1983 Bronze Cent Transitional Error Coin Sells for Record $26,000

By CoinWeek Staff Reports …. GreatCollections has sold a rare off-metal Mint error – the transitional 1983 Lincoln Cent struck on a bronze planchet

GreatCollections has sold a rare off-metal Mint error – the transitional 1983 Lincoln Cent struck on a bronze planchet – for a record $26,000 ($29,250 with Buyer’s Fee) after 49 bids.

First discovered in 2006, only a handful have been found in the two decades since. Of the coins we’ve traced at auction, the example offered in the July 28 auction (PCGS #49424134) is the finest known, graded MS65RD.

Collectors of modern U.S. coins are probably familiar with the famous 1943 Copper Cent. When the United States Mint temporarily changed the composition of the Lincoln Wheat Cent during World War II to divert much-needed copper to the war effort, pennies were made from steel planchets. The zinc-coated 1943 Steel Cent was produced for circulation, which remains popular with collectors because of its history and striking silvery appearance. But in the transition from copper to steel, a few leftover copper (or bronze) planchets managed to enter the coin press feeder and get struck as off-metal error coins. The 1943 Copper Cent is exceedingly rare and highly sought-after.

Likewise, when the Mint reverted to the original bronze composition the next year, some steel planchets were struck as 1944 Steel Cents. These are also rare, though not as popular with collectors as the ’43 Bronze.

Starting in the 1960s and continuing through the ’70s, the price of copper on the global market had gotten too high for the Mint to produce cents economically. Some advocated for abandoning copper as a coining metal altogether–this led to such experiments as the 1974 Aluminum Cent–but the Mint resisted change for decades.

By the early 1980s, however, the status quo was no longer tenable, and the Mint decided on a change from the 95% copper, 5% tin and zinc composition used previously to a 99.2% zinc, 0.8% copper core plated with pure copper. The new coin came to be known (“affectionately”) as the “Zincoln”, and 1983 was its first full year of production.

Transitional errors were almost guaranteed to exist and, armed with scales, knowledgable collectors went on the hunt.

Variety specialist Billy Crawford was the first to identify a 1983 Bronze Cent in 2006 when a 1983 Lincoln Cent weighed the old standard of 3.11 grams instead of the new 2.5. That discovery coin sold for $23,500 at Heritage on December 6, 2013. A second specimen, certified Genuine – Not Gradable (PCGS #24526724), was discovered four years later. A few more have followed over the years, rescued from rolls or plucked from pocket change. The finest-known record-holder sold by GreatCollections was recently graded by PCGS, who used an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer to verify the coin’s composition.

The following is a chronological list of auction appearances and prices realized for a sampling of 1983 Bronze Cents:

It should also be noted that GreatCollections has sold circulated 1983 Bronze Cents twice in the past 10 years, one selling for $3,900 and the other for $4,050.

Ultimately, the winning bidder may have an eye toward a much bigger payoff in the future as the 1983 Bronze Cent may prove rarer than most transitional errors.

There are currently more examples of the 1943 Bronze Cent–an error coin that can sell for six figures in low Mint State–than the 1983. And because four months passed between the August 1982 switch from copper alloy to zinc planchets and the minting of 1983-dated cents, it is frankly mystifying how any bronze cents were produced that year.

Nevertheless, this is an important Lincoln Cent rarity that could indeed be found through roll searching and the examination of pocket change. All you need is patience, time, commitment, and luck in sufficient quantities, and you, too, might earn a record price for this once-in-a-lifetime discovery. Happy hunting!

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