A genuine bronze cent from that era weighs ~3.11 gm while a common 1943 steel cent is only about 2.7 gm. Steel pennies are sometimes referred to as a silver penny. Lincoln was introduced on the penny in 1909 in honor of his 100th birthday. This meant vending machines trying to stop fraud with magnets would not allow these steel pennies to be spent. Lost your password? Do you have a real 1943 copper penny? The million dollar penny, a 1943 copper S cent (minted from the San Francisco mint with copper alloy) was purchased by the Texas Rangers co-chairman Bob R. Simpson from Legend Numismatics. . It's a unique coin that weighs 2.7 grams. Step2: See If The Penny Has Had Its Date Altered To 1943 ZDNet. It has a composition of steel with a zinc coat giving it a very low metal value because of how inexpensive steel is worth. It is also the only US coin to not contain any copper whatsoever. The 1943 copper penny can be worth a million dollars as an extremely rare and sought after collectible coin. The reasoning why making pennies out of steel is a bad idea is because oxidization of zinc and rusting of steel. NGC verifies a white 1943 Lincoln cent, discovered on the ground by a child 50 years ago is not zinc-coated steel, but it's not the usual copper alloy either. 99% of the time the magnet test and 3 test will expose 1943 bronze copper cents as being colored steel pennies or authentic 1948 pennies with altered numbers. As a result, steel pennies have a pretty good value ranging easily up into the ten cents per cent area, making them worth more than 1000% of their original face value. The Lincoln cent is not just any copper penny. The 1943 wheat penny is not only elusive, it could be worth over a million dollars. If it does not stick to a magnet then it is made of something else. Once they are confirmed as authentic then it will be very easy to get tens of thousands of dollars, or maybe even $100,000 or more. Weight: At its purest form, 3.11 grams, though circulation tends to make a coin lighter through wear and tear. “My penny isn’t silver; it’s brown, so I know it isn’t steel.” Sadly, there are many ways to physically and chemically change the look of steel so that it has that brown bronze copper color. However - Only 1 single Denver-minted 1943-D Copper Cent is known to exist. A penny from 1943 minted that year was made out of steel with a zinc coating. The top left image shows the common 1943 penny made of zinc and steel. Usted esta aquí: Inicio / Sin categoría / how much is a 1943 copper penny worth. The highest amount paid for a 1943 copper cent was $82,500 in 1996. The mint mark, when present, can be found on the obverse side of the coin below the date. It is as easy as this. What does your 1943 cent weigh? Weighs less than 3 grams – 1943 copper pennies weigh about 3.11 grams, while the … So we are talking about mint state steel wheat back cents only being worth $1 to $2 each. Coin experts speculate that they were struck by accident when copper-alloy 1-cent blanks remained in the press hopper when production began on the new steel pennies. Our operators are busy. Most experts believe that there are still a few yet to be discovered! ): One of the rarest and most intriguing US coins is … 1943 copper pennies are presumed “error” coins that were simply minted at the beginning of the year in 1943 using leftover copper planchets that were used in 1942. Another notable experimental cent is the 1974 aluminum cent that weighs just 0.937 grams. Ahead of the auction, experts said the penny could have fetched more than a million dollars. It can be pricey. Can't Email or Call Right Now? A subsequent piece sold for $10,000 at an ANA convention in 1981. Error message here! The coins that have been altered will have a three that is more rounded, considerably shorter, and points at about 9:00. Why magnets in vending machines? Even a small magnet will easily stick to any 1943 penny made of steel. Here is how to determine if your coin is worth $1 or $100,000. People have made fake 1943 copper pennies and try to sell them off as if they are authentic. These coins are, for example, 1948 pennies with half the 8 rubbed down to look like a 3, or copper-plated steel pennies home made to look like they were the original. Legend Numismatics is a coin dealer of rare coins from Lincroft, New Jersey. Design: Front is Lincoln. Copper-plated steel cents will exhibit a strong magnetic attraction. So at this point the best thing to do is to take your coin to a dealer who can send it to NGC or PCGS for you. If your penny has a copper colored appearance, here is how you can authenticate it and tell if it is a genuine 1943 solid copper penny or a fake one. You will receive a link to create a new password. However, it never hurts to keep looking! In 1908, Theodore Roosevelt, approved the design of a new cent. The unique coin, not publicly known to exist until 1979, is certified PCGS MS64BN. In 1943, the US Mint used zinc-coated steel for Lincoln Cents instead of the usual bronze (or “copper”) composition in an effort to preserve copper for the war effort. Back in the early 1970s, the rising price of copper was pushing the cost to make a penny over its face value of one cent. Not only do vending machines have fraud detecting magnets, but so do coin sorters at banking institutions. Was this conversation useful? There are only about a dozen authentic 1943 bronze cents that have been documented. Contrary to this report, you can see that the U.S. Mint acknowledges that the existence of a 1943 