1943 Copper Penny Value —
Magnet Test, Weight Test & Known Examples

Is My 1943 Penny Copper? The Magnet and Weight Test

Almost certainly not, but two quick tests settle it. The U.S. Mint struck more than 1.09 billion 1943 cents in zinc-coated steel, while only about 20 to 25 genuine copper (bronze) examples are known today. So a 1943 penny from a jar or an old album is a steel cent in nearly every case. Still, the 1943 copper penny value runs from roughly $175,000 to $1.7 million, which makes a two-minute check worthwhile.

Use the checker below first. After that, read the sections on how fakes are made and why authentication matters, because a coin that passes both home tests is still far more likely to be an altered date than the real thing. For prices on ordinary dates, see our coin price guides, the 1943 steel penny value guide, or the What's My Coin Worth? page.

The Magnet Test

Steel is magnetic and bronze is not, so the magnet test eliminates almost every candidate in seconds. A plain refrigerator magnet works, although a small neodymium magnet gives a clearer answer. If your coin jumps to the magnet, it is a steel cent. That stays true even when the coin looks copper-colored, because thousands of steel cents were copper-plated as novelties or as deliberate fakes.

A coin that ignores the magnet has passed only the first test. Genuine 1943 bronze cents will not react at all, but neither will an ordinary 1945 or 1948 cent with an altered date. In other words, the magnet tells you what a coin is not, rather than proving what it is.

The Weight Test: Copper vs. Steel

A genuine 1943 bronze cent weighs about 3.11 grams, the same as any bronze Lincoln cent from the period. A 1943 steel cent weighs about 2.70 grams. That 0.4-gram gap is easy to see on a jeweler's scale or a digital pocket scale that reads to two decimal places, while a kitchen scale is not precise enough.

Recommended Reading

Lincoln Wheat Cents 1909–1958: A Collector's Guide

A date-by-date guide to the entire wheat-cent run, from the 1909 VDB to the last 1958 issues. Learn to spot the key dates, read mintmarks, and recognize the valuable varieties hiding in old jars and rolls, with clear advice on condition and what your finds are worth.

Check Price on Amazon →

Weight catches copper-plated steel cents, which come in light. However, an altered-date bronze cent weighs the full 3.11 grams, just like a real one. For that reason the date check in step three matters as much as the first two tests, and the section on how fakes are made explains what to look for.

1943 Copper Penny Value by Mint

A genuine 1943 copper penny is worth roughly $175,000 to $375,000 for a typical Philadelphia example, and more for the rarer mints. Location decides most of the price, since San Francisco examples number fewer than ten and the Denver coin is one of a kind. Grade matters too, although almost every known example shows wear from circulation.

Because so few exist, there is no true price guide in the usual sense. The ranges below come from the public sales recorded by Heritage, Stack's Bowers and PCGS. Each coin trades on its own pedigree and certified grade, so treat them as reference points rather than offers.

Philadelphia: The "Common" Rarity

Philadelphia struck most of the known 1943 copper cents, and it is the version that turns up in news stories. PCGS CoinFacts estimates about 15 to 17 pieces, while Heritage catalogers have suggested the total could be closer to 20. Nearly all of them are worn, which tells us they spent years in ordinary circulation before anyone noticed them.

Recent public results for circulated Philadelphia pieces have landed between about $186,000 and $329,000. The finest certified example, a PCGS MS62 Brown, brought $372,000 at Heritage in February 2021. Even so, a new discovery in lower grade would likely sell near the bottom of that range.

San Francisco and Denver: The True Rarities

San Francisco produced only a handful of bronze 1943 cents. PCGS lists five, and a 2026 Stack's Bowers offering cited seven confirmed examples. The first was found in change in 1944 by 14-year-old Kenneth Wing Jr., and that same coin sold for $228,000 in 2018. The finest known 1943-S reportedly changed hands privately for $1 million in 2012.

Denver is a different story, because only one 1943-D bronze cent has ever surfaced. Graded PCGS MS64 Brown, it is the finest 1943 bronze cent from any mint. It sold for $82,500 in 1996, $212,750 in 2003 and a record $1.7 million in a private sale in 2010. When it finally crossed a public auction block in 2021, it realized $840,000.

Major 1943 Copper Penny Auction Records

The highest price ever paid for a 1943 copper penny is $1.7 million, for the unique 1943-D in 2010. Public auction records sit lower, led by the same coin's $840,000 result at Heritage in January 2021. The table below lists the best-documented sales, including the famous discovery coins.

