1943-D Lincoln Copper Cent : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
The valuable 1943 Copper Cent (or 1943 Bronze Cent, or 1943 Copper Penny) is that rare type of treasure that would pass as nearly worthless to the unknowledgeable but is instantly recognizable to the initiated. Nearly every 1943 Copper Cent was found circulating in pocket change.

What’s the Big Deal About the 1943 Copper Cent?

Readers often reach out to us about the 1943 Cent. In 1942, the United States Mint was tasked with finding an alternative to copper to produce one-cent coins. The Mint tested different metals and even asked private industry to come up with a viable solution. Some of these experiments focused on non-metal cent alternatives, including glass.

Ultimately, the Mint settled on a composition of zinc-plated steel. Zinc-plated steel cents have a brilliant silvery color when new but tarnish with wear and turn a dark slate grey.

The Mint produced a total of over one billion 1943 Lincoln Steel Cents, striking them at each of the three mints, with over 60% being struck at the Philadelphia Mint. In the course of producing these coins, either by accident or through intention, a small number of coins were struck on copper planchets left over from the preceding year.

Both the Treasury Department and the general public disliked the Steel Cent upon its release. The coin was similar in size to the Mercury Dime and became dingy and ugly with use. While many were hoarded as a novelty, the Mint was able to withdraw most of them from circulation over time. In 1944, the Mint resumed cent production using a copper alloy; this is why several 1943 Copper Cents were discovered years later circulating in change. For the year in which they were struck, they were anomalous in appearance. Compared to an ordinary cent, however, they looked the same – the only difference being the date.

The first example was discovered in 1944, it was a 1943-S Copper Cent discovered by collector Kenneth S. Wing, Jr. of Long Beach, California. At the time of his discovery, Wing was offered $500 for the coin, but he declined. To authenticate the coin, Wing wrote to Leland Howard, the Acting Director of the United States Mint.

Director Howard responded on August 20, 1946:

“[I]n reference to your letter of August 11th, there were no copper cents struck during the calendar year 1943 at any of the coinage Mints [Italics added. —Ed.]. Only the zinc-coated steel cent was struck during that year.”

Undeterred, Wing showed the coin to the superintendent of the San Francisco Mint in 1948, and was told that the coin was authentic.

In 1957, Wing attempted to have the Treasury Department authenticate the coin. The Treasury referred Wing to the Smithsonian Institution. Vladimir Clain-Steanelli was convinced that the coin was authentic.

In 1947, Don Lutes discovered the first one struck at the Philadelphia Mint. He acquired his in change given to him at his Pittsfield, Massachusetts high school cafeteria.

In time, others were discovered, each with its own story. Public awareness of the coin grew with every subsequent discovery, and as the coins broke records with each auction appearance, counterfeiters began to take advantage. The typical fake 1943 Copper Cent is an altered date. These are easily spotted, but no numismatic coin over $500 in value should be bought or sold without authentication.

Some basic Copper Cent characteristics to be aware of:

• 1943 copper pennies are nonmagnetic
• 1943 copper pennies weigh 3.11 grams
• The “3” of the date of 1943 copper penny will be identical to the “3” on a steel cent
• The strike quality of all genuine 1943 copper pennies is sharp, with clear designer’s initials (V.D.B.) and raised rims. These details can be muted on worn coins, however.

The 1943-D Lincoln Copper Cent is Unique

In the case of the 1943-D Lincoln Copper Cent, only one example is known at this time and it carries a value of approximately one million dollars. The 1943-D Lincoln Copper Cent likely was made on purpose by a Denver Mint employee and then kept secret. This is based on information that became public only in 1996.

The 1943-D Lincoln Copper Cent was first certified by ANACS on September 28, 1979 and consigned by the family of a deceased Denver Mint employee to Superior’s May 27-28, 1996 sale, where it brought $82,500.

Before the coin was encapsulated, dealer Ira Goldberg removed “crud” from the surface of the coin using “Coin Care” and a Q-Tip swab. At the time, Goldberg said that the coin had fragments of zinc on its surface, probably imparted from the coin dies, which suggests that the copper cent was struck along with zinc cents.

The 1943-D Copper Lincoln Cent was next sold on February 24, 2003, for $212,750. Texas Rangers owner Bob R. Simpson purchased the coin for $1.7 million in 2010. This sale was handled by Andrew Skrabelak of Angel Dee’s, representing the seller, and Laura Sperber of Legend Numismatics, representing the buyer.

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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Top Population: PCGS MS64BN (1, 8/2024), NGC N/A (0, 8/2024), and CAC N/A (0:0 stickered:graded, 8/2024).

• PCGS MS64BN #40273607: A Denver Mint employee and his estate; Authenticated by ANACS, 1979; Goldberg Auctioneers, February 2003, Lot 149; Unknown intermediary; Legend, private sale via Andy Skrabalak, September 2010, $1,700,000; Bob R. Simpson; “The Bob R. Simpson Collection, Part III,” Heritage Auctions, June 20, 2021 – $840,000. Simpson novelty insert.

Design

Obverse:

Litvak-American artist Victor David Brenner’s portrait of Abraham Lincoln depicts the president from the shoulder up. Lincoln is dressed in a period suit and is wearing a bow tie. Brenner’s initials V.D.B. appear in Lincoln’s shoulder truncation. At the top of the design wrapping around the rim is the motto IN GOD WE TRUST. The word LIBERTY appears behind Lincoln’s neck, on the left side of the coin. The date 1943 appears slightly lower, in front of Lincoln’s portrait, on the coin’s right side. Below the date is the mintmark D for Denver.

Reverse:

Brenner’s “Wheat Cent” reverse. Two sheaths of wheat wrap around the right and the left side of the coin. At the top of the design, the motto E · PLURIBUS · UNUM wraps around the rim. The denomination ONE CENT is inscribed in large sans serif letters, with the bottom arm of each “E” extending beyond the arm at the top (the middle arm is recessed). Beneath the denomination, in the same font but a smaller type, is the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Edge:

The edge of the 1943-D Lincoln Copper Cent is plain, without reeding or edge lettering.

Designer

Victor David Brenner, born in Lithuania in 1871, immigrated to New York at the age of 19. The classically trained sculptor built a group of clients, which included the future president Theodore Roosevelt. Having previously created a medallion of Lincoln, Brenner was contracted by Roosevelt in 1908 to use one of his previous images of the 16th president for a new design of the cent. At the time of his death, Brenner had carved over 125 different medals, sculptures, and coins (View Designer’s Profile).

Coin Specifications