1943 Lincoln Cent, Wheat (1909-1958)

Intriguing History

When the Mint switched the 1943 cent to zinc-coated steel to save copper for the war effort, a small number of leftover bronze planchets from 1942 were accidentally fed into the presses anyway. The resulting 1943 bronze cents are among the most famous error coins in American numismatics, so rare that for decades collectors offered rewards for genuine examples and counterfeiters routinely copper-plated ordinary steel cents to fake them. One authenticated specimen has sold at auction for well over a million dollars.