A "1943 Copper Penny" is one of the most famous coin errors in the world, with less than 20 examples believed to have survived.

When the U.S. Mint switched to using zinc-coated steel to produce 1943 Lincoln Cents, a small number of copper planchets leftover from 1942 slipped into the buckets of the steel planchets and then into circulation.

Although there were rumors of some 1943 pennies being struck in error (using copper/bronze planchets), none were discovered until 1947, and they were instantly coveted by collectors and even appeared in magazines, comic books and newspapers.

This particular example is known as the "Gumball Specimen", after being discovered inside of a gumball machine in Philadelphia, across the street from the U.S. Mint. The owner's family sold it to a local collector for $1,000 in November 1976 after it was authenticated by ANACS.

Over the past decade at GreatCollections, we have had countless calls, emails and letters about people purporting to have a new discovery of this famous error. Not a single coin was genuine, and this is only the second authentic example we have had the pleasure to handle.

The numismatic world has been lucky to have had several opportunities to bid on 1943 Copper Pennies over the past few years, however, almost all now reside in long-term collections, cherished by their owners. This is important to take into account when considering a bid on this iconic error coin.

In all five editions of the 100th Greatest U.S. Coins by Jeff Garrett, the 1943 Copper Cent has been ranked in the top 11, and in the 5th edition, ranks ahead of the unique 1822 Gold Half Eagle and 1861 Paquet Gold Double Eagle.