Heritage FUN Auction to Feature 1943 "Copper" & 1944 Steel Cent Rarities

Dallas, Texas: Two of the greatest and most famous coin error rarities of the twentieth century will be auctioned in Heritage's Signature Sale being held at the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) convention. Heritage's sale, the official auction of FUN, will take place in Orlando, January 3-5, 2001.

At the height of World War II, copper became a critical war material. The U.S. Treasury responded by producing steel cent coins during 1943, and cents from recycled shell casings during 1944. In the process, the Mint accidentally produced around a dozen bronze ("copper") cents in 1943; even rarer are the handful of steel cents produced during 1944. The "copper" cents of 1943 and the steel cents of 1944 are undoubtedly the most desirable off-metal coins in U.S. error collecting.

This 1943 "Copper" cent was previously sold at Heritage's 1999 Chicago ANA sale as the Medd Family Specimen (lot 5171), with a one-family pedigree and an amazing story. When our Iowa consignor was 12 years old, his grandmother allowed him to look at her "old penny board" that she casually stuck cents in from time to time. He discovered the rarity, which was put away in a safe deposit box for many years. To the best of his grandmother's recollection (she was 84 when she passed away), she received the coin in change from her paperboy, and hadn't realized it was anything special when she saved it. It wasn't until a family vacation to Colorado in 1993 that the coin was authenticated by ANACS. The coin is graded XF 40, with stains on the obverse and reverse; at the Chicago ANA, it realized $32,200 after heated bidding.

Much less is known of the early history of the 1944 Steel cent, which has been certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation as Mint State 62. It has been consigned by dealer Bill Clark of Sequoia Numismatics, in Berlin, N.J. It was purchased over-the-counter in 1986 from a customer who had started collecting Lincoln cents during the 1930s. Bill's initial offer for the uncertified coin was higher than that received from any other dealer, but it still took more than six visits from the 77 year-old collector, plus protracted negotiation, before a deal could be struck. At the time, ANACS believed that only seven 1944 steel cents existed. Bill has waited until now to announce its existence, and this is likewise the first auction appearance of this coin in the numismatic marketplace. In full Mint State condition, the rarity of this specimen is incalculable.

"These important rarities were created due to the shortage of copper during World War II," noted Heritage's Auction Director Bob Korver. "Pre-1943 bronze cents were an alloy of 95% copper plus 5% zinc and tin, but military requirements for strategic resources forced the Mint to seek an alternative metal for the 1943 cents. The Mint's decision to use zinc-coated steel in 1943 was a numismatic disaster, as the zinc oxidized into a whitish powder, and the steel cores rusted. As is well known, a few cents were minted from the wrong metal in 1943, probably created when left-over bronze planchets (as the coin blanks are known) from 1942 accidentally made their way between the 1943 dies. It seems that some were also produced intentionally (at least two were later sold by a "lady friend" of Mint Engraver John Sinnock). The "copper" cents of 1943 became well known to the public during the 1950s, as coin dealers widely advertised $10,000 purchase offers. The few steel cents of 1944 were likewise produced when some of the 1943 planchets accidentally were mixed in with the recycled "shell-casing" bronze cents of 1944."

In addition to the 1943 Philadelphia mint "copper" offered in our 1999 ANA sale, an AU 55 specimen from the San Francisco mint was offered in our 1997 ANA sale in New York. Heritage has also had the honor of selling three 1944 steel cents, although none were as well preserved: our 1997 ANA sale in New York contained an AU 58 example; our 1998 FUN sale contained an AU 55 specimen; and our 1998 ANA sale in Portland offered a VG 8.