The wheat penny was first minted in 1909 ... Bottom line: Unlike the 1944 pennies, a need for copper during WWII in 1943 meant that pennies from this year were supposed to be made from steel.

If you have any 1943 wheat pennies ... see how much you might get for them. This penny somehow missed the 1944 transition from steel-coated zinc to copper, and it’s worth a fortune as a result.