What the Sales Tell Us

Two patterns stand out in these results. First, private sales have outrun public auctions, and the 1943-D brought less than half its 2010 private price when it sold at Heritage in 2021. Second, provenance carries real weight, since discovery coins such as the Lutes and Wing pieces draw extra attention from bidders because of their stories.

Don Lutes Jr. found his coin in his school cafeteria change in 1947 and kept it for more than 70 years. It sold after his death, and the proceeds went to his hometown library. That kind of history explains why these coins still make headlines, even though most people will never hold one.

How Fake 1943 Copper Pennies Are Made

Most fake 1943 copper pennies are either copper-plated steel cents or ordinary bronze cents with an altered date. Both types are common, and both fool people who rely on color alone. A smaller group of struck counterfeits also exists, made with copied dies on genuine bronze blanks.

Copper-Plated Steel Cents

Plating is the oldest trick and the easiest to catch. In the early 1960s, a New York coin company plated thousands of 1943 steel cents with copper and released them into circulation as a promotion. Souvenir shops and novelty sellers have produced many more since then. They look convincing in a photo, but every one of them sticks to a magnet and weighs too little.

Altered-Date Bronze Cents

Altered dates cause the most trouble, because the coin really is bronze. A counterfeiter starts with a 1945, 1948 or 1949 cent and reshapes the last digit into a 3. The coin ignores the magnet and weighs the correct 3.11 grams, so it passes both home tests. Under a loupe, the reworked digit usually looks thinner or uneven, or shows tool marks, so compare it side by side with a genuine 1943 steel cent. Only that close look, or a professional examination, exposes it. Whatever you find, don't clean the coin, because graders rely on its original surface.

Struck Counterfeits and Transfer Dies

More sophisticated fakes are struck from dies copied from a genuine steel cent, using real bronze blanks. These can pass the magnet, the weight scale and a casual look at the date. As a result, they are the main reason PCGS and NGC treat every new 1943 bronze submission with extra scrutiny.

The takeaway is simple. A 1943 penny that looks copper is, in almost every case, one of these three fakes. That doesn't mean you should toss it, but it does mean you shouldn't sell, buy or insure one as genuine without a certification holder.

Why PCGS or NGC Authentication Is Required

Every 1943 copper cent the market accepts carries certification from PCGS or NGC, and no major auction house will sell one without it. Authentication is the only reliable way to confirm a genuine coin, because altered dates and struck counterfeits can pass every home test. It also protects a seller, since buyers won't pay six figures on someone's word.

Both services examine metal composition, die characteristics and the date under high magnification, and they compare each submission against the known population. Their error specialists have seen thousands of altered and plated pieces, so they know where to look. Fees vary by service level and declared value, so check each grader's current fee schedule before you send anything.

1. Don't clean it. Handle the coin by its edges and store it in a soft flip or holder.
2. Run the home tests. Record the magnet result and the weight to two decimals.
3. Photograph both sides. Take sharp, close-up photos of the date and mint mark area.
4. Choose a submission route. Submit directly as a PCGS or NGC member, or through an authorized dealer.
5. Insure the shipment. Use registered or insured mail that matches the declared value.

Be wary of anyone who offers to buy a "1943 copper penny" for cash before it's certified, or who charges an upfront "appraisal" fee to evaluate it. Reputable dealers will simply tell you to submit it to a third-party grader first. Our coin grading guide explains how the grading scale works.

Why 1943 Pennies Were Struck in Steel

The Mint switched to zinc-coated steel in 1943 to save copper for World War II, mainly for shell casings and wiring. Steel cent production began on February 27, 1943, at Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. Together the three mints struck about 684.6 million, 217.7 million and 191.6 million steel cents, for a total near 1.09 billion.

The copper cents are believed to come from bronze blanks left over from 1942. A few of those planchets stayed lodged in the tote bins or hoppers when the presses switched to steel, and they were struck with the new 1943 dies. The reverse also happened in 1944, when leftover steel blanks produced the rare 1944 steel cents, which you'll find in our penny error coins guide.

For years the Mint denied that any copper 1943 cents existed. That changed as genuine examples were found and certified, and the first sales drew national attention. One sold for more than $40,000 in 1958, according to the U.S. Mint. The steel cents themselves stayed common, and you can see what they're worth on our 1943 steel cents page and in the full wheat penny value chart.

Related Penny Guides

Find These Coins on eBay

1943 Copper Penny FAQ