You've probably heard the story. Someone finds a weird, off-color cent in an old coffee can, takes it to an auction house, and walks away with enough money to buy a house. It sounds like a suburban legend. But when it comes to the 1943 Lincoln copper penny, the legend is actually real. Mostly.
Here is the thing: in 1943, the United States was neck-deep in World War II. Copper was a "strategic metal." We needed it for shell casings, telephone wires, and radio equipment. So, the Treasury Department told the U.S. Mint to stop using copper for pennies. They switched to zinc-coated steel. Those are the "silver" pennies you see all the time in antique shops for a buck. But, as with anything involving massive industrial machinery and tired workers, mistakes happened.
A few copper planchets—the blank metal disks used to stamp coins—were left over in the bins from 1942. They got fed into the presses. They got stamped with the 1943 date. Then they slipped into circulation.
What actually makes a 1943 Lincoln copper penny so valuable?
It’s the error. Pure and simple.
Collectors love mistakes because they aren't supposed to exist. Numismatists estimate that only about 20 to 40 of these copper beauties were ever made across the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Denver mints. Because they are so rare, they have become the "Holy Grail" of 20th-century American coinage.
Think about the sheer odds. In 1943, the Mint struck over 1 billion steel pennies. Finding one of the roughly 20 copper ones in that pile is like finding a specific grain of sand on a beach in Malibu. It's almost impossible.
The most famous example is the Denver Mint version. Only one is known to exist. Just one. In 2010, it sold for a staggering $1.7 million in a private sale. More recently, "normal" 1943 copper pennies from the Philadelphia mint—the ones without a mint mark—regularly fetch between $150,000 and $300,000 at major auctions like Heritage Auctions or Stack’s Bowers.
The Lure of the "Lunchbox Specials"
There’s a persistent rumor that some of these weren't accidents. Some folks in the hobby call them "lunchbox specials." The idea is that Mint employees intentionally fed copper blanks into the machines to create instant collectibles they could smuggle out. While that makes for a great movie plot, most experts, including the late coin scholar Walter Breen, argued that mechanical leftover blanks are the much more likely culprit.
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If you find one, you aren't just holding a coin. You're holding a piece of industrial sabotage or a high-stakes clerical error. That's why people go crazy for them.
How to tell if yours is a fake (because it probably is)
I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Honestly, I do. But if you found a 1943 penny that looks copper-colored, there is a 99.9% chance it’s a fake.
Scammers and bored kids have been messing with pennies for decades. The most common trick is taking a 1943 steel penny and copper-plating it. It looks right. It feels right. But it's a lie.
The Magnet Test
This is the easiest way to crush your dreams or confirm a fortune. Grab a magnet. Any magnet. A refrigerator magnet works fine. Touch it to the coin.
- If the coin sticks to the magnet, it’s steel. It’s a plated fake. It’s worth about 15 cents.
- If the coin does not stick, you might actually have something.
But wait. Don't go booking a flight to Vegas yet.
There's another common fake: the "altered date." Scammers take a 1948 copper penny and carefully shave the left side of the "8" to make it look like a "3." To the naked eye, it looks legit. Under a jeweler’s loupe, you can usually see the tool marks or the weird spacing. On a genuine 1943 Lincoln copper penny, the "3" has a very specific tail that aligns perfectly with the rest of the date. If it looks "off," it is.
The Don Lutes Jr. Story
The most famous "real" find belongs to a teenager named Don Lutes Jr. In 1947, he found a copper 1943 penny in his high school cafeteria change. He’d heard the rumors. He actually reached out to the Treasury Department, and they—get this—straight up lied to him. They told him all 1943 pennies were steel.
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Don didn't care. He kept it anyway.
He held onto that coin for over 70 years. He didn't sell it when he was struggling. He didn't sell it when the market peaked in the 80s. He finally put it up for auction in 2019, shortly before he passed away. It sold for $204,000. That’s the kind of "found money" story that keeps the hobby alive. It proves that these things were actually in circulation. They were in pockets. They were in vending machines.
