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1943 bronze/copper penny value guide -- how many are known to exist, why they exist, and real auction-range values for this rare error.
Condition drives the price — full breakdown below.
Roughly 17 genuine examples are known across all three mints combined (10 Philadelphia, 5 San Francisco, 1 Denver) per CoinWeek; USA Coin Book separately confirms only 1 known 1943-D example.
Caused when a few leftover bronze planchets from 1942 were fed into the 1943 steel-cent presses.
Heavily counterfeited -- copper-plated steel cents and altered dates are common fakes. Authentication by a grading service is essential before treating any example as genuine.
Live listings matching the 1943 Bronze/copper error Lincoln Wheat Penny
Other dates and varieties in this series
What to check before you pay, specific to this date.
The same date runs from about $240,000 worn to $1,000,000 at the top of the scale — a 4× spread. Nearly all of that gap is condition, not the date on the coin, so work out where an example sits on the table above before deciding whether its asking price is fair.
This variety is counterfeited heavily enough that a genuine example is the exception among coins offered as one. Until a PCGS or NGC holder says otherwise, assume it isn't — the gap between real and a convincing fake is the entire value of the coin.
Every Lincoln Wheat Penny listed here is priced by an individual seller, so the same coin in the same grade can differ by a wide margin on any given day. Sort by price, check Metal Points and order history for a sense of the seller's record, and message them if the photos don't show enough to grade confidently.
About the 1943 Bronze/copper error Lincoln Wheat Penny
This is a rare mint error, not a common date — genuine examples typically sell in the ranges shown above, verified by a grading service. Most coins that look similar are not this error; authentication matters more than the date alone.
Roughly 17 genuine examples are known across all three mints combined (10 Philadelphia, 5 San Francisco, 1 Denver) per CoinWeek; USA Coin Book separately confirms only 1 known 1943-D example.
Yes — this variety is heavily counterfeited. Authentication from a major grading service (PCGS or NGC) is essential before treating any example as genuine, and before selling or buying at these price levels.
The rest of the series, with what each is worth at the top of the grade scale.
List it free on PeerMetals — flat 2.75% seller fee, zero listing fees, 1–3 day payouts.
