Collecting The 1943 Wheat Penny?
The 1943 Wheat Penny came into circulation due to the war. Copper was badly needed to make bullets so the government decided to make pennies out of steel with a zinc coating. It was made in all three mints; Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. The coins minted in Denver had “D” marked below the date. San Francisco was also marked below the date but with an “S”.
The 1943 steel penny was not well received by the public. The public wanted their old copper pennies not these new pennies made out of steel. Some people would call the steel wheat pennies “steelies” or “”lead cents”. Also, these shiny pennies were sometimes mistaken for dimes which of course would cost shop owners money if not noticed.
1943 Wheat Penny
Did you know?
* 1943 had 684,628,670 minted for circulation
* 1943-D had 217,660,000 minted for circulation
* 1943-S had 191,550,000 minted for circulation
![]() |
|
1 Bid -
Ends:
1h 43m
Steel Cent Penny 1943 WW II Wheat US $.49
|
3 Bids -
Ends:
3h 2m
1943-D US Wartime Steel Cent Wheat Penny US $1.54
|
1 Bid -
Ends:
3h 4m
1943 (P) AU Steel Lincoln Wheat Penny Cent US Coin US $.99
|
|
3 Bids -
Ends:
8h 37m
1 Roll of 1943 Steel Cents ~ 50 Lincoln Wheat Pennies! US $7.51
|
9 Bids -
Ends:
11h 4m
1943 P-D-S ANACS MS 65 SLABBED STEEL WHEAT PENNY SET! US $26.00
|
3 Bids -
Ends:
12h 38m
AU/BU 1943 STEEL PENNY & INDIAN HEAD IN WHEAT CENT ROLL US $9.51
|
Remember! Proof production was suspended starting with this year, 1943 all the up to 1949 because was World War II.
Be sure to look for the very rare errors on bronze planchets! Remember that 1943 Wheat Pennies were produced on zinc coated steel planchets only!
Related Blog Posts:
1943 Steel Wheat Pennies


US $.49
