Another rare 1943 copper cent slabbed
Numismatic Guaranty Corporation has certified another 1943 copper cent, one that was found in a gumball machine decades ago. The 1943 copper cent is generally regarded as the most famous…
Numismatic Guaranty Corporation has certified another 1943 copper cent, one that was found in a gumball machine decades ago.
The 1943 copper cent is generally regarded as the most famous of all mint errors. As most collectors know, all 1943 cents were supposed to have been struck in zinc-coated steel so that copper could be conserved for more important uses during World War II.
Nevertheless, a few were mistakenly struck in copper (its composition is technically bronze) and found their way into circulation.
Examples are known from all three mints that produced cents that year: Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Denver, with the Philadelphia examples being the most numerous. Still, only about 20 Philadelphia examples are known to exist, so to have one is rare.
The 1943 copper cent recently certified by NGC was discovered in a gumball machine in Philadelphia in 1976. It was then sold to a collector for the then-significant sum of $1,000.
The buyer passed down the coin to his children, who decided to submit it to NGC for certification after seeing that another NGC-certified 1943 copper cent – the Don Lutes, Jr. Discovery Specimen – had sold for $204,000 at auction in January.
That specimen is named for the teenager who discovered the first 1943 copper cent in 1947 in his change. (Numismatic News recently reported about that coin in the Sept. 4, 2018, issue.)
The family checked the NGC Dealer Locator on NGCcoin.com to find an NGC Authorized Dealer who could assist with the submission. They found Hudson Rare Coins, which submitted the family heirloom to NGC on their behalf. NGC graded it XF Details.
“When someone calls to say that they have a 1943 copper cent, you never expect it to be real,” said Mitchell A. Battino, president of Hudson Rare Coins.
“It was therefore an incredible thrill when NGC confirmed this coin as a genuine example. Now that it is certified by NGC, there will never be any doubts about the authenticity of this great rarity.”
Hudson Rare Coins will represent the family in the sale of this example of the “king of mint errors.”
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