Philadelphia 1943 Cents have the highest mintage from all three steel cents this year. It has about three times a higher mintage than each of the Denver and San Francisco 1943 steel cents.
All 1943 dated cents were struck with fairly new dies. 1943 dies were replaced much quicker than prior dated Lincoln cent dies, primarily, because of the hardness of the steel cent planchets. The striking point between both the obverse and the reverse dies was also minimized, in order to obtain a better strike and sharper surfaces. The striking pressure was also increased to create optimum coin design features. This is the reason why there are more 1943 wheat cents in high grades of MS68 or in higher condition than any other wheat cent from 1909–1959 and including all memorial cents struck from 1959 to 1983. Most all 1943 steel cents in MS65 condition or higher, display great eye appeal and vibrant and original luster. From all three different mint mark steel cents struck in1943, the Philadelphia 1943 cents are the scarcest in MS68 grades or higher. About 75 total examples survive in MS68 grades. As of 2010, PCGS has not graded one example in MS69 grade or higher.
