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High Mint State 1943-D Steel Cent Offered by GreatCollections

High Mint State 1943-D Steel Cent Offered by GreatCollections

GreatCollections is currently offering collectors the opportunity to purchase a superb example of the 1943-D steel cent. Graded PCGS MS 68 with a CAC sticker, this coin represents the penultimate census grade, with only 12 examples certified higher (MS 68+). As these numbers may be due to inevitable resubmissions, this coin is quite desirable. Additionally, this coin is pedigreed to the famous Red Copper Collection.

Interested bidders should note that this lot closes on Sunday, January 29, 2023, at 4:34:15 PM Pacific Time (7:34:15 PM Eastern). At the time of publication, the highest of 17 bids stands at $1,161 USD with 19 days remaining for additional bidding.

Due either to wartime necessity or an attempt to increase public commitment to the war effort, the United States Mint shifted the cent away from the standard bronze planchet to a new, lighter, zinc-coated steel version. Regardless of the motivation, this move saved large quantities of valuable war materiel: a combined 8,094 tons of copper and 100,000 pounds of tin across all Mint facilities.

As these steel cents made their way into circulation, public skepticism began to increase. Of particular issue was the coin’s distinct resemblance to the silver dime, with some worried that unscrupulous individuals would attempt to pass off these new coins for their more valuable counterparts. Despite being “universally objectionable”, these coins were quickly hoarded by collectors. As a result, this coin survives in high numbers all the way through Gem Mint State–though they are quite scarce in MS 68. PCGS estimates that fewer than 200 MS 68 examples survive to this day.

With a mintage of 217,660,00 steel cents, these coins are quite common and can be obtained quite easily in most grades. However, while pieces graded MS 67 and below are worth at most $550, pieces in the highest grades can sell for much more. In fact, MS 68s have sold for $4,000 and above!

This particular example was part of “The Red Copper Collection of Lincoln Cents”, a collection compiled by numismatist Stewart Blay over 20 years of painstaking searching and ultimately buying only the finest examples. So fine was this collection that John Albanese, President of CAC, remarked “It is likely we will not see another Lincoln Cent collection of this caliber in the future.”

The coin currently on offer has an exceptionally sharp strike, with bold details and essentially flawless surfaces. There are basically no bag marks to distract from the coin’s satiny luster. As such, this coin belongs in a registry set of the highest quality and is evidence that production at the Denver Mint was generally better than production at either San Francisco or Philadelphia in 1943.

Design

On the obverse, designer Victor David Brenner’s portrait of Abraham Lincoln depicts the president from the shoulder up. Lincoln is dressed in a period suit and is wearing a bow tie. At the top of the design, wrapping around the rim is the motto “IN GOD WE TRUST”. “LIBERTY” appears behind Lincoln’s neck, on the left side of the coin. The date appears slightly lower, in front of Lincoln’s portrait, on the coin’s right side.

This coin was struck at the Denver Mint, so there is a “D” mintmark beneath the date.

On the reverse, two sheaths of wheat wrap around the right and the left side of the coin. At the top of the design, the motto “E ·PLURIBUS · UNUM” wraps around the rim. ONE CENT is inscribed in large letters, sans serif, the bottom arm of the E extends beyond the arm at the top. The middle arm is recessed. Beneath, in the same font but in a smaller type, is the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

The edge of the cent is smooth or plain.

Bidding for this 1943-D steel cent ends on Sunday, January 29, 2023, at 4:34:15 PM Pacific Time (7:34:15 PM Eastern).

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To search through GreatCollection’s archive of over 600,000 certified coins the company has sold over the past eight years, please visit the GreatCollections Auction Archives.

GreatCollections
GreatCollectionshttps://www.greatcollections.com/
GreatCollections, the official auction house of the American Numismatic Association (ANA), specializes in auctioning certified coins and banknotes, handling transactions from start to finish. Since its founding in 2010, GreatCollections has successfully auctioned over one million certified coins, making it one of the leading certified coin companies in the United States, with annual sales in 2021 exceeding $235 million. Ian Russell, owner/president of GreatCollections, is a member of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) and a member of the National Auctioneers Association.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. I have collected both coins and paper money I think it was the president of the paper money collectors that sent me seven bills once I have had some of the rarest coins and paper money this is what I learned if you got the money to collect high grade coins your better off if you buy older coins that have pedigree that is easy to follow how many how many the number put in circulation the number sent to dealers the number returned sold graded and how many remand and buy coins never sold before if buy low grade coins or find them in circulation then you can sell them for A small profit or trade them some times you get fortunate and get A rare coin when you buy cheap that you can sell for A good profit but if you buy mid grade coins unless you plan on keeping them you rarely get back back what you put in to buy them collecting them for their beauty and because they are our nations coins and paper money is the best reason most of the lost and rare coins have been found I have not herd of A double died coin or any other in A long time they have so many different state quarters you don’t know what coins you need to make sets it took All the fun out of collecting I would like to be able to just tell you straight out what coins I once had and what I got out of them lately I been thinking about starting again later

  2. i have a rare 1943 bronz experimental planchette or copper haven’t had it checked yet but i know they are unseen only a handful exist

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