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The 1943 penny -- lead, silver, steel, or copper?The 1943 penny is one of the coins that will tempt me to sound like an “old codger”. It’s because I can remember them – not from 1943 (a near miss) – but from a decade or so later.When I was a kid (yeah, here I go…) the 1943 penny was often encountered in change. Kids would call them lead pennies – they really looked like lead. And our parents (grandparents or great-grandparents) might call them silver pennies because -- when they were new and shiny -- they looked like a dime. War StoryThe overwhelming majority of these were steel pennies. By 1943 the wartime need for copper became a high priority.Low carbon steel was substituted for copper at the mints. (Low carbon steel was less expensive to manufacture than high carbon steel, which was being used for high priority things like ships and tanks.) A thin coating of zinc was applied for the sake of appearance, but this wore off rapidly in a kind of reverse alchemy – perceived silver transformed to perceived lead. Quantities minted were high: 685 million by Philadelphia, 218 million by Denver, and 192 million by San Francisco. Accident ReportThen there was the underwhelming minority… 40 coins to be exact. Apparently 40 copper planchets remained in the coin presses at Philadelphia at the end of 1942.We can only surmise how this may have happened as the plan for steel cents was known, and presumably all necessary preparations for the switchover were in effect. I'm imagining the coppers accidentally left in the presses as the mint workers hustle off to their New Years' Eve celebrations – can’t fathom it was deliberate… Could that ever happen?? While we’re imagining, imagine what a 1943 copper penny would sell for! Incidentally, if you ever find one, first do the magnet test. If it’s magnetic, it’s a copper plated steel penny – a fake! Even if it’s not magnetic, have it checked by an expert – other dates have been modified by the unscrupulous to fool the unwary! (Only rarely is it the other way around – but when it is – it’s a great story.)
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