1943 Lincoln Wheat Cent : Steel Cent

What This Coin Looks Like (Obverse, Reverse, Mint Mark Location, Special Features, etc.):

1943 Lincoln Wheat Cents look like "silver pennies" but they are actually made out of steel. During World War 2: The US needed to allocate as much copper as possible for the war effort and this included copper used for minting Lincoln Cents at the US Mint. Zinc-coated steel was used as the substitute metal composition and hence the new silver-like coin is known as the wartime steel cent or steel penny.

Coin Value Chart: Typical Coin Prices, Values and Worth in USD based on Grade/Condition. Numismatic portion of the values last updated February 2026, precious metal portion of the values is updated live!

Good (G-4)	Very Good (VG-8)	Fine (F-12)	Very Fine (VF-20)	Extremely Fine (EF-40)	About Uncirculated (AU-50)	Uncirculated (MS-60)	Uncirculated (MS-65)	Proof (PR-65)
$0.18	$0.24	$0.36	$0.43	$0.49	$0.61	$3.08	$10	-

USA Coin Book Estimated Value of 1943 Lincoln Wheat Penny (Steel Cent Variety) is Worth $0.24 in Average Condition and can be Worth $3.08 to $10 or more in Uncirculated (MS+) Mint Condition. Click here to Learn How to use Coin Price Charts. Also, click here to Learn About Grading Coins. The Melt Value shown below is how Valuable the Coin's Metal is Worth (bare minimum value of coin). Click here to see the Melt Value of every US Coin.


MELT VALUE: $0.0006