copper penny exists from a printing error. The United States one-cent coin (symbol: ¢), often called the penny, is a unit of currency equaling one one-hundredth of a United States dollar.It has been the lowest-value physical unit of U.S. currency since the abolition of the half-cent in 1857 (the abstract mill, which has never been minted, equal to a tenth of a cent, continues to see limited use in the fields of taxation and finance). If you think you are holding a 1943 copper cent, you should have it evaluated by a third-party coin grading service to check for its authenticity. The US minted the 1943 steel penny with no mint mark and also the 1943 D steel penny and 1943 S steel penny. this million dollar cent was a 1943 copper San Francisco mint penny and was graded 62 out of 70. This means as people deposited magnetic steel pennies through the banking system, banks would have those pennies sorted and wrapped through industrial machinery. See how to spot fake 1943 copper cents. Mintage Quantity: Unknown though approximately 40-50 have been found. 1943 pennies is unique in that the vast majority of them were minted out of steel. Bronze pennies are another name for being made of copper. There are two version of the United States 1943 penny: 1) 1943 Steel Cent minted during the World War II copper shortage era. Beware of fake counterfeits - as this is one of the most counterfeited of all US coins. Latest News from. Steel pennies are sometimes referred to as a silver penny. So for more than 70 years collectors, dealers, and the general public have been looking for 1943 bronze wheat cents and yet only about 20 from all mints have been found. Consider This Information: Type: Wheat Penny Year: 1943 Face Value: $0.01 Composition: 99% steel with a thin zinc coating Total Weight: 2.70 grams. TV.com. Password The steel 1943 penny also posed a problem for the average person trying to spend the money. TVGuide.com. In 1981, a 1943 copper penny … Don Lutes Jr. kept the 1943 copper penny he stumbled upon in his high school cafeteria seven decades ago in a safe behind a wall in his Massachusetts home. If it doesn’t, there’s a chance it may be the rare copper penny, but it still must be tested for authenticity. in this sale. You can read a news article from 1960 stating these rare copper cents do not exist. A 1943 copper cent was first offered for sale in 1958, bringing more than $40,000. Please try again later. The 1948 penny is another used coin to make a 1943 penny. Do you have a 1943 penny? Copper 1943 pennies has risen dramatically in numismatic value over the years. A copper penny dated to 1943 is likely to be worth approximately $85,000 if it's in good condition. Before you read a dozen articles, go to five coin shops, and watch a bunch of youtube videos, just do the magnet test. The bottom of the 3 on authentic examples is sharp and angled closer to 8:00. The zinc coating of the steel cents did not protect the steel composition of these steel cents because of the minting stamping process. The steel cent has also been called a steelie or war penny. A good technique to spot a fake 1943 copper penny is to test it with a magnet. Bad. 1943 Copper Wheat Penny Weight. Coins worth millions of dollars inevitably mean scams and fraud. And the bottom right image is the rare and authentic 1943 bronze wheat penny. 1943 S Lincoln Wheat Cent Penny is worth a few cents and are very common in circulated grades. By putting Lincoln on the penny, Roosevelt felt that he honored Lincoln’s presidential term and legacy. There were more than 1 BILLION 1943 steel wheat back cents minted. This error occurred from a belief that copper alloy planchets (blanks) from 1942 were left in the printing presses when the 1943 steel pennies were first made. Steel 1943 pennies weigh just 2.7 grams each, lighter than the copper penny of 3.11 grams. Thankfully, there are several telltale signs to spotting a fake 1943 copper penny: Sticks to a magnet – if your 1943 penny does stick to a magnet, it’s really made from steel and is not rare. CBS News. Please enter your email address. A MS64 (Mint State) is worth $7.00 with brown and red brown examples bringing less.. 1943 S Lincoln Cent Wheat Penny is one of the most mistaken coins, the steel versions are not rare nor valuable in even low mint state grades. How much is a 1943 Steel Penny worth? Rusted coins are not just unpleasant to the eye, but the slow, inevitable mutilation/damage of the coin, forcing new ones to have to be minted just to replace them. What This Coin Looks Like (Obverse, Reverse, Mint Mark Location, Special Features, etc. If your 1943 penny sticks to a magnet then it is made of steel. – If it does, it’s a common 1943 cent. Any genuine 1943 copper pennies are extremely rare mint errors. It uses electricity and can be done right at home. Roosevelt considered Lincoln to be one of his biggest idols, hence why he chose him. A small number of bronze planchets were nonetheless struck with these 1943-dated dies and escaped the Mint. The only known 1943-dated Lincoln cent mistakenly struck at the Denver Mint on a bronze planchet has been sold for a record $1.7 million by Legend Numismatics of Lincroft, New Jersey. Step3: It Doesn’t Stick and the Three Hasn’t Been Altered, Now What? Authentic 1943 copper pennies have drastically increased in value over the years. It all just depends on the condition. The rare copper issues will not. It is also the only US coin to not contain any copper whatsoever. An unworn 1943 zinc-coated steel cent weighs 2.7 gm.