In late February of this year a news story apparently originating from the Associated Press in Boise, Idaho reported that a collector in that state accidentally spent a rare 1943 copper cent. The original story stated that the coin was worth a quarter of a million dollars. Paul Harvey, the nationally syndicated radio personality based in Chicago reported on this story as well. I heard it on KOMO-TV in Seattle on Friday night, where Dan Lewis stated that it was worth fully half a million dollars!
The frenzy is born! I've fielded over 100 E-mails and phone calls on Monday, March 1st, and expect many more this week.
Did someone actually know they had a rare 1943 copper cent and spend it? Before you E-mail me with the find of another 1943 cent in your desk drawer, remember that all 1943 cents were intended to be made out of steel. Only a few copper examples were made in error and are the ones that bring the money. The 1943 steel cents are worth between a few cents and a few dollars, depending on condition. If your 1943 cent looks copper, just like any other from the era, check it with a magnet, as many steel cents have been copper plated to simulate the rare copper cent.
Here's the truth about the values of the 1943 copper cents:
They were produced at all three mints: Philadelphia (no Mint Mark), Denver (with a D), and San Francisco (with an S). The Philadelphia issue is most common with 10 examples known, of which all show some signs of wear. Actual sales range from $8,000 for a damaged one which sold in 1982, to $40,000 paid for the discovery coin back in 1958.
The copper 1943-S issue is quite rarer, with only 6 examples known, all slightly circulated. Prices paid over the years range from $9,000 paid in 1973 to $35,000 for one in 1989.
The rarest example is the Denver mint issue of which only one is known. It's a choice Mint State example and is encapsulated in an NGC-64BN holder. This coin sold last year for $80,000. This is a record price for a Lincoln cent.
Why would someone claim that their "lost" coin is worth $250,000? That I can't answer. Perhaps the winter in Idaho has been too long this year. Not many people are lining up to buy copper 1943 cents for over $50,000 these days, let alone $250,000. Frankly, I wish they were.
These are great days to be a coin collector. We are being treated with 5 new quarter designs each year for the next 10 years. This year or next we will have a new golden-colored dollar coin. Our hobby is getting targeted by Y2K fear mongers who say that we should all have bags of US silver coins minted from 1964 and earlier. Dealers are having trouble filling all the orders. Perhaps the buyers of these 35 year old coins will start a meaningful collection with them.
Also in and out of the mainstream news is the huge hoard of California gold rush era coins and bars being recovered from the U.S.S. Central America shipwreck. When it starts to be sold (hopefully soon) this treasure will create interest in coin collecting and California gold rush era coinage unimaginable to us in the hobby today.
Recent news of finds in Death Valley (however bogus), and this newest news whirlwind surrounding the 1943 copper cent (however exaggerated) can only draw more interest to our great hobby.
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