The 1943 steel cent was a variety of the U.S. one-cent coin which was struck in steel due to wartime shortages of copper.

History

Due to wartime needs of copper for use in ammunition and other military equipment during World War II, the US Mint researched various ways to limit dependence and meet conservation goals on copper usage. After trying out several substitutes (ranging from other metals^[1] to plastics^[2]) to replace the then-standard bronze alloy, it was minted in zinc-coated steel. It was made at all three mints, Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco. Coins from the latter two sites have respectively "D" and "S" mintmarks below the date.

However, problems began to arise from the mintage. Freshly minted, they were often mistaken for dimes. Magnets in vending machines (which took "copper" cents) placed to pick up steel slugs also picked up the legitimate steel cents. Because the galvanization process didn't cover the edges of the coins, sweat would quickly rust the metal, turning the coins into a rusty mess. After public outcry, the Mint developed a process whereby salvaged brass shell casings were augmented with pure copper to produce an alloy close to the 1941-42 composition.

The steel cent is the only regular-issue United States coin that can be picked up with a magnet. The steel cent was also the only coin issued by the United States for circulation that does not contain any copper.^[3]

1943 copper cent

1943 Copper Cent.

The copper cents differ from their steel counterparts in four ways:

• Genuine 1943 copper cents will not be attracted to a magnet.^[5] Copper-plated steel cents will exhibit a strong magnetic attraction.
• Copper cents weigh 3.11 grams. Steel cents weigh just 2.7 grams.^[5]
• The numeral "3" in "1943" has the same long tail as the steel cents. Alterations from later-dated copper cents will be noticeable when compared side-by-side with genuine steel cents.^[5]
• The quality of the strike is exceptionally sharp, especially around the rim, because the soft copper planchets were struck with the same (higher) pressure used for the steel cents.^[5]

In a similar error, a few 1944 cents were struck on steel planchets left over from 1943^[5]. There are two explanations given for why this happened. One explanation is that steel planchets were left in the press hopper and press machines from the previous year mixed in with copper planchets.^[4][5] Another explanation credits the error to the production of 25 million^[4][6] Belgian two franc pieces by the Philadelphia mint after that country's liberation from the Nazis.^[4][5] These coins were of the same composition^[5] and the same planchets^[6][4] as the 1943 cents, but they differed slightly in weight.^[5] In all, 1944 steel cents are fewer in number than their 1943 copper counterparts.^[5]

Novelty coins

Since many steel cents corroded and became dull soon after entering circulation, some dealers who sold the coins as novelties improved their appearance by "reprocessing" – stripping off the old zinc coating and then replating them.^[5] These reprocessed coins have little or no numismatic value.^[5]

In the American Girl series, the "Molly" doll, who lives during World War II, has a pretend steel penny which is a part of her set^[7].

References

• Portions of this article use information from the US Mint website, which is in the public domain.

Notes