Images Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, HA.com


1942-S Cent, MS62 Brown
Struck on a Bronze Planchet

11942-S Lincoln Cent -- Struck on a Bronze Planchet -- MS62 Brown NGC. 2.5 grams. The NGC insert denotes the alloy as 95% copper, 4% zinc, and 1% tin. According to the 2026 Guide Book, a 1942 cent should weight 3.11 grams, and have an alloy of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc. Likely because the planchet was underweight, the strike is soft along the left-side margin, and the reverse rim near 6 o'clock. The O in ONE and the AM in AMERICA are also lightly brought up. This same coin appeared as lot 92040 in our October 2021 Error Showcase auction, where it was described as struck on a foreign planchet. The U.S. Mint struck 1942-dated El Salvador centavos in bronze with a weight of 2.5 grams, but those pieces were struck in 1943 at Philadelphia, and their diameter of 16 mm is substantially less than the 19 mm diameter of a small cent. Planchets for the 1942 Curacao cent were produced by the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia and have the same specifications as this 1942-S cent; 2.5 grams in weight, a diameter of 19 mm and a composition of 95% copper, 4% zinc and 1% tin. However, Curacao cents were never struck at San Francisco. Richly toned lavender, golden-brown, and apple-green, this rare wrong planchet Mint error is glossy with underlying Mint red color.