1983 1983 Copper Transitional Error
Key Features
Transitional error Lincoln cent struck on a leftover 95% copper bronze planchet from 1982, after the Mint officially switched to zinc-core cents. Weighs 3.11 g instead of the standard 2.5 g. Among the rarest of all Lincoln cent errors — fewer are known than 1943 copper cents. Discovered by variety expert Billy Crawford in 2006 from bank rolls. Examples have sold for $22,000–$30,000. Both Philadelphia (no mint mark) and Denver (D) issues exist.
Intriguing History
In 1983, Reagan-era America pushed through a sharp recession into a long economic expansion while ratcheting up Cold War pressure on the Soviet Union, a standoff that eased dramatically with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 as the decade closed. This transitional-era cent was struck right as the Mint shifted the Lincoln cent's composition from bronze to copper-plated zinc.