Expert: PAPAJACK - 10/26/2004

Question
Hi my name is Brittany, and i have currently became fond of colecting old coins like wheat pennies and silver dollers. a couple months ago i found a 1943 copper wheat penny and my dad said it was rare. i still do not think so. it is a war penny and i herd it was supposed to be silver but its copper. could you convince me that it is rare and tell me its worth?

                                 thanks Brittany  

Answer
Hello Brittany,

The amount the coin may be worth is based on a few factors:

1) The 1943 Cent Truly Being COPPER. (see specifications below)
2) The U.S. Mint it was struck at.
3) The Condition or grade of the coin.
4) Where and how you sell it.

There are only a few Copper 1943 cents that were made from the coin blanks left from the previous year, that are worth thousands of dollars.
In recent years a "1943 S" (San Francisco Mint) copper coin has gone for about $60,000 dollars at auction. I remember the prices from the P (Philadelphia) mint ranging from around $10,000 many years ago to $73,000 in recent times.  There are many counterfeits of this coin so get it authenticated.

If you have a copper colored 1943 cent that can stick to a magnet, what I think you may have is a 1943 steel cent that somebody had copper plated,  recently I have heard of a lot of these counterfeits surfacing. Since two pieces that sold a year or two ago and made it onto the news.

A real copper 1943cent weighed 3.11 grams, the steel ones in 1943 it weighed 2.7 grams and were zinc plated. From 1944 to 1982 it weighed 3.11 grams and were 95% copper again.
Beware of 1943 coins sprayed with copper or altered dates on the 1948 cents. Since in 1943 they made steel cents. See if it is attracted to a magnet. Many people have cleaned, polished or plated the cents to try to sell them as valuable. They are not at all collectable!

Some outside possibilities are: It is a cent that was plated with some other metal. (I have seen Copper, lead, solder, tin zinc or silver). I have even seen cents cleaned in metal cleaners that change their color to copper hues.

Most coin shops and all coin Shows Large or small will have people knowledgeable enough to identify this piece for you.

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Thank You and Good Luck

PapaJack