Why the 1943-S and 1943-D are different animals
The Philadelphia mint (no mint mark) produced the most "errors." The San Francisco (S) and Denver (D) mints were much tighter ships.
Currently, there are maybe six or seven known 1943-S copper pennies. Because of that scarcity, the "S" mint mark adds a massive premium. If a Philadelphia copper cent is a Ferrari, the San Francisco one is a vintage Bugatti. And the Denver one? Well, like I said, there’s only one. It’s the Mona Lisa of pennies.
If you’re looking at your coin and you see a little "S" or "D" under the date, and it passes the magnet test, you need to stop touching it immediately. The oils on your skin can actually degrade the copper over time. Put it in a soft plastic flip or a clean envelope.
The weight factor
Serious collectors use scales that go down to the milligram.
- A genuine 1943 copper penny should weigh approximately 3.11 grams.
- A 1943 steel penny (even if copper-plated) weighs about 2.7 grams.
That 0.4-gram difference is everything. It’s the difference between a down payment on a house and a story you tell at bars about that time you thought you were rich.
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What to do if you think you found a real one
First, breathe. Second, do not clean it. I cannot stress this enough. If you take a piece of steel wool or even a soft cloth and some baking soda to a rare coin, you can instantly strip 50% of its value. Collectors want "original skin." They want the grime of the 1940s. They want the natural patina.
Here is your checklist for a potential find:
- The Magnet Test: Does it stick? (If yes, stop. If no, move to step 2).
- Visual Inspection: Look at the "3" in the date. Does it look carved? Does the "3" match the style of other 1943 steel pennies?
- The Scale: Does it weigh 3.11 grams?
- Professional Grading: If it passes the first three, you need to send it to PCGS (Professional Coin Grading Service) or NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Company). Do not take it to the local "We Buy Gold" shop on the corner. They will try to lowball you or might not even know what they are looking at.
Only a slabbed, graded coin from one of those two organizations is considered "liquid" in the high-end numismatic market. Without that plastic slab and the official grade, it’s just a brown coin that might be a fake.
The market in 2026 and beyond
The value of the 1943 Lincoln copper penny hasn't really dipped in decades. It’s one of the few "blue chip" coins. Even when the economy gets shaky, ultra-rarities tend to hold their value because there are always wealthy collectors looking for a place to park their cash where it won't inflate away.
Is it possible there are more out there? Absolutely.
A lot of these coins likely ended up in "dead" jars—those massive jugs of pennies people keep in their garages for 40 years. When those people pass away, their kids often just dump the jars into Coinstar machines. Somewhere, in a Coinstar reject tray or a bank's sorting bag, there is probably another 1943 copper cent waiting to be found.
Summary of Actionable Steps
If you’ve got a jar of old wheat pennies, don't just ignore them.
- Audit your 1943s: Pull out every single 1943 penny you find. Most will be steel.
- Run the magnet: Keep a strong magnet handy. It’s the fastest filter.
- Check for the "1947" or "1948" trick: Use a magnifying glass to ensure the "3" hasn't been tampered with.
- Consult a specialist: If you have a non-magnetic 1943 penny, contact a member of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG). They have a code of ethics that local pawn shops don't always follow.
- Invest in a digital scale: You can get a jewelry scale that measures to 0.01g for about $20 online. It's the best $20 you'll ever spend if it confirms a 3.11g weight.
The odds are astronomical, sure. But someone has to own those 20-odd coins. It might as well be you. Just remember: it's the 3.11-gram, non-magnetic miracle you're looking for. Anything else is just a cool piece of history worth a few cents.
Next Steps for Your Collection
Verify the weight of any non-magnetic 1943 cents using a calibrated milligram scale. If the weight is 3.1 grams, contact PCGS or NGC for an "Express" grading submission to secure a formal certificate of authenticity.