How Much Is a 1943 Silver Penny Worth? Your Coin Guide

Last Updated on December 30, 2023

Wondering how rare are 1943 silver pennies or how much is the 1943 silver wheat penny worth?

Keep on reading to find out the story behind 1943 pennies and what they’re worth!

Contents

How much is a 1943 silver penny worth?

The value of a lightly circulated 1943 steel penny ranges from 20 cents to 50 cents. The uncirculated 1943 steel penny’s worth is generally in the neighborhood of $1.50 to $5. Some well-preserved uncirculated 1943 steel pennies with pristine surfaces are worth more than $100.

Full Roll of 1943 circulated steel pennies by US Mint

How much is a 1943 silver penny with no mint mark worth?

In fine condition, the 1943 steel penny with no mint mark is worth about $0.30. The value of a very fine coin is about $0.35 in excellent shape. In excellent shape, the price for coins is around $8.

How To Spot A Rare 1943 Penny?

There are a few 1943 unique wheat pennies, but the majority of them are not.

It’s possible that you have a 1943 wheat penny with a silver-colored or dark gray appearance. It might even appear rusted.

Here’s how to determine if your 1943 silver wheat penny is valuable or not:

Try sticking it to a magnet. Your 1943 silver penny is NOT rare if it sticks to a magnet.

Your 1943 silver penny IS rare if it does not stick to a magnet.

There are also some special 1943 wheat pennies made of bronze, which resemble coins from other years. In reality, the 1943 copper wheat pennies are often worth more than $100,000!

Are 1943 Silver Pennies made of Zinc-Plated Steel?

The 1943 pennies were made from Zinc-plated steel.

When the United States entered World War II in early 1941, our country needed to ration a number of critical goods in order to assist in the conflict. The government realized that copper was important for making ammunition, so it decided to divert copper from the production of pennies in order to produce shell casings.

Zinc-plated steel planchets were used to strike 1943 wheat pennies.

Are silver pennies rare?

The Silver Penny is not rare.

The United States Mint, under the authority of Congress, began producing pennies from steel with a thin layer of zinc to save copper for the war effort. This gave the penny an orange/brown copper color instead of its normal orange/copper color.

What year is a penny worth $1000000?

A million dollar penny: a rare 1943 Lincoln cent was purchased by the owner of the Texas Rangers for $1MILLION.

What are the odds of finding a 1943 copper penny?

There are certainly as many as 200 million regular pennies in circulation right now, thus your chances of finding one of the 30 or so that might be floating around is one in 15 million. An actual 1943 copper penny is worth tens of thousands of dollars if not more due to its scarcity.

Which 1943 penny is worth the most?

According to legend, a 1943 Lincoln penny that appreciated in value due to being manufactured from the “wrong” metal has been sold for $1 million. The dime was produced at the San Francisco Mint using the incorrect material instead of zinc-coated steel.

How many 1943 steel pennies are there?

The Mint struck more than 1.1 billion of them, including 685 million 1943 steel cents, 218 million 1943-D steel pennies, and 192 million 1943-S steel cents. Instead of 95% copper and 5% zinc and tin as prior year’s pennies were composed of, each was made up of 99 percent steel 1% zinc.

Why is the 1943 copper penny so valuable?

During World War II, the copper was intended to be used for the war effort, but a small mistake resulted in a few pennies being minted in copper. Only 10-15 of these rare coins survive, making the 1943 copper penny one of the most valuable ancient pennies in existence.

How do I know if my old penny is worth money?

The value of your penny can be quickly determined by knowing the coin’s type, date, mintmark, and grade. Furthermore, the worth of a specific coin may differ across markets and coin dealers.

What makes a 1956 D wheat penny valuable?

The D above shadow D is one of the minting errors that can be found on the 1956 penny. Because this coin is unique, it may be worth around $25 in excellent condition. Some 1956 pennies feature the clipped planchet defect. This implies that a portion of their planchetto has been removed.

Are all 1943 copper pennies accounted for?

Approximately 40 1943 copper-alloy cents are still in circulation. Some coin collectors believe that they were produced by accident while copper-alloy 1–cent blanks remained in the press hopper during the switch to steel pennies.

Jackie Palmer is a Houston-based coin journalist and fashion enthusiast. She joined Jewels Advisor’s content team after years of experience as a content strategist, managing blogs and social channels for local stores. Jackie mostly collects and studies US coins produced during the 20th century and over the years, published hundreds of articles for multiple coin publications.