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.
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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
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!
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1943 Steel Wheat Pennies