What is the value of a 1943 bronze US cent?

Answer 1

Genuine 1943 bronze US cents are among the most classic and sought-after error coins. As of 03/2014 auction values are in the following ranges:

> No mint mark (Philadelphia): $40,000 to $137,000 depending on condition

> "S" mint mark (San Francisco): $131,000 to $275,000

> "D" mint mark (Denver, only one coin known): $1.75 million

It's thought that these coins were struck by accident. The best guesses are that a few bronze blanks left over from 1942 had gotten mixed in with the new steel/zinc blanks intended for all 1943 cents. A similar error happened in 1944 when a few leftover steel blanks were struck among the billion or so bronze cents minted that year.

Unfortunately the chances of finding a genuine one in change are effectively zero. Most of the supposed "1943 bronze" or "1943 copper" pennies on the market are fakes. The most common ones are steel cents that were plated or 1948 cents that were altered by scraping away the left half of the "8". Both are easy to spot. A plated 1943 steel cent will stick to a magnet; the tail of the "3" on a genuine cent will point down and to the left while an altered "8" will point horizontally.