1943

The 1943 Lincoln cent from Philadelphia was struck in steel coated with zinc, a dramatic departure from the bronze composition that had been used since 1864. The United States was fighting World War II on two fronts, and copper was a critical war material needed for shell casings, wiring, and other military applications. The War Production Board asked the Mint to find an alternative for the cent, and zinc-coated steel was the solution.

The steel cents are immediately recognizable. They are silvery-white rather than brown, light in weight, and magnetic (no other regular-issue U.S. coin responds to a magnet). The public did not like them. The coins were confused with dimes because of their similar color. They rusted in wet conditions. The zinc coating wore off with handling, leaving the steel underneath exposed and prone to corrosion. The Mint would abandon the steel composition after a single year and switch to recycled shell casings (brass) in 1944.

Despite the public's lukewarm reception, the 1943 steel cent was produced in massive quantity: over 684 million at Philadelphia alone. The coins are extremely common, and uncirculated examples remain affordable. Finding a 1943 steel cent in circulation was routine for decades after the war. The coin is one of the most distinctive issues in the Lincoln cent series, instantly identifiable by its color and weight.

The famous 1943 "copper cent" error (a coin struck on a leftover bronze planchet from 1942) is a separate issue from the standard steel cent. Approximately 15-17 are known from Philadelphia, six from San Francisco, and only one from Denver (unique, graded MS64 Brown, arguably the most valuable small cent in existence). The only known "Red" example has an unusual alloy containing trace silver and sold privately for over $1,000,000 in 2018. A false rumor once spread that Henry Ford would trade a new car for a 1943 copper cent. Ford never made the offer, though a genuine example is now worth far more than a garage of Fords. The vast majority of "1943 copper cents" offered for sale are steel cents that have been copper-plated. A magnet settles the question instantly: genuine copper cents are not magnetic.