coins. 1943 United States one cent value. What is a 1943 US penny worth? (steel, Philadelphia mint variety) Value, specifications, and images for the 1943 Lincoln wheat one cent coin from the United States of America. Even if you're not into coin collecting, here's a list of rare pennies you should hold onto. One of the most popular is the 1943 wheat penny. Other rare pennies on this list include the 1792 penny, 1793 penny, 1844 penny, 1856 penny, 1877 penny, 1909 penny, 1924 penny, 1936 penny, 1943 penny, 1955 penny, 1974 penny, and other silver pennies. Pennies in 1943 were supposed to be made of zinc-coated steel and those grey-colored cents are quite common. A few coins, however, were erroneously made of bronze, the metal composition from the. While 1943 steel Pennies are about as common as any other 1940s Lincoln cent, there is one variety from 1943 that stands out for its rarity: the 1943 bronze Lincoln Wheat Penny. Approximately 30 to 40 1943 Pennies were inadvertently struck on 1942 bronze coin Planchets.
'Holy grail' rare penny might be worth $1.7M after it was found in boy's lunch money
A rare copper penny, considered a 'holy grail' in coins, has been found in a boy's lunch money. It could reach $1.7 million in auction from Heritage Auctions.
Now that's a pretty penny.
A penny that a Massachusetts teenager found in his change from lunch money could be worth as much as $1.65 million (£1.3 million) when it is auctioned off.
The 1943 Lincoln penny is made up of copper and has been described as the 'most famous' coin made in error, according to Heritage Auctions, which is auctioning off the coin. Only 20 were ever made and for years the U.S. government denied its existence, but one coin was found by Don Lutes Jr. in his school cafeteria in March 1947.
'Despite relentless searching by eager collectors over a period of more than 70 years, only a handful of legitimate specimens have ever been discovered,' Heritage wrote on its website. 'PCGS CoinFacts estimates the surviving population at no more than 10-15 examples in all grades. We have compiled a roster of all specimens certified by the two leading grading services below, including an unknown number of resubmissions and crossovers.'
In the 1940s, copper was considered a strategic metal, largely because of World War II, as it was used to make shell casings, telephone wire and other wartime necessities. To preserve the metal, 1943 Lincoln pennies were made of zinc-coated steel, but a tiny fraction of the pennies put into circulation wound up using copper.
Almost as soon as the pennies were pressed, rumors began to emerge that some copper cents had made their way into circulation. The frenzy had become so heightened that it was speculated that car magnate Henry Ford would give a new car to anyone who could give him one of these copper pennies, though that speculation was later proven false.
'Stories appeared in newspapers, comic books, and magazines and a number of fake copper-plated steel cents were passed off as fabulous rarities to unsuspecting purchasers,' the auction house added on its website. 'Despite the mounting number of reported finds, the Mint steadfastly denied any copper specimens had been struck in 1943.'
The rumors of the copper penny, described as 'the Holy Grail of mint errors,' were eventually proven true after it was found out that copper planchets – which are actually made of bronze – had become lodged in the trap doors of the mobile tote bins used to feed blank coins in the presses at the end of 1942. The planchets went unnoticed and eventually 'became dislodged and were fed into the coin press, along with the wartime steel blanks,' Heritage wrote on its website.
Other genuine examples of the 1943 Lincoln copper penny have been found, including 10-15 from the Philadelphia Mint, a half dozen from the San Francisco Mint and one from the Denver Mint.
At the time, Lutes, who was 16, had heard of the rumor about Ford, but when he was later told it was false, kept the coin for himself in his collection. Over the years, he received offers for the coin and eventually even inquired with the U.S. Treasury about it, but was told that it was fraudulent, that 'All pennies struck in 1943 were zinc coated steel' and eventually decided to just keep it for his collection.
Before the switch took place, a handful of cents were mistakenly minted in copper, making a 1943 Bronze Lincoln cent coin one of the most famous coins in U.S. history: 76 years later, the very first of these error coins ever discovered will make history when Heritage Auctions offers the rarity Jan. 10 in Orlando, Florida. (Credit: SWNS)
The 1943 zinc-coated steel pennies proved to be so unpopular with the public that they were eventually replaced with brass recovered from shell casings.
