Somewhere among America’s billions of pennies exists a rare mistake so valuable that a single example has sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars—and in exceptional cases, more than a million. It’s known as the 1943 Bronze Lincoln Cent, and its story is rooted in wartime urgency, human oversight, and sheer chance.
A Wartime Coin That Wasn’t Supposed to Exist
To understand why this penny is so valuable, you have to go back to 1943. The United States was deep in World War II, and copper was a critical resource. It was needed for ammunition, electrical wiring, and military equipment—far more important than everyday pocket change.
So the U.S. Mint made a historic decision: pennies would no longer be made of bronze. Instead, they would be struck from zinc-coated steel, conserving copper for the war effort. It was the first time since the late 1700s that the cent’s composition had changed so drastically.
The result was the now-famous steel penny—lighter, silver-gray in color, and prone to rust. People found them confusing and inconvenient, but the country accepted them as a necessary wartime compromise.
The Accidental Penny
During the transition from bronze to steel in late 1942, something unexpected happened. A small number of bronze planchets—the blank discs used to strike pennies—were accidentally left behind in the minting presses.
