
The steel inside the coin was prone to rusting after exposure to moisture.
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Magnets in vending machines designed to weed out counterfeit coins filtered out authentic 1943 steel wheat pennies. Many people confused the silver-colored pennies for dimes. The steel cents were a creative solution, but they weren’t without their problems. Plastic was among the many materials the Mint considered before determining zinc-coated steel to be the choice among its cost-effective options. Officials with the United States Mint had to find a way to replace the copper in the one-cent coin with a low-cost material. Copper, like so many other common materials, was one of those items. Everything from rubber to sugar was rationed because America needed to send these items to its troops fighting overseas. The war years of the 1940s was a time of rations. To save copper for World War II ammunitions. It’s the only regular-issue United States one-cent coin to be minted from steel (the 1944 steel penny off-metal error is not considered a regular issue), and it’s therefore one of the most popular coins people collect. The 1943 penny is unusual among United States one-cent coins.

#Rare coins price guide how to#
Here we will cover the 1943 steel pennies, tell you how to know if you’ve got the rare 1943 copper penny, and help you find out how much your 1943 penny is worth! Want to know what your 1943 pennies are worth? Maybe you’ve got a 1943 steel penny, or maybe even the valuable, rare 1943 bronze penny. If you buy thru these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.Īre you looking for the 1943 penny value?