Lutes passed away in September and now the coin is going up for auction, where no one really knows what it will sell for, Sarah Miller of Heritage Auctions said. 'This is the most famous error coin in American numismatics and that’s what makes this so exciting: No one really knows what it’s going to sell for,' Miller said in comments obtained by SWNS.
The auction is ongoing and is slated to end on Jan. 10.
Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia
In January 1942, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine reported that Treasury officials were seriously considering using different contents for some coins. It was around this time that silver dollars had been discontinued. Shortly after, in 1943, the U.S. issued a steel penny because the nation’s copper was needed for World War II supplies.
The 1943 Copper Penny is known as the Wheat Penny, the predecessor to the infamous Steel Penny. Steel Pennies replaced Wheat Pennies in attempt to save the nation’s copper supply. As mentioned below, the Steel Penny was strongly disliked by most Americans at the time and lived a short era.
Story Behind the Design
In 1908, Theodore Roosevelt, approved the design of a new cent. During Abraham Lincoln’s centennial of February 1909, Roosevelt decided to choose Lincoln as the face of the penny.
Roosevelt considered Lincoln to be one of his biggest idols, hence why he chose him. By putting Lincoln on the penny, Roosevelt felt that he honored Lincoln’s presidential term and legacy. A sideview of Lincoln is portrayed on the front of the coin. .
Composition and Fraud Issues
Before the war efforts, the primary composition of the wheat penny was 95% copper and 5% zinc. The newer, silver appearance of the penny is the result of the U.S. Mint using a zinc coating over steel.
1943 Steel Wheat Penny Value Coin Values
Only a few copper pennies were minted in 1943, and the coins were most likely mistakenly released. Because of this, Wheat Pennies are incredibly rare and highly sought after by coin collectors. However, many counterfeiters have created nearly-realistic dupes of the coin in order to trick potential collectors.
There are a few ways that fake coins be presented as the 1943 Wheat Penny. For example, a 1948 copper penny could be filed down on the left side of the 8, making it look like a 3 instead. Real Wheat Pennies would have a longer tail at the end of the 3 in 1943; while a filed down 1948 would have a short 3. Some people would go as far as copper plating Steel Pennies and selling them at coin shows and flea markets.
To ensure high quality and true Wheat Pennies, check the coins for certification before purchasing them. An easy way to distinguish a true copper penny from a copper-plated penny is to hold up a magnet against it. If the coin sticks to the magnet, then it is a steel penny.
In addition, checking the weight of the coin can help verify its authenticity. The change of metal lowered the weight of the coins by about 13%. Steel pennies weigh 2.7 grams, while copper pennies weigh 3.11 grams.
Rarity and Value
It is estimated that only 40 copper-alloy pennies have made it through the minting process in 1943. To this day, only 12 copper coins have been recorded and accounted for. Essentially, it means that there are still 28 of these coins that aren’t officially documented.
Due to the rarity of Wheat Pennies, the pricing range is between $60,000 and $100,000. In average condition, they can be worth as much as $60k; meanwhile, in certified mint condition, they can be worth as much as $100k.
1943 Steel Wheat Penny Value
On the other hand, Steel Pennies are practically worthless. The average price range for a circulated Steel Penny is between 10 cents and $1. Uncirculated Steel Pennies are worth $3 to $5.
Another determining factor for the Wheat Penny is the location of production. There are three common production locations; Philadelphia (standard), San Francisco (S coins), and Denver (D coins). For example, a 1943 S Wheat Penny, would be valued differently than a 1943 D Wheat Penny.
The End to Steel Pennies
Upon the release of the new steel penny, the coin received a lot of backlash. Many Americans complained that the new steel coin’s appearance too closely resembled that of dimes. The U.S Mint tried to address their concerns by explaining that the coins would soon turn darker and become more distinct.
1943 Steel Wheat Penny Value 2019
Typically, zinc oxidizes over time and turns into a dark grey or black. In addition, once the zinc coating faded, the steel would be exposed and rust under the elements.
1943 Copper Wheat Penny Value
Another issue with the coin was its magnetic properties. Many mechanical devices treated the new cent as a slug.
1930 Wheat Penny Value
The Treasury then began solely issuing out the steel coins when bronze-copper cents weren’t available. In the following year, the U.S Mint used copper for pennies.