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History of the 1943 Steel Cents
From 1909 to 1942, the Lincoln Cent was composed of 95%
copper and 5% tin and zinc. That all changed in 1943, as for
the first and only time, a coin was made out of steel, which
was quite a contradiction from gold, silver, copper or
bronze.
Even before the United States entered the war, there were inklings that the
cent, as well as the nickel were in trouble. The nickel was made out of 75%
copper. Copper was in huge demand due to its use by defense contractors in the
manufacturing process of various supplies and equipment needed in case of the US
going to war.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the rumors only grew and in January 1942,
The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine reported that Treasury officials were giving
serious consideration to using different metal contents for some coins. The
first step occurred on January 23rd, 1942, when the Treasury ordered the removal
of all but a trace of tin from the cent from the already small amount that had
been in use. The existing supply of strips and planchets were used and it is
speculated that cents produced in 1942 were produced of both metal compositions.
This small change was expected to save 100,000 pounds of tin.
Throughout 1942, there were repeated attempts and pleas to the public to turn
in their cents and nickels. Even with these pleas, the shortages continued and
for the last six months of the year the mint scaled back production of cents and
nickels. During this time, experiments were conducted with various metal
compositions, fibers, plastics and even glass. On December 18, 1942, Public Law
77-815 was enacted. This law called for the melting of more silver dollars and
for the authorization of metal substitutes for the one cent and five cent coins
not to go beyond December 31st, 1946. The nickel had already seen its change
utilizing more silver in its content. The Treasury wasted no time and on
December 23, 1942, Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, Jr. ordered that all
cents produced after January 1st 1943 be comprised of low-carbon steel coated
with zinc. The zinc plating was to provide a thin coating to prevent rust and
was to be no more than .001 inches thick. The same diameter of coin was
maintained, but the weight was reduced from the standard 48 grains to 42 grains,
due to the use of a lighter alloy. It took some time to produce sufficient
supplies of planchets and production commenced on February 23, 1943 at the
Philadelphia Mint with the Denver and San Francisco Mints beginning production
the next month.
On February 27th, the first delivery of cents was made to the Treasury and
within a few weeks, the steel cents were in circulation. Although the Treasury
Department assured the public that the coin, after being in circulation for a
while, would gain a distinct appearance, many people noticed the color
resemblance of a dime. Complaints continued to pour into the Treasury. For
example, due to there magnetic property, many mechanical devices treated the new
cent as a slug. Back then, there were quite a few uses for the cent and this was
a big deal.
The new cent was so much hated by the public that the Treasury was moved to
issue them only when bronze-copper cents were not available. Still, demand for
cents for business was so great, that the public was forced to use them as that
was what was available. In the fall of 1943, the Treasury announced that no
steel cents would be produced after December 31, 1943 and that the mint would
produce cents from the pre-war alloy, but without tin. These cents, from 1944
through 1946 were to be known as shell-case cents, as the metal generally came
from spent shell-casings. It was also announced that there would be no recall of
the steel cent. After the war, the Treasury did begin recalling steel cents for
the next 20 years. Although not publicized, coins were to be returned to the
treasury in the normal course of business. By 1950, steel cents were becoming
scarce and by 1960, nearly non-existent. By this time, steel cents had
deteriorated quite a bit. The Mint had coated the steel strips before punching
leaving the edge of the coin subject to rust and corrosion. Even though a recall
was in effect, the Mints own records indicate over 930 million remained in
circulation.
By the end of 1943, the three Mint facilities had produced 1,093,838,670 of
the one-cent coins. The copper released for the war effort was enough to meet
the combined needs of 2 cruisers, 2 destroyers, 1,243 flying fortresses, 120
field guns and 120 howitzers, or enough for 1.25 million shells for our big
field guns
Keith Scott has been a collector for over 30 years. His website has
US coins for sale. He also writes
Coin Collecting Articles for fun. Visit his websites for a history of US coins,
metal market updates and news about your favorite coins.
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