# What's the significance of 1943 pennies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 30, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978 "2010-01-30T01:44:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/1 "2010-01-30T01:44:20Z")
Coinstar rejects them. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/2 "2010-01-30T01:48:51Z")
They’re steel coins. The reason is that copper was needed for bullet cases and other uses during the war, while steel, though also needed, was in somewhat more plentiful supply relative to demand, so cents were struck in steel. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/3 "2010-01-30T01:49:46Z")
They’re made of steel, right? So the weight/magnetism are all wrong. ---
**Author:** ![AdmiralCrunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@AdmiralCrunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AdmiralCrunch)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/4 "2010-01-30T01:51:07Z")
From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_steel_cent) > [@](#): > > The 1943 steel cent, also known as a steelie, was a variety of the U.S. one-cent coin which was struck in steel due to wartime shortages of copper. Edit: At least I put a link in there. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/5 "2010-01-30T01:51:38Z")
During WWII, copper was a desperatey needed metal, used both for electrical wiring and ammunition casings. At a point where extended mining had not yet caught up with demand, the Treasury switched from using copper to steel to coin the penny. Because steel has a diiferent weight than copper, machines designed to test the weight of a coin to accept it find that the penny has the “wrong” weight. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/6 "2010-01-30T01:51:38Z")
The steel pennies do have a slight collectors value, especially by the roll. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/7 "2010-01-30T02:17:33Z")
But watch out for scams. There were a handful of copper pennies minted in 1943 and they’re worth a lot of money. Some conmen have taken steel 1943 pennies and copper-plated them to fool buyers. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/8 "2010-01-30T03:58:01Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But watch out for scams. There were a handful of copper pennies minted in 1943 and they’re worth a lot of money. Some conmen have taken steel 1943 pennies and copper-plated them to fool buyers. Easily checked with a magnet. A bit harder is a modified 1948 penny. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/9 "2010-01-30T05:16:02Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > During WWII, copper was a desperatey needed metal, used both for electrical wiring and ammunition casings. At a point where extended mining had not yet caught up with demand, the Treasury switched from using copper to steel to coin the penny. Because steel has a diiferent weight than copper, machines designed to test the weight of a coin to accept it find that the penny has the “wrong” weight. Copper was so scarce that when the Manhattan project needed some fourteen thousand tons of metal to make the windings for the [Calutrons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calutron) (Cyclotrons for the refining of U-235 by Mass Spectrometry), they used _Silver_ borrowed from the Treasury and accounted for by the ounce. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/10 "2010-01-30T07:11:32Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But watch out for scams. There were a handful of copper pennies minted in 1943 and they’re worth a lot of money. Some conmen have taken steel 1943 pennies and copper-plated them to fool buyers. Any idea of the number of these out there? I was always told that there were no 1943 copper pennies, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there were. Also, when did they go back to copper? at the beginning of the 1944 printing cycle, or are there some steelies for '44? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/11 "2010-01-30T07:24:47Z")
Copper pennies from 1943 are so rare that anyone offering you one is probably offering a forgery, knowingly or not. [http://www.usmint.gov/about\_the\_mint/fun\_facts/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=fun\_facts2a](http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/fun_facts/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=fun_facts2a) The estimate is that only 40 were made, and all are accounted for. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/12 "2010-01-30T09:15:16Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Copper was so scarce that when the Manhattan project needed some fourteen thousand tons of metal to make the windings for the [Calutrons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calutron) (Cyclotrons for the refining of U-235 by Mass Spectrometry), they used _Silver_ borrowed from the Treasury and accounted for by the ounce. Why didn’t they just melt down some 1942 pennies? ---
**Author:** ![acetylene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@acetylene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acetylene)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/13 "2010-01-30T13:38:54Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Copper was so scarce that when the Manhattan project needed some fourteen thousand tons of metal to make the windings for the [Calutrons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calutron) (Cyclotrons for the refining of U-235 by Mass Spectrometry), they used _Silver_ borrowed from the Treasury and accounted for by the ounce. I love this story. The snooty reply from the Treasury was “Silver is never measured in tons; our unit is the Troy ounce” So they asked for and recieved 395,000,000 Troy ounces of silver ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/14 "2010-01-30T14:55:05Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Why didn’t they just melt down some 1942 pennies? Someone who knows for sure will probably come along, but my WAG is: Silver makes great wire (better than copper), but lousy shell casings. Any pennies that got melted down went into making brass for ammo. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/15 "2010-01-30T15:21:39Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The steel pennies do have a slight collectors value, especially by the roll. Last time I checked, a brilliant uncirculated (BU, or MS-65) 1943 penny was worth about $6.00. I have one here somewhere that I found in a roll of worthless wheat pennies. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/16 "2010-01-30T16:30:08Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Copper pennies from 1943 are so rare that anyone offering you one is probably offering a forgery, knowingly or not. [http://www.usmint.gov/about\_the\_mint/fun\_facts/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=fun\_facts2a](http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/fun_facts/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=fun_facts2a) The estimate is that only 40 were made, and all are accounted for. When I was a kid, we carefully scanned every penny we came across looking for a 1943 copper one. Ah, the dream! ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/17 "2010-01-30T17:03:27Z")
Try to find a 1913 V nickel instead, there are only 5 of them. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/18 "2010-01-30T18:32:27Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Last time I checked, a brilliant uncirculated (BU, or MS-65) 1943 penny was worth about $6.00. I have one here somewhere that I found in a roll of worthless wheat pennies. OK, but that quality is hard to find. How much for a _Good_? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/19 "2010-01-30T19:36:13Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Any idea of the number of these out there? I was always told that there were no 1943 copper pennies, but it wouldn’t surprise me if there were. > > Also, when did they go back to copper? at the beginning of the 1944 printing cycle, or are there some steelies for '44? The [fourth paragraph here](http://reviews.ebay.com/1943-and-1944-Steel-and-Copper-Cents_W0QQugidZ10000000001671907) talks about going back to copper, using spent shell casings as part of the mix. Also, reading a little further, apparently there _are_ a few steel 1944 cents. I hadn’t known that before. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978/20 "2010-01-30T22:56:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Last time I checked, a brilliant uncirculated (BU, or MS-65) 1943 penny was worth about $6.00. I have one here somewhere that I found in a roll of worthless wheat pennies. > [@DrDeth](#): > > OK, but that quality is hard to find. How much for a _Good_? We probably buy a thousand steel cents every week in our coin shop. Average condition we pay 5-10 cents each, sell for 20 cents. > [@ZenBeam](#): > > The [fourth paragraph here](http://reviews.ebay.com/1943-and-1944-Steel-and-Copper-Cents_W0QQugidZ10000000001671907) talks about going back to copper, using spent shell casings as part of the mix. Also, reading a little further, apparently there _are_ a few steel 1944 cents. I hadn’t known that before. Since they were first discovered, there have been about 40 pieces of the 1943 copper cents turn up in varying condition. No one knows how many were made as they were made accidently. For the 1944 steel cents, I believe there have only been less than five found. All made by accident with left over steel planchets. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-significance-of-1943-pennies/526978.md?page=2)