Editing 1943 steel cent (section)

==Related variations==

=== 1943 copper cent ===
[[File:1943-bronze-cent.jpg|thumb|left|1943 copper cent]]
Far ahead of the [[1955 doubled die cent]] in rarity, the 1943 copper cent is one of the notable rarities of the Lincoln cent series. An estimated 40 examples are believed to have been struck, with 13 confirmed to exist. The error occurred when copper [[planchet]]s were left in the press hopper and press machines during the changeover from copper to steel blanks. Examples were discovered after the War, with the first two in 1947,<ref name="WHRC" /> and another in 1958. That example appeared in a 1958 Abe Kosoff sale, but was withdrawn prior to the sale; one mint condition Denver Mint specimen sold for over $1.7 million in 2010.<ref name="UPI" />

==== Counterfeits ====

Many people have counterfeited the coin by either copper-plating normal 1943 cents (sometimes as novelties with no intent to defraud), or altering cents from the period, usually 1945, 1948, or 1949-dated coins.

The copper cents differ from their steel counterparts in four ways:<ref name="Metras" />
* Genuine 1943 copper cents will not be attracted to a magnet. Copper-plated steel cents will exhibit a strong magnetic attraction.
* Copper cents weigh 3.11&nbsp;grams. Steel cents weigh 2.702&nbsp;grams.
* The numeral 3 in 1943 has the same long tail as the steel cents. Alterations from later-dated copper cents will be noticeable when compared side by side with genuine cents with years ending in 3.
* The quality of the strike is exceptionally sharp, especially around the rim, because the soft copper planchets were struck with the same (higher) pressure used for the steel cents.

=== 1943 tin cent ===
[[File:Tin 1943 Lincoln cent.jpg|thumb|1943 tin cent|alt=|left]]
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+1943 tin cent composition
! Tin
| 86.41%
|-
! Antimony
| 8.37%
|-
! Copper
| 1.75%
|-
! [[Vanadium]]
| 1.02%
|}
In 2019, [[Numismatic Guaranty Corporation|NGC]] authenticated a worn 1943 cent composed of 86.41% [[tin]] and 8.37% [[antimony]] with other trace metals. The coin was discovered by a coin collector in the state of Oregon, who found it in his father's yard {{circa|1969}} and realized it was not attracted to a magnet while searching his coin collection for 1943 copper cents in 2019. It is likely that the coin is an error or was [[1942 experimental cents|intentionally struck as a pattern in late 1942]] using an obverse die intended for the following year, though no documented evidence of a pattern with this composition has been found.<ref name=":0" />

The coin was found in a badly damaged state, with two large gashes and a slight bend. Believing it to be a steel cent, the discoverer straightened the coin in a [[vise|bench vise]] so that it would fit inside a coin album. The coin weighs 2.702 g.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/1943-lincoln-cent-mostly-tin-and-antimony.html|title=NGC authenticates 1943 Lincoln cent made from mostly tin|website=CoinWorld|language=en|access-date=2019-07-06}}</ref>

=== 1944 steel cent ===
[[File:1944 steel Lincoln cent.jpg|left|thumb|1944 steel cent]]
In an error similar to the 1943 cents, a few 1944 cents were struck on steel planchets left over from 1943.<ref name="Metras" /> There are two explanations given for why this happened. One explanation is that steel planchets were left in the press hopper and press machines from the previous year mixed in with copper planchets.<ref name="WHRC" /><ref name="Metras" /> Another explanation credits the error to the production of 25 million<ref name="WHRC" /><ref name="SCWC" /> [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[Belgian franc#Coins|two franc]] pieces by the Philadelphia mint after that country's liberation from the Nazis.<ref name="WHRC" /><ref name="Metras" /> These coins were of the same composition<ref name="Metras" /> and the same planchets<ref name="WHRC" /><ref name="SCWC" /> as the 1943 cents, but they differed slightly in weight.<ref name="Metras" /> In all, 1944 steel cents are fewer in number than their 1943 copper counterparts,<ref name="Metras" /> and are even more valuable; one such example minted in San Francisco sold for $373,750 in an August 2008 auction held by [[Heritage Auctions]]; this was the highest auction price ever for a Lincoln cent until September 23, 2010, when it was superseded by a 1943-D bronze penny.<ref name="Reynolds 2008-08-22" /><ref name=PCGS /><ref name=UPI />