The Bronze Unicorn: The Story of the 1943 Lincoln Cent

While it might seems like a wild financial fantasy, the existence of rare coins is quite real. Even if you might not be able to buy a single chewing gum with a small coin anymore, there are Lincoln cents out there that are invaluable and what’s better, they are still in circulation.

In 1943, U.S. pennies were supposed to be made of zinc-coated steel. But a small number were mistakenly struck using leftover bronze planchets from 1942. This particular cent, which bears the “D” mintmark (from Denver), was one of the very few coins of those war years that was minted in bronze.

Its rarity, and the fact that it was struck that way by error, has made it incredibly valuable for coin collectors. As of 2024, historic currency fanatics have only been able to discover the existence of less than 20 coins, which makes them even more invaluable.

The rare 1943 Lincoln cent with the best condition was sold for a whooping $1.7 million. This private sale happened in 2010. The seller was Legend Numismatics, one of the most respected rare coin dealership in the USA.

Based in Lincroft, New Jersey, Legend Numismatics was able to sell the coveted Lincoln cent to an anonymous buyer, who was only identified as a business executive from the South West. The previous owner had arranged in tis will that all proceeds of its sale would go to charity.

Apart from this record breaking sale, other 1943 bronze Lincoln cent have sold more recently for $204,000. This transaction happened in January, 2019. The auction was held by Heritage Auctions, one of the largest auction houses in the world, specialized in collectibles.

This auction house with base in Dallas, Texas and founded in 1976 was able to sell Don Jutes’ (not Don Juan) coveted coin. But who was this distinguished coin collector? Don Lutes Jr. was a lifelong collector and hobbyist from Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He discovered the coin in 1947, when it was nonchalantly handed to him as as change when buying his lunch at the high-school cafeteria.

The 16-year-old student kept the cent, trying to verify its authenticity in a time were there was no Internet (and the U.S. Mint blatantly denied having coined any currency in valuable materials by mistake).

Don Lutes held onto this Lincoln coin for more than 70 years. After his death in September 2018, the coin was consigned for auction. The $204,000 fetched at the 2019 auction were donated to the Berkshire Athenaeum, the public library in Pittsfield where Lutes was born and raised.

While coin collectors seem to keep onto their rare coins and donate them to charity in their will, we can always dream of finding a penny on the street that will make us millionaires. But, how can we identify if this or that penny is the real deal?

To figure out if you have a rare 1943 bronze Lincoln cent, you can start with a simple magnet test. If the penny is made of bronze, it won’t stick to the magnet. Most pennies from 1943 were made from zinc-coated steel, which has magnetic properties. If your coin is magnetic, it’s not the rare bronze version. Also, the rare bronze pennies have a copper color like older pennies, while the steel ones are more silver-colored.

For a more precise check, you can weigh the coin. A real 1943 bronze cent weighs about 3.11 grams, while a steel penny is lighter at around 2.7 grams. If you think you have one of these rare coins, it’s best to have it authenticated by a professional, since there are many counterfeit coins out there.

Now that you know about its existence, make sure to check the pavement any time you go for a walk. Who knows, you might find the luckiest –and most valuable– penny in history